FIBER OPTICS

Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar

Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Lecture: 1
Introduction

Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 1

INTRODUCTION
Fiber-Optic Communication is the most modern and advanced mode of data
communication which has very recent roots dating back to not more than 40 years
ago. Communication Scientists all over the world were in an incessant search of a
wideband and low-loss medium of data communication which could be used at high
data rates with the least amount of lost possible. This constant search, for such a
medium, led to development of optical fiber communication. Let us have a quick
glimpse into history of communication.

HISTORY
The first revolution in the field of communication came when Sir Alexander
Graham Bell successfully converted voice signals into electrical signals which were
transmitted on electrical wires and then converted back to voice signals. This was
the major break-through in the field of communication. Right from this time there has
been a continuously increasing need of bandwidth for communication due to
continuously increasing number of users. More people wanted to communicate and
thus large bandwidths were required thereby forcing communication scientists to
look for new possibilities. This increasing trend, of need of large bandwidths, even
continues today.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

Fig.1.1: Electromagnetic Spectrum

Initial communications started at lower operating frequencies of about 30MHz.
The bandwidths then required were also low. Since then the operating frequencies
have drastically increased due to large requirements in bandwidths. Let us take a
look into the electromagnetic spectrum to get an idea of our discussion.

Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 2

The medium of transmission that were used for operating frequencies upto
about 1GHz were coaxial cables in which there was a centre conductor surrounded
by a layer of dielectric material and the dielectric material was surrounded by outer
metallic layer. The electromagnetic energy travelled, along the lengths of these
cables and was confined in between the two metallic layers. These cables had a loss
figure of about 20db/km. When operating frequencies increased further the coaxial
cables proved to be inadequate and lossy, thereby giving rise to the need of another
medium called waveguides. These are basically hollow structures which guide the
electromagnetic energy from one point to another through them. But as the operating
frequency further increased to few hundreds of gigahertz these waveguides too
proved to be inadequate as there were no supporting electronic circuitry available
that could operate at such high frequencies. The reason behind this was that at such
high frequencies, even the size of the electronic component started to show some
variations in the circuit behaviour and the electronic components could no longer be
treated as lumped elements. Hence this led to a strong need of a search for other
alternatives because though there seemed to have appeared a halt in the available
technology, but there did not appear any halt in the ever increasing demand for
bandwidth.
Scientist all over the world started to explore new possibilities and looked in
the optical domain which was already being used in laboratory experiments. The
idea was that, if the already well-established relationship between bandwidth (BW)
and operating frequency (f0) held good at optical frequencies then we would emerge
with a new option for communication that would increase the existing bandwidth by
1000 to 10,000 times. Thorough investigations showed that optical domain had the
potentiality to be used for communication. Two very obvious questions then come to
the mind that whether or not there are transmitters and receivers available for this
new communication technology and the second question as to whether or not there
exists such a wideband and loss-less medium for carrying optical signals.
On the very first look, both the questions seem trivial. This is because we
already have a lot of sources of light in our day to day life, for e.g. incandescent
bulbs, gas bulbs, LEDs, fluorescent lamps, etc. Then why worry about sources?
Similarly, the second question also has a very obvious answer. The bright light from
the sun, that is millions of light-years away from us, reaches us, even through
vacuum (in space) and also the earths atmosphere. Thus air seems to be a very
efficient medium for light propagation. Then why need a special medium for optical
signals? But though the questions seem simple to be answered, they are not so.
A normal incandescent bulb emits light in all directions. If we keep an
incandescent bulb glowing on the roof-top and slowly move away from it, we will see
its glow from even a kilometre or may be 10Km. But if we go beyond that we will
observe its brightness fade away and after some distance it practically becomes
invisible from view. Thus we see that though we feel that the air is a very efficient
medium of light, its efficiency reduces to zero after a few kilometres. Hence we
cannot accept air medium as we earlier thought, because in the field of
communication we do not talk about only a hundred kilometres but about thousands
of kilometres. Thus this notion incurs the need for special medium to carry light over
such long distances. With this need in mind the next option in the list was glass
which also appeared to be a very transparent medium and was perhaps already put
to use in laboratory experiments to carry light. Physicists have already been using
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 3

