Ch2 Optical communication

The telecommunications technology continuous to evolve and the need for

transmission media that satisfy the need of high transmission speed and capacity
leads to use optical fiber rather than previous transmission medium such as coaxial
.cables
The optical fiber consist core, cladding and coat. The core is the medium where the
light is propagatein, which is made from pure glass (silica) with specific refractive
. index, the cladding is made from silica too but with less refractive index
A ray of light travels more slowly in an optically dense medium than in one less
dense. Refraction occurs when a ray is incident on the interface between two
dielectrics of differing refractive indices (eg. Glass and air) . As shown in figure
2.1(a) ,the ray approaching the interface is propagating in a dielectric of refractive
index n1 and angle 1 to the normal of the surface of the interface. Suppose the
dielectric on the other side has a refractive index n 2 which is less than n1 , then the
refraction is such that the ray path in this medium at angle 2 to the normal , where
2 is greater than 1.

Figure 2.1 Light rays incident on a high to low refractive index interface : (a)
refraction; (b) the limiting case of refraction showing the critical ray at an angle c;
(c) total internal reflection where =c.

The angles of incidence and reflection are related to each other by Snell's law which
states that :
n1sin 1= n2sin 2
or :
sin 1/ sin 2= n2/ n1
As n1 is greater than n2 ,the refraction angle is always greater than the incidence
angle. When the angle of refraction is 90 ,the refracted ray propagates horizontally
in parallel to the interface between dielectrics , the angle of incidence must be less
than 90 , this limit is known as critical angle and has the symbol c . Referring to
Snell's law the value of the critical angle is given by [3]:
sinc= n2/ n1
When a ray is incident on a dielectric of lower index from a dielectric of higher index
and the angle of incidence of the ray exceeds the critical value then a total
internal reflection will occur [4] .
In order to achieve the total internal reflection in the core of the fiber so the ray will
propagate in a correct way through the core without refraction and at minimum loss,
the ray must enter the core with an angle less than the acceptance angle, this angle
which is shown in figure 2.2 takes a shape of cone so its called Acceptance Cone.

Figure 2.2 The acceptance angle a when launching light into an optical fiber .[5]

The numerical aperture gives the relationship between the acceptance angle and
the refraction indices for the core , cladding and the medium between the light
source and the head of the core , and it's given by :
NA = n0 sin a = (n1-n2)1/2

Or it might be given in terms of the relative refractive index difference between

the core and the cladding :
NA=n1(2 )1/2
Where :
=n12-n22/2n12

optical fiber system 2.1

As shown in the figure 2.1, the transmission system of optical fiber consist of
encoding, transmitting and receiving. The message is sent through electrical cables
to the encoder which converts the message to on/off digitized pulses of light. The
decoder receives the digitized pulses and converts the light wave to electrical
waves, then reconstructed to the original message.

Figure 2.1 Basic Components of Optical Fiber System.

2.2 light source

The main purpose of the light source is to convert the electrical signals into optical
signals to be transmitted through the fiber. There are two major types of light
sources that widely used in optical communications , light emitting diode and laser
diode .

Light emitting diode

The light emitting diode (LED) is cheap , popular and used in short range
communications that work at low bit rates ( up to 125Mbits/s) like local area
networks (LAN Networks) . usually works at wavelengths 850 nm and 1300 nm . The
light emitting diode based on p-n-junction theory ,when a current is passing through
the diode a light is emitted as photons .

Laser diode
principle of working is as same as the light emitting diode but the difference is in
the way that the light is emitted ,the stimulated photons is amplified then emitted
and that requires two conditions : stimulation source and a narrow band to confine
photons , so the number of photons in the laser is greater than that in led so the
emitted power is relatively higher . The laser is very sensitive to the temperature
changes and the reflected light from the fiber so that must be in consideration
before using .
2.3 Detectors
Detectors acts an opposite function of light emitters. They convert optical signals
back into electrical signals. The semiconductor photodiode is the most common
detector, which produces current in response to incident light. Detectors operation
is based on the principle of the p-n junction. An incident photon striking the diode
gives an electron in the valence band sufficient energy to move to the conduction
band, creating a free electron and a hole. If the creation of these carriers occurs in a
depleted region, the carriers will quickly separate and create a current. As they
reach the edge of the depleted area, the electrical forces diminish and current
ceases. While the p-n diodes are insufficient detectors for fiber optic systems,
both PIN photodiodes and avalanche photodiode (APDs) are designed to
compensate for the drawbacks of the p-n diode.
Pin photodiode
A p-n diode's deficiencies are related to the fact that the depletion area (active
detection area) is small, many electron-hole pairs recombine before they can create

