9/25/2016

Outline of Talk
Propagation of Light Through
Optical Fiber

Acceptance angle

Acceptance angle
Numerical aperture
Phase velocity
Group velocity
Dispersion
Attenuation

Different cones of acceptance

Lost by
radiation

Acceptance
cone

B
c for total
internal reflection

is the maximum acceptance angle to the axis of the fiber

at which light may enter into the fiber in order to propagate

Large diameter fiber

Small diameter fiber

9/25/2016

Numerical aperture (NA)

The NA defines a cone of acceptance for light that will be
guided by the fiber
Air n0

n2

Numerical aperture (NA)

Using trigonometric relationship
For total internal reflection, 1 =

a, and c

n1

n2
900

=90-2
> c

n1

At the air core interface

From the triangle ABC

Exmp. 2.1 and 2.2

Types of ray propagation in OF

Meridional ray passes
through the fiber axis

Phase Velocity and Group Velocity

Skew ray

Skew ray follows helical path in optical fiber

9/25/2016

Group Velocity

Phase Velocity

+, +

Emax

Sinusoidal variation of electric field with time and distance

t=0
A A

z1

Emax

=m

t=t1

-, -

Wave Packet

At t=0 and z=0, the amplitude of the wave vector is zero at point A
At t=t1 the point A has moved z1, the amplitude of the wave is still
zero

Phase velocity

Carrier wave travels

with phase velocity

Modulation envelop travels

with group velocity

Types of Dispersion

Dispersion & Attenuation

Material Dispersion
Modal Dispersion
Waveguide Dispersion

9/25/2016

Mathematical Expression of
Material Dispersion

Types of Dispersion
Material Dispersion
For glass material n(), i.e, n changes with or frequency
Velocity of electromagnetic wave in any medium =

If is the difference in propagation time between two

sidebands then

c/n

Changing optical path length due to a changing refractive index n1

1 2
where is the wavelength difference = 1-2

Dmat is the material dispersion coefficient then

n2

f1
n1
t
Input wave

f2

Output wave

Mathematical Expression of Material

Dispersion

For free space

For any medium with n,
Again

All optical
signals consist
of a range of
wavelengths

where =1/vg for a unit fiber length

Single mode propagation

The RI experienced by the
wave is an average of the RI of
core and cladding depending on
the relative proportion of the
wave that travels there. Thus
the wave confined within the
core, see a higher RI than
that of the cladding. Therefore,
wave in the core tend to travel
more slowly than that of
cladding. Thus signals are
dispersed (because every signal
consists of a range of
wavelengths)

9/25/2016

Waveguide Dispersion

Waveguide Dispersion

Transit time per unit length of source linewidth

Changing optical path length due to traveling the light wave

in the core and cladding with different phase constant,
which can be changed by i
With different i

i
Input light
wave

GVD=c= mat + wg

Modal Dispersion

Fiber modes
When light travels on a multimode fiber it is limited to a relatively
small number of possible paths (called modes).

i=900

i =c
n2

Core dia. large than of light

Input light
wave

Ray1(axial)
Ray2

n1

Time taken by the ray1 (axial) to travel fiber length L will be Tmin

Core dia. large than of light

.(i)
Ray2 will take maximum time to travel fiber length L, Tmax

Core dia. comparable than of light

.(ii)
Using Snells law

.(iii)

9/25/2016

Effect of Dispersion on OFC

Modal Dispersion
Substituting Eq.(ii) into Eq.(iii) we have

Short length fiber

n2

n1

The difference in arrival time between the Ray1 and Ray2 is

t
Input pulse
1

If we take Ng1/n1Ng2/n2 then dispersion per unit length

Output pulse

L1

Long length fiber

n2
n1

Input pulse

L2
No zero level

Modal dispersion per unit length

Modal dispersion is very sensitive for MM step index fiber

Output pulse

Indistinguishable pulse
Intersymbol
Interference
t

Wavelength Dependence of Dmat

Wavelength dependence of Ng and n

9/25/2016

Source of Losses in Silica OF

Losses in silica fiber are mainly occur due to

two mechanisms:

Intrinsic absorption mechanism (due to

characteristic of glass fiber)
Extrinsic absorption mechanism (due to impurities:
such as OH bonds and transition metal ions (iron,
cobalt, copper etc.))

Source of Losses in Silica OF

Intrinsic absorption loss mechanisms are:
Material absorption:
The atomic bonds associated with the core material absorb the
longer wavelength light (Si-O; 9.2 m, Ge-O; 11.0 m; P-O; 8.1; m)
Electron absorption:
In the ultraviolet region, light is absorbed in order to excite the
electron in a core atoms to a higher energy state.
Rayleigh scattering:
Due to small irregularities in the structure of the fiber core, which
are caused by density fluctuations into the glass material at
manufacture. This loss reduces with forth power of (~ -4).

Attenuation wavelength Ch. Of Glass fiber

Attenuation
(dB/Km)

Impurity
absorption

Attenuation wavelength
Ch. Of Glass fiber

100

10

Material
absorption

Electron
absorption
0.1
0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Wavelength (m)

9/25/2016

Fiber Transmission Windows

(Bands)

Fiber bending and micro bending

Cladding
Core

Lost by
radiation

Micro bending

Critical bending radius for

MM and SM fiber
For MM fiber

Bending losses may reduce:

- Large refractive index difference
- Operating at shorter wavelength

Large bending losses

occur in SM fiber at
critical bending radius

Bending radius may reduce in

SM fiber if operating wavelength
becomes shorter for a fixed c
and n

The cutoff wavelength is the shortest wavelength at which the fiber will be singlemoded. Wavelengths shorter than the cutoff will travel in multiple modes whereas
wavelengths longer than the cutoff will travel in a single mode.

Other scattering losses

Mie scattering:
Due to imperfections such as irregularities in core-cladding
interface, core-cladding refractive index differences along
the fiber length, diameter fluctuations, strains, and bubbles
Stimulated Brilloiun Scattering:
Shift in incident light frequency in the acoustic range due to
scattering process, which causes reversal of propagation
direction

Stimulated Raman Scattering:

Shift in incident light frequency in the optical range causes
attenuation

9/25/2016

Problems:
Attenuation in decibels (dB)
In OFC attenuation is usually expressed in dB/Km
Example: When the mean optical power launched into an 8 Km length of
fiber is 120 W, the mean optical power at the fiber out is 3 W.
Determine:
a) the overall signal attenuation in dB through the fiber assuming there
are no connectors or splices;
b) The signal attenuation/Km for the fiber
c) The overall signal attenuation for 10 Km optical link using the same
fiber with splices at 1 Km intervals, each giving an attenuation of 1 dB;
d) The numerical input/out power ratio in (c).
Example 3.3 Senior, self study