glass in the form of prisms or lenses for guiding and focussing lights in different
experiments in the laboratories. However, when glass was used in the laboratory for
guiding or focussing light, we again here are talking about distances which may be of
the order of few meters only, over which the light was carried. And whatever loss
glass has, it is reasonably small over such small distances. So the question is that if
glass is used as a medium to carry light over the distances that are required for
communication will it provide a low-loss medium and also satisfy the requirements of
a reliable communication? A yes would have eased job already. But unfortunately
the answer to this question is no. The reason for such disappointment is that when
experiments were carried out over the loss characteristics of glass, it was found that
glass had a very high attenuation of about 1000 dB/Km. Thus glass, which appears
to be so transparent to us, is practically not so. This means that if light is sent over a
glass rod then it would attenuate by 1000 dB over a distance of just 1 Km. So on the
first look, glass seemed to be very inefficient in being used as a medium for optical
communications though it served the requirements of laboratory experiments. But
deep study and experimentations on the nature of glass brought a very interesting
notion to the scientists that, the loss figure of 1000 dB/Km of glass was not due to
the intrinsic nature of glass. Or in other words, high loss was not a characteristic of
glass as a substance and was not because of the glass molecules. In fact, the loss
was due to the impurities present in the glass. These impurities were not removed
from the laboratory-used glass prisms and lenses because their presence did not
bring any error in the measurements. As soon as this was realised, glass began to
be manufactured to the best possible purity with the best possible available
manufacturing technology in the early 60s. On the first purification, glass that was
manufactured had a loss figure of about 20dB/Km. Although this loss today still
seems to be large, but in those times it was comparable to the other already
available communication mediums like waveguides and coaxial cables. That is to
say, if we used a purified glass rod as a communication medium it would provide
almost the same loss (of about a factor of 100) as would a coaxial cable or a
waveguide too would do, but at bandwidths 1000 to 10000 times larger than them.
Thus it attracted scientists to explore this new medium further. Perhaps, this was the
reason for moulding glass into the form of fibers (called optical fibers) that are used
for optical communication today.
The second question now to be answered was about the availability of a
source of light. Superficially, this is a very simple question to be even answered. This
triviality is because we see so many different sources of light in our day-to-day life
that they seem almost omnipresent. For example, incandescent bulbs, tube lights,
fluorescent lights etc. The question now is, whether or not an ordinary electric bulb
can be used to carry or transmit information. Carrier signal in a communication
system carries information by virtue of a variation in one or more of its characteristics
like amplitude, frequency or time period. Thus if we have a source whose amplitude
and frequency do not change with time, this source cannot be used to carry
information. If we want to use the electric bulb as a source we need to change the
amplitude or the frequency (or both) of the light emitted by it. The question now, is
how difficult it is to do so. Investigations showed that the rate at which an electric
bulb can be switched ON and OFF, in accordance with the information signal, is not
fast enough. In other words, the frequency of operation can only be upto a few
cycles. Clearly then, if we want our bandwidths to be large, these bulbs and tube
lights are not suitable sources.
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 4

The rate at which an optical signal source can be turned ON and OFF
depends on the spectral width of the source. This means, if we investigate a source
which has a very large spectral width (say for example, white light) we would find
that this source has very small operating frequency. In other words, in order to have
a source which can be operated at optical signal frequencies its spectral width
should be as narrow as possible.
Co-incidentally enough, LASERs happened to be invented almost during the
same time as the search for narrow spectral sources was in progress. LASERs
happened to have sufficiently narrow spectral widths and high beam directivity,
adequate to be used as optical signal sources. So we then had a compatibility of
optical media like and optical sources. Initial LASERDs emitted lights of wavelengths
of about 800 nm. And so, initial optical communications started with 800 nm
wavelength due to which it was called the First Optical Window of optical
communication.
The above discussion, hence, gives a very brief introduction to a very
interesting and fascinating communication technology called the Optical
Communication. With this backdrop of information, the next obvious query would be
concerning the structure of an optical communication link. An optical communication
link is no different from any other communication links. It too has the three basic
modules transmitter, receiver and the channel or medium of communication. A
typical optical communication link is shown in figure 1.2.

Fig. 1.2: Basic model of an Optical Communication Link

The electrical signal, which may be a transduced audio, video or any data
signal, is fed into the transmitter module as input to a driver circuitry. The internal
circuitry of the transmitter module converts the data signal from the electrical domain
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 5