a current in the external circuit. In the PIN photodiode, the depleted region is made
as large as possible. A lightly doped intrinsic layer separates the more heavily
doped p-types and n-types. The diode's name comes from the layering of these
materials positive, intrinsic, negative PIN.
Avalanche photo diode
The free electrons and holes created by absorbed photons, accelerate, gaining
several electron Volts of kinetic energy. A collision of these fast carriers with neutral
atoms causes the accelerated carriers to use some of their own energy to help the
bound electrons break out of the valence shell. Free electron-hole pairs, called
secondary carriers, appear. Collision ionization is the name for the process that
creates these secondary carriers. As primary carriers create secondary carriers, the
secondary carriers themselves accelerate and create new carriers. Collectively, this
process is known as photomultiplication.
Also, APDs are very temperature sensitive, further complicating circuit
requirements. In general, APDs are only useful for digital systems because they
possess very poor linearity. Because of the added circuit complexity and the high
voltages that the parts are subjected to, APDs are always less reliable than PIN
detectors. This, added to the fact that at lower data rates, PIN detector-based
receivers can almost match the performance of APD-based receivers, makes PIN
detectors the first choice for most deployed low-speed systems. At multi Gbit data
rates, however, APDs rule supreme.

2.4 modes
There are two types of propagation mode in fiber optics cable which are multi-mode
and single-mode. These provide different performance with respect to both
attenuation and time dispersion. The single-mode fiber optic cable provides the
better performance at a higher cost. The number of modes in a fiber optic cable
depends upon the dimensions of the cable and the variation of the indices of
refraction of both core and cladding across the cross section. There are three
principal possibilities which are multi-mode step index, single-mode step index and
multi-mode graded index.

Single mode step index

Single-mode propagation is illustrated in figure 2.2 . This diagram corresponds to
single-mode propagation with a refractive index profile that is called step index. As
the figure shows, the diameter of the core is fairly small relative to the cladding.
Because of this, when light enters the fiber-optic cable on the left, it propagates
down toward the right in just a single ray, a single mode, which is the lowest-order
mode. In extremely simple terms, this lowest-order mode is confined to a thin
cylinder around the axis of the core. The higher-order modes are absent.

Figure 2.2 Single-mode step index.

Multi mode step index
Consider the illustration in Figure 2.3 . This diagram corresponds to multimode
propagation with a refractive index profile that is called step index. As you can see,
the diameter of the core is fairly large relative to the cladding. There is also a sharp
discontinuity in the index of refraction as you go from core to cladding. As a result,
when light enters the fiber-optic cable on the left, it propagates down toward the
right in multiple rays or multiple modes. This yields the designation multimode. As
indicated, the lowest-order mode travels straight down the center. It travels along
the cylindrical axis of the core. The higher modes, represented by rays, bounce back
and forth, going down the cable to the left. The higher the mode, the more bounces
per unit distance down to the right.

Figure 2.3 Multimode step index.

Multi mode graded index

Multimode graded index fiber has a higher refractive index in the core that
gradually reduces as it extends from the cylindrical axis outward. The core and
cladding are essentially a single graded unit. Consider the illustration in Figure 2.4 .
This corresponds to multimode propagation with a refractive index profile that is
called graded index. Here the variation of the index of refraction is gradual as it
extends out from the axis of the core through the core to the cladding. There is no
sharp discontinuity in the indices of refraction between core and cladding. The core
here is much larger than in the single-mode step index case previously discussed.
Multimode propagation exists with a graded index. As illustrated, however, the
paths of the higher-order modes are somewhat confined. They appear to follow a
series of ellipses. Because the higher-mode paths are confined, the attenuation
through them due to leakage is more limited than with a step index. The time
dispersion is more limited than with a step index; therefore, attenuation and time
dispersion are present, but limited.

Figure 2.6 Multimode graded index

2.5 attenuation and dispersion

Attenuation is a major problem in the optical transmission system which is

defined as how much power loss in the optical fiber and is normally
expressed in dB/Km. Several factors can cause attenuation, but it is
generally categorized as either intrinsic loss due to the impurities in the
glass or extrinsic due to external forces such as bending.

