Investigation of guided Electromagnetic waves propagate in Optical Fibres and the

Applications of Optical Fibre

Mitul Patel
Collaborators: Kerri
BSc (Hons) Applied Physics, St. Mary's University, Twickenham London
APH5000 Experimental Physics

Abstract
We investigate the propagation of the electromagnetic waves in optical fibres. Optical fibres are used in many
technologies. They transmits energy and information from one place to another. One of application of the
optical fibre is for communication. In this report we demonstrate how the optical fibre can be used for
communication and various other the applications of optical fibre. We also demonstrate the wave nature of
light.

Introduction
Optical fibres are circular dielectric wave guides
that can transport energy from one place to another.
They can also transport information coded in light
or infrared signals. They are flexible, and are
typically made up of extrude glass (silica) or
plastic, slightly thicker than human hair [1] .

refraction as shown in figure 1. This causes the

optical fibre to act as a waveguide. The lower
refractive index of the cladding guides light to
confine in the core. Light entering at one end
undergoes total internal reflection repeatedly in the
core and emerges at the other end as shown in
figure 2 [2].

Figure 2 shows the ray of light propagating through optical

fibre undergoes total internal reflection

Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the optical fibre..

Optical fibres include transparent core and

this transparent core are surrounded by the
transparent cladding material with a lower index of
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As the light travels through the transmission

medium, the intensity of the light beam reduces.
This is called attenuation or transmission loss.
Attenuation is an important factor as it limits the
transmission of a digital signal over large
distance[3]. The signal in optical fibre does not
1

weaken over the long distance as the glass absorbs

very little energy.
Optical fibres have many advantages over
metal wire. They have much greater bandwidth
over metal wire which means that more data can be
carried. Optical fibre can transmit data digitally
rather than analogically. This advantages have
revolutionized the telecommunication industry.
Optical fibres have largely replaced copper wire
and are used by many telecommunication
industries in order to transmit signals without much
loss.
In this report we have demonstrated the use of
optical fibres for communications.
Methods and materials

one of the electrical lead. Set the transmitter

analogue gain control to Max, output power to
Max. Turn on the loudspeaker/low Z switch of the
receiver. Place the receiver in a way that the
receiver diode socket is facing the emitting diode
socket of the transmitter, and adjust the analogue
gain of the receiver until the output is clear. Vary
the distance between the transmitter and receiver.
How could you demonstrate that the signal being
transmitted comes mainly from the infrared light
emitting diode?
2) radio signal over optical fibre
Use the optical fibre to transmit the signal from the
transmitter to the receiver without changing the
settings of part 1). Note down the observation.

The experiment is composed of four parts.

Part A
Optical cables and connectors
If an optical fibre is pointed towards a light source
such as room lighting, sunlight or LED, you will
see that the light travels down the cable and comes
out at the other end of the fibre. To confirm whether
this effect is true you can interrupt the light going
into the fibre by passing your finger repeatedly
across the end of the fibre, and you will see that
there is no light coming out on the other end of the
fibre.
Part B
Analogue transmission
This part consists of six sub-parts
1) radio signal over Free - Space
Switch on both the transmitter and the receiver,
switch both over to analogue (the red diode
indicates whether the transmitter and receiver is on
or off).
Turn on the FM radio and tune in to a clear signal,
then connect the earphone socket of the radio to the
low Z (low impedance) of the transmitter using
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3) Using the output indicator as the transmitting

device
The output indicator on the transmitter emits the
same signal as the main diode on the transmitter.
This can be demonstrated by disconnecting the
fibre from the transmitter and holding closer to the
output indicator on the transmitter. Turn output
power on transmitter and analogue gain on receiver
to max. Note down the observation.
4) Voice signal over system
The demonstration of 1) and 2) can also be carried
out by connecting the microphone into the high Z
(high impedance) socket of the transmitter, with the
radio disconnected. Tap on the microphone and
note down the observation.
5) Listening to light
Remove the microphone from the transmitter and
connect to the oscilloscope. Remove the optical
fibre from the transmitter and point in the direction
of an electric light.
Measurement to be taken:- measure the frequency
of the main hum heard at the loudspeaker by
using a microphone and oscilloscope.
6) Optical feedback
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Remove the optical fibre from the receiver. Using

an electrical cable, connect the high Z of the
transmitter to the high Z of the receiver. Place the
receiver in a way that the receiver diode is facing
the emitting diode of the transmitter. A noise will
be heard at the loudspeaker, and the frequency and
intensity can be varied by positioning the cable end
or altering the receiver analogue gain.

2) Communications using internal digital signal

generator
For this part of the experiment, instead of
transmitting a morse signal, the internal pseudorandom signal source may be used. For this, the
transmitter rotary switch has to be turned onto
Pseudo-random signal and turn down the signal
generator frequency control to minimum.

Why the noise was heard?