to a compatible optical domain and this optical signal is then transmitted. This signal
then travels through the optical medium which is optical fiber. In order to recover the
optical data signal from the attenuated signal on the fiber, repeaters are provided to
ensure high SNR at the output. This regenerated (recovered) signal is then
retransmitted through the fiber to reach the receiver module in the best possible form
and in the lowest possible time. The receiver module detects (receives) the
transmitted signal in the optical domain and then converts it back into the original
electrical signal to reach the intended destination.
In this course of fiber optic communication we are going to delve into the
details of the above three modules viz. transmitter, receiver and the regenerator and
also the systems that are required to be configured around these modules to get a
reliable optical communication link. First, we start with the principles of propagation
of light in an optical fiber and look through the basic conditions required for a low
loss transmission of light through the optical fiber. We also discuss the issue of
optical signal carrier generation and its modulation. We shall study the two optical
sources viz. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and the Injection LASER diodes.
Subsequently we shall move on to study optical detectors in the receiver module and
talk about signal to noise ratios of the received signals and also the various aspects
of optical fiber communication. Having understood these basic concepts of optical
communication, we shall discuss some advanced topics in optical fiber
communication like optical networking; non-linear fiber optic phenomena and also we
shall have some basic idea of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) Technology
which is used to enhance the capacity of an optical communication link. That is to
say, starting with the very basics of optical communication in the beginning we shall
move to the most advanced topics towards the end of this course.
There are certain pre-requisites that the reader is required to be well
acquainted with. First, in order to understand the propagation of optical signals in
optical media like optical fibers, the reader must me very clear with the fundamentals
of light. One must understand the nature and various characteristics of light and also
must be clear with the propagation of light in optical media. In other words, one must
know some basic concepts of propagation and characteristics of electromagnetic
waves. While discussing about the various optical sources like LASERs and LEDs,
the reader is assumed to have an understanding of the basics of elementary Physics
and semiconductor Physics. Lastly, while discussing the various aspects of optical
communication, the reader is assumed to have a basic understanding of the different
characteristics of a typical communication system like schemes of modulation,
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), Bit Error Rate (BER) etc.
TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCES
The texts and references that shall be followed during the course are listed
below:
1) Optical Fiber Communication- G. Keiser, McGraw Hill, 3rd edition 2000.
2) Fiber Optic Communication Systems- G.P. Agrawal, Wiley, New York, 2nd
edition 1997.
3) Optical Fiber Communications- J.M. Senior, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
NJ, 2nd edition 1992.
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 6

4) Optical Fiber Telecommunications-Volume-II, S.E. Miller and I.P. Kainow,

eds., Academic, New York 1988.
5) Optical Fiber Telecommunications-Volume-III, Vols. A and B, I.P. Kainow
and T.L. Koch, eds., Academic, New York 1997.
6) Fiber Optic Communications- J.C. Palais, Prentice Hall, New York, 4th
edition 1998.
7) An Introduction to Fiber Optic Systems- J. Powers, Irwin, Chicago. 2nd
edition 1997.
8) Non Linear Fiber Optics-G.P. Agrawal, Academic, New York, 2nd edition
1995.
9) Optical Networks- R. Ramaswami and K. Sivarajan, Morgan Kaufmann, San
Francisco, 1998.
10) Optical Communication Networks- B. Mukherjee, McGraw Hill, New York,
1997.
11) (a) Physics of Semiconductor Devices- S.M. Sze, Wiley, New York, 1981.
(b) Modern Semiconductor Device Physics- S.M. Sze,Wiley, New York,1988
12)Optical Electronics -A.K. Ghatak and K. Thyagrajan, Cambridge Press.
13)Introduction to Fiber Optics- A.K. Ghatak and K. Thyagrajan.
14)Handbook on Fiber Optic Communication- Allard.
15)Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices- Pallab Bhattacharya, Prentice Hall,
2nd edition 1997.

This is tentative list. As we proceed further into the course, more books may
be introduced accordingly. Therefore the syllabus of this course on Fiber Optics can
be roughly categorized under the following heads:

Optical Fibers

Optical Sources

Optical Detectors

Optical Communication Systems

Optical Networks

Advanced topics- Non Linear Fiber Optics and WDM technology.

Before summing up this introductory note on Fiber Optics, let us a very brief
comparison between the optical fiber communication (OFC) and the other available
communication technologies.
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 7

If we take transmission media into consideration, we invariably have the

following basic transmission media: Twisted pair, Coaxial Cable and Waveguides.
TWISTED PAIR (point-to-point)

Fig. 1.3: Twisted pair

A twisted pair of conductors consists of a pair of insulated conductors as
shown in figure 1.3 that are mechanically twisted along, throughout their length.
Twisted pair cables are used at low operating frequencies such as in telephone lines.
They have a low date rates of about few tens of Kbps and very high electromagnetic
interference (EMI). Twisted pair of conductors becomes extremely lossy at radio
frequencies (RF).

COAXIAL CABLE (point-to-point)

Fig. 1.4: Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cables have a cylindrical inner conductor and a coaxial outer
conductor surrounding the inner conductor with some separation between the two.
The space between the two conductors is filled with dielectric material. This
arrangement is shown in figure 1.4 above. Electromagnetic energy propagates
between the two conductors along the length of the wires. Coaxial cables are used
within a frequency range of about 30 MHz 3 GHz. Although they have a low
electromagnetic interference and show moderate loss, their bandwidths are low and
data rates are only upto a few Mbps. Coaxial cables are used as Local Area Network
(LAN) cables, Television channel distribution cable, laboratory microwave
experiments, etc.
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 8

MICROWAVE LINK (point-to-point)

As we further increase the operating frequencies coaxial cables too show
considerable losses and hence cannot be used for a reliable communication. We
then emerge with point-to-point wireless kind of link unlike the twisted pair and the
coaxial cable which are wired links. This new link is called the microwave link since
the operating frequencies lie in the microwave range.