Dispersion describes how the optical fiber deforms the light pulses travelling
through the fiber and is one of the most important factors limiting the bandwidth.
To achieve a reliable transmission of light an optical fiber with low attenuation and
.dispersion is used

Ch 3 DWDM
The optical communications continuous to evolve and the need to increase the
transmission speed and capacity ; consequently , this leads to use a new technique as
.WDM
Looking back to the previous methods of increasing transmission capacity and
speed , installing a new cables or increasing system bit rate to multiplex more
signals were used. As technology evolve these techniques were not suitable for the
increasing need of speed and capacity so wdm is developed .
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is a technology which multiplexes a number
of optical carrier signals onto a single optical fiber by using different wavelengths. It
enables bidirectional communications over one strand of fiber, and a multiplication
of the capacity of transmission . In other words , It is a technique for using a fiber (or
optical device) to carry many separate and independent optical channels, each
channel consists of light of a different color. Thus a WDM system transmits a
rainbow. Actually at the wavelengths involved the light is invisible but its a good
way of describing the principle.[45]
WDM systems are divided into different wavelength patterns, conventional or
course(CWDM) and dense (DWDM). Conventional WDM systems provide up to 8
channels. Dense wavelength division multiplexing provides more channels with
dense spacing.

wdm system 2.1

The transmission system consists of optical transmitters, optical multiplexer, optical
Pemultiplexer, amplifiers and receivers. The optical multiplexer multiplexes the light
from the optical sources , the amplifier amplifies the optical signal and the
Demultiplexer separate the optical signal back to the original wavelengths. As shown
. in figure

Figure wdm system

DWDM 2.2
DWDM refers originally to optical signals multiplexed within the 1550 nm band so as
to leverage the capabilities of erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which are
effective for wavelengths between approximately 15251565 nm (C band), or 1570
1610 nm (L band). The difference between WDM and dense wavelength division
multiplexing (DWDM) is one of degree only. DWDM spaces the wavelengths more
closely than WDM, and therefore DWDM has a greater overall capacity. The full
capacity is not precisely known, and probably has not been reached. DWDM can
amplify all the wavelengths at once without first converting them to electrical signals
and can carry signals of different speeds and types simultaneously and transparently
over fiber, meaning DWDM provides protocol and bit rate independence.
DWDM components
A basic Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing main components is: DWDM Terminal
Multiplexer: This device contains a one wavelength converting transponder for each
wavelength carried. It receives an input optical signal, converts it to an electrical
signal and then retransmits it as an optical signal using a 1550 nm laser beam. The
MUX (multiplexer) takes a number of 1550 nm optical signals and places them on a
single optical fiber. This terminal multiplexer may also contain an EDFA (Erbium
Doped Fiber Amplifier) to amplify the optical signal. Intermediate Line Repeater:

These are amplifiers placed every 80 to 100 kilometers to compensate for loss of
optical power; amplification is done by an EDFA, usually consisting of several
amplifier stages. DWDM Terminal Demultiplexer: This device breaks the multi-wave
signal back into individual signals. Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC): This channel
carries information about the multi-wave optical signal and may provide data about
conditions at the site of the intermediate line repeater (component 2 above). DWDM
is sometimes called wave division multiplexing (WDM) and WDM is growing denser as
the technology evolves.
Between multiplexing and demultiplexing points in a DWDM system, there is an area
in which multiple wavelengths exist. It is often necessary to remove or insert one or
more wavelengths at some point along this span. An optical add/drop multiplexer
(OADM) performs this removal or insertion function, figure. Rather than combining or
separating all wavelengths, the OADM can remove one while passing others on.
Since DWDM system is very effective for dispersion and attenuation, erbium-doped
fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are used to overcome this problems. EDFAs are silica based
optical fibers that are doped with erbium. This rare earth element has the
appropriate energy levels in its atomic structure for amplifying light at 1550 nm. A
980 nm "pump" laser is used to inject energy into the doped fiber. When a weak
signal at 1310 nm or 1550 nm enters the fiber, the light stimulates the rare earth
atoms to release their stored energy as additional 1310 nm or 1550 nm light. This
process continues as the signal passes down the fiber, continually growing stronger.
DWDM system must have Laser sources with stable wavelengths , narrow linewidth
and tunable , using low loss optical fiber and flat gain amplifiers to boost the signal on
.longer spans

DWDM Impairments
Cross talk

Crosstalk is critically important in DWDM systems because of dense

channels. When signals from one channel arrive in another they become
noise in the other channel. This can have serious effects on the signal-tonoise ratio and hence on the error rate of the system. Crosstalk is usually
quoted as the worst case condition, this is where the signal in one channel
.is right at the edge of its allowed band
Frequency Drift
DWDM systems have to maintain stable wavelength or frequency because of
the closer spacing of the wavelengths. Precision temperature control of laser

transmitter is required in DWDM systems to prevent "drift" off a very narrow

frequency window of the order of a few GHz. There are another impairments
that effect the DWDM system like cross phase modulation, fourwave
.mixing ,noise, dispersion, scattering ..etc
3.4 ITU-T Grid
An ITU-T standard is a threshold set by the international telecommunication union
for the telecommunication industry to ensure efficient service delivery among its
members. The ITU-T is the primary body that is tasked with creating cooperative
standards for firms in the telecommunications equipment and systems industry. For
WDM system interoperability, the operating center frequency (wavelength) of
channels must be the same at the transmitting end and the receiving end. The ITU-T
currently recommends 81 channels in the C band starting from 1528.77 nm and
incrementing in multiples of 50 GHz to 1560.61 nm. Table 3-1 lists the ITU
.frequencies and wavelengths