Demonstration of infrared radiation
A diffraction pattern is produced by placing a
diffraction grating in front of the transmitters
infrared source. To see the pattern visually set the
transmitted signal to square wave and you will
observe the position of maxima and minima on the
oscilloscope.
Part C

Part D
Optical-fibre attenuation measurements
1) Standard measurement I
Loss, called attenuation for a length of fibre is
defined by equation (1), which was given in the
script by the instructor. The optical power loss in
any optical component such as fibre-optic cable,
connector or device housing, is measured in decibel
(dB).

Digital transmission:- 1) Morse communications

Set the transmitter to digital operator. Turn the
rotary switch to the TTL/CONTACT/MORSE
position. Set the output power maximum and the
analogue/digital of the receiver to digital. Put the
digital threshold sensitivity control at a midway
position. Turn on the buzzer switch and connect an
optical cable between the transmitter and receiver.
Observe what happens when you depress the
MORSE key and also when you direct the digital
receiver towards the light source?

P(in)

Loss = 10 log10 P(out)

P(in) = optical power into the component

P(out) = optical power out of the component
As explained in the introduction, loss calculations
are essential in determining whether a
transmitter/receiver pair will function properly
over a particular route. Calculate the total loss for
the two following optical routes:
Route 1

a) Demonstrate the commutation of a morse signal

through free space

20m of fibre at 1dB

per meter

Remove the interconnecting fibre and position the

receiver and the transmitter so that they are facing
each other. Leave the output power to maximum
and set the digital threshold sensitivity as high as
ambient light allows.

4 connectors at 3dB
per connectors

Deduce what is the maximum transmission

distance? How does this compare to the maximum
transmission distance achievable in the analogue
demonstration of part A 1)?
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(1)

Loss

Total loss (dB)

Route 2

Loss

50m of fibre at 0.3dB

per meter

Turn the transmitter onto square wave and set the

signal generator frequency control to maximum.

4 connectors at 3bB
per connector

Step D
Switch the receiver onto analogue and turn the
receivers analogue gain down to minimum and
turn off the loudspeaker. Connect an oscilloscope
to the high Z socket of the receiver with phonoto-crocodile clip cable.

Total loss (dB)

Which of these routes would result in a more viable

system?
For an attenuation measuring apparatus where a
linear optical detection system is used (i.e if the
amplitude of the output voltage of the detector is
directly proportional to the input optical intensity)
then the loss of a route is calculated using equation
(2).
V(in)

Loss = 10 log10 V(out)

The Fibre-Optics Educator, in conjunction with an

oscilloscope can be used to measure the attenuation
of a fibre-optics route.
The following steps A and B are carried out
initially to ensure that there is no optical overload
at the receiver.
Step A
Set the receiver to digital operation and reduce the
threshold sensitivity to a minimum
Step B
Set the transmitter to digital operation and set the
emitting diode to a continuous ON by switching
onto CMOS and leaving the CMOS terminal
unconnected. Set output power to maximum and
connect 1m optical fibre between the transmitter
and the receiver. This 1m length of cable must have
flat, clean ends in order to achieve a good
measurement accuracy. Reduce the transmitter
output power level until the receivers digital
indicator light just goes off.

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Step F
Now replace the 1m cable with the 5m cable and
read off the peak-to-peak voltage (V0).

(2)

2) Standard measurement II

Step C

Step E
With the 1m cable connected between transmitter
and the receiver, measure the peak-to-peak voltage
(Vref)

Step G
The attenuation of the route is calculated using
equation (3)
attenutaion = 10 log10

(0 2 2 )

(3)

Measurements to be taken: measure Vref for short

cable and V0 for long cable, using those values
calculate the attenuation- equation (3).
Repeat steps A to G using the digital multimeter
with 200mV a.c. scale in place of the oscilloscope.
Measurement when detector is at saturation
Previous measurements have been based on the
assumption that the amplitude of the output voltage
of the detector is directly proportional to the input
optical intensity. If the intensity of the incoming
light is high enough this assumption will no longer
hold true.
Repeat steps A to G, except this time in Step B, set
the transmitter output power level to maximum.
How do your attenuation measurements differ
when the detector is saturated?
Results and discussion