Fig. 1.5: Microwave Link

Microwave link has large bandwidths of about a few hundred Megahertz and
can be used for long distance communication. The only drawback of this system is
that communication takes place almost along a straight line because for a directional
antenna the radiation is almost along a straight line. So the two antennas have to be
carefully aligned so as to trans-receive along this straight line called the line-of-sight.
A microwave link is shown in figure 1.5. The signal from antenna 1 travels along the
line-of-sight to antenna 2 in the form of electromagnetic waves and vice-versa. Due
to the use of free-space as the medium of transmission, there is a very high freespace loss in this kind of link. Another limitation of this link is that, due to the
curvature of the earth surface, the transmitting and receiving antennas have to be
mounted high so as to form the line-of-sight. But for a reliable communication, this
may be one of the options which have a very large bandwidth.
SATELLITE COMMUNICATION (point-multipoint)

Fig. 1.6: Satellite Communication

Another wireless link that has large bandwidth is the satellite communication
technology. A notable point in this technology is the type of this link. This is a pointFiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 9

to-multipoint type link. In other words this link is a broadcast type of communication
and so is used in broadcast applications like radio television broadcasts. One or
more ground station antennas transmit a signal to the satellite and the satellite then
broadcasts this signal to all or selected base station antennas. Hence, based on the
antenna selectivity it can also be used for point-to-point transmission too. Satellite
communication operates on microwave frequencies and hence has large bandwidths
of about few Gigahertz. The signal, which was transmitted by the ground station
antenna(s) to the satellite is also transmitted back to the transmitting antenna and is
received by it. This function allows a data monitoring capability in satellite
communication. This reduces errors in the transmission. This functionality is absent
in other point-point communication links. One of the drawbacks of satellite
communication is its large delays in signal transmissions. Delays are introduced
because the transmitted signals from the ground antennas and from the satellite
have to travel the distance from the antenna to the satellite, twice in every
transmission. The satellites are generally geo-stationary satellites which revolve
around the earth at very high altitudes and so this distance is large thereby
increasing the signal delays. One of the significant advantages of satellite
communication is that it gives the user the freedom to be mobile. In the other modes
of communication once the antennas are installed or once the cables are laid, there
is no mobility. But satellite communication being a broadcast mode of link allows the
user to be mobile within the area of electromagnetic illumination by the satellite.
Satellite communication has a moderate lifetime which is lower than the lifetime of
the other modes of communication. This is due to the moderate lifetime of a satellite
itself which may be typically ranging from 7 to 8 years.
So, if we now look for a broadband medium for transmission we find that the
two technologies viz. optical communication and the satellite communication may
compete with each other. Let us have a comparative study of these two
technologies.
Satellite Communication

Fiber Optics

Point-to-multipoint technology

Point-to-point
technology

Bandwidth ~ GHz

Bandwidth ~ THz

Maintenance-Free

Needs Maintenance

Short Life (7 to 8 Years)

Long Life

No Upgradeability

Upgradeable

Has Mobility capability. User can be mobile, may be on land, No mobility.

in water or air.

This comparative study clearly shows that the two technologies do not
compete but are rather complementary to each other. Some advantages like wide
bandwidth, Long life, upgradeability, etc. are not possible with satellite
communication, whereas other advantages like broadcasting, low maintenance,
mobility, etc. are difficult to be achieved with fiber optic technology. These two
Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 10

technologies will always co-exist due to their complementary nature. Hence, a

combination of both satellite and fiber optic technology gives the best possible data
communication system of transmission of very high quality information over
incredibly large distances.
So, with this backdrop of history and information on fiber optic technology we
will now delve further into the details of Fiber optic technology and the various issues
related to it. First, we shall discuss on the nature of light. We shall see the
characteristics of light and its propagation in a medium. Eventually, we will study the
propagation of light in an optical fiber.
Conventionally, light energy is always expressed in terms of wavelength
rather than frequency. Though there is no scientific explanation for doing so, yet we
shall adopt the same conventionality and shall talk about light in terms of
wavelength. For example, red light has a wavelength of 7000 , blue light has a
wavelength of about 4000 . So, in this course too we shall talk about light in terms
of its wavelength rather than specifying its frequency. The unit of wavelength that we
shall use will be in terms of micrometres and not the one given above for red and
blue lights.
1000 = 1micrometer (m)

So, when we shall talk about sources of light, we shall characterize them in
terms of wavelengths measured in micrometres.

Fiber Optics, Prof. R.K. Shevgaonkar, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Page 11