Table 3-1 ITU Grid

Freque Wavele Freque Wavele Freque Wavele Freque Wavele
ncy
ngth
ncy
ngth
ncy
ngth
ncy
ngth
(THz)
(nm)
(THz)
(nm)
(THz)
(nm)
(THz)
(nm)
196.100

1528.77

195.050

1537.00

194.000

1545.32

192.950

1553.73

196.075

1528.97

195.025

1537.20

193.975

1545.52

192.925

1553.93

196.050

1529.16

195.000

1537.40

193.950

1545.72

192.900

1554.13

196.025

1529.36

194.975

1537.59

193.925

1545.92

192.875

1554.34

196.000

1529.55

194.950

1537.79

193.900

1546.12

192.850

1554.54

195.975

1529.75

194.925

1537.99

193.875

1546.32

192.825

1554.74

195.950

1529.94

194.900

1538.19

193.850

1546.52

192.800

1554.94

195.925

1530.14

194.875

1538.38

193.825

1546.72

192.775

1555.14

195.900

1530.33

194.850

1538.58

193.800

1546.92

192.750

1555.34

195.875

1530.53

194.825

1538.78

193.775

1547.12

192.725

1555.55

195.850

1530.72

194.800

1538.98

193.750

1547.32

192.700

1555.75

195.825

1530.92

194.775

1539.17

193.725

1547.52

192.675

1555.95

195.800

1531.12

194.750

1539.37

193.700

1547.72

192.650

1556.15

195.775

1531.31

194.725

1539.57

193.675

1547.92

192.625

1556.35

195.750

1531.51

194.700

1539.77

193.650

1548.11

192.600

1556.55

195.725

1531.70

194.675

1539.96

193.625

1548.31

192.575

1556.76

195.700

1531.90

194.650

1540.16

193.600

1548.51

192.550

1556.96

195.675

1532.09

194.625

1540.36

193.575

1548.71

192.525

1557.16

195.650

1532.29

194.600

1540.56

193.550

1548.91

192.500

1557.36

195.625

1532.49

194.575

1540.76

193.525

1549.11

192.475

1557.57

195.600

1532.68

194.550

1540.95

193.500

1549.32

192.450

1557.77

195.575

1532.88

194.525

1541.15

193.475

1549.52

192.425

1557.97

195.550

1533.07

194.500

1541.35

193.450

1549.72

192.400

1558.17

195.525

1533.27

194.475

1541.55

193.425

1549.92

192.375

1558.38

195.500

1533.47

194.450

1541.75

193.400

1550.12

192.350

1558.58

195.475

1533.66

194.425

1541.94

193.375

1550.32

192.325

1558.78

195.450

1533.86

194.400

1542.14

193.350

1550.52

192.300

1558.98

195.425

1534.05

194.375

1542.34

193.325

1550.72

192.275

1559.19

195.400

1534.25

194.350

1542.54

193.300

1550.92

192.250

1559.39

195.375

1534.45

194.325

1542.74

193.275

1551.12

192.225

1559.59

195.350

1534.64

194.300

1542.94

193.250

1551.32

192.200

1559.79

195.325

1534.84

194.275

1543.13

193.225

1551.52

192.175

1560.00

195.300

1535.04

194.250

1543.33

193.200

1551.72

192.150

1560.20

195.275

1535.23

194.225

1543.53

193.175

1551.92

192.125

1560.40

195.250

1535.43

194.200

1543.73

193.150

1552.12

192.100

1560.61

192.225

1535.63

194.175

1543.93

193.125

1552.32

192.075

1560.81

192.200

1535.82

194.150

1544.13

193.100

1552.52

192.050

1561.01

192.175

1536.02

194.125

1544.33

193.075

1552.73

192.025

1561.22

192.150

1536.22

194.100

1544.53

193.050

1552.93

191.000

1561.42

192.125

1536.41

194.075

1544.72

193.025

1553.13

191.975

1561.62

192.100

1536.61

194.050

1544.92

193.000

1553.33

191.950

1561.83

192.075

1536.81

194.025

1545.12

192.975

1553.53

191.925

1562.03

191.900

1562.23