For part A of the experiment, it was noted that the

light intensity observed on the other end of the fibre
varied depending upon how close the light source
was to the end of the fibre. It was also observed that
the light intensity depends on an angle (i.e at what
angle or how the fibre was oriented to the light
source).
For part B 1) To demonstrate that the signal was
transmitted from the infrared light emitting diode,
we placed the transmitter and the receiver at right
angle to each other and the result was, no noise was
heard as expected . With the help of the mirror by
positioning at varies places, we managed to reflect
the light into receiver and the sound was heard
again as predicted.
For part B 2) The signal was much clear and
stronger with optical fibre than part A 1) method.
This shows that the signal is less attenuated in
optical fiber than in air.
Part B 3) The closer the fibre to the output
indicator, clear and stronger the signal. We varied
the distance between the fibre and the output
indicator and it was observed that the signal varied
as well. (The signal weaken with increasing
distance between the fibre and output indicator).
Part B 4) Tapping on the microphone was heard as
expected, but we could not hear the music played
on the microphone as it was malfunctioning.
Part B 5) When the fibre was pointed towards the
room light, the average time measured on the
oscilloscope was (1.3 5.0) ms (t1 and t2 were 1.25
ms, 1.35ms). The frequency was calculated to be
(769 0.03) Hz, when compared to the mains (i.e.
50 Hz), the response as can be seen was enormous.
We compute that this was due to the background
interference, mainly high frequency interference.
To confirm that this was the case and there wasnt
any systematic or random error , we decided to
work out the frequency response of the LED
charger. We connected the LED charger to the
Mains and pointed the fibre towards it. We
measured the average time on the oscilloscope to
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be (8.0 5.0)ms (t1 and t2 were 7.75 ms, 8.25ms)

and the frequency was deduced to be (125 0.03)
Hz. Again it was huge but it was consistent
compared to that of the room light. This indeed
confirmed that the anomalous was due to
background interference.
Part B 6) The noise heard was due to the optical
feedback, since the analogue indicator is driven by
a voltage signal that is produced by the receiver
amplifier. When the light of this indicator is
directed into the input fibre, this completes the
loop.
The maxima and minima observed on the
oscilloscope was due to the diffraction
phenomenon. Diffraction occurs when the
wavelength of the light is equal to the width of the
grating. This diffraction corresponds to the wave
nature of light.
Part C 1) On depressing the morse key, the
transmitter emits radiation i.e the output indicator
will go on, and the receiver buzzer and the digital
indicator will be turned on. A morse message may
be communicated through the system.
The digital receiver was activated (turned on) when
it was directed towards the light source because
pointing the receiver diode or fibre connected to the
receiver, towards the light source of adequate
intensity is detected by the receiver.
We decided to measure the maximum transmission
distance, and was measured to be ( 66 0.1) cm.
a) The maximum transmission distance measured
through free space was (23 0.1) cm in the
presence of the background light. The experiment
was carried out in the dark room in order to reduce
the background light and the maximum
transmission distance measured in dark room (in
the absence of background light) was (18.85 0.1)
cm.
For part D 1) the following are the results
obtained for this part of the experiment.
Route 1

Loss
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20m of fibre at 1dB

per meter

20dB

4 connectors at 3dB
per connectors

12dB

Total loss (dB)

32dB

Route 2

Loss

50m of fibre at 0.3dB

per meter

15dB

4 connectors at 3bB
per connector

12dB

Total loss (dB)

27dB

Bibliography
[1] Fibre optic basics,
http://www.newport.com/Fiber-OpticBasics/978863/1033/content.aspx
[2] Optical fibre,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber
[3] Young, H. D., Freedman, R. A., Ford, A. L., &
Sears, F. W. (2012). Sears and zemansky's
university physics with modern physics plus
MasteringPhysics with etext (access card
package): With modern physics. Boston,
[Mass.]: Addison-Wesley.

As can be seen from the above results, the total loss

of route 2 is less compared to route 1, therefore
route 2 is more viable system.
For part D 2) the attenuation value calculated using
equation (3) was 1.87 dB and using multimeter it
was found to be 1.93 dB ( values of Vref and V0 used
to calculate attenuation is given in appendix).
The attenuation value measured when the detector
was at saturation was 0.67 dB and using multimeter
it was found to be 0.593 dB ( values of Vref and V0
used to calculate attenuation is given in appendix).
By comparing the value of the attenuation when the
detector at saturation to the value before saturation,
it can be seen that the loss is greater before
saturation.
Conclusion
Optical fibres have many advantages as it was
addressed in this report, due to which the use of
optical fibre have grown vastly in computer
systems as well as telecommunication networks.
The maximum transmission distance that
we measured through free space was (23 0.1) cm
in the presence of the background light and in the
absence of background light was (18.85 0.1) cm.
Mitul Patel

Appendix
For part B 5) the values used to calculate the
attenuation are as follows:
With oscilloscope
Vref = (0.2 0.04)V
V0 = (0.13 0.01)V
VA = (2.0 1.0) mV
With multimeter
Vref = (111.8 0.1) mV
V0 = (71.7 0.1) mV
VA = (1.0 1.0) mV
The values used to calculate attenuation when the
detector is at saturation are as follows:
with oscilloscope
Vref = (0.70 0.01)V
V0 = (0.60 0.01)V
VA = (2.0 1.0) mV
with multimeter
Vref = (0.321 0.001)V
V0 = (0.280 0.001)V
VA = (1.0 1.0) mV

Mitul Patel