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What is optical fiber
Optical fibers are very fine fibers of glass.
They consist of a glass core, roughly fifty micrometres in
diameter, surrounded by a glass "optical cladding" giving an
outside diameter of about 120 micrometres.
They make use of total internal reflection to confine light
within the core of the fiber.
Structure of a Fibre
The core has a higher refractive index than the cladding.
Although the cladding does not carry light, it is nevertheless an
essential part of the fibre.
The cladding is not just a mere covering.
It keeps the value of the critical angle constant throughout
the whole length of the fibre.
Optical Fibres are optical waveguides.
This means that wherever the fibre goes the light, which is
confined to the core of the fibre, also goes.
So optical fibres can be used to make light bend round corners
What is optical fiber (continued)
The basic optical fiber is provided with a buffer coating which
is mainly used for protection during the manufacturing
process.
This fiber is then enclosed in a central PVC loose tube which
allows the fiber to flex and bend, particularly when going
around corners or when being pulled through conduits.
Around the loose tube is a braided Kevlar yarn which absorbs
most of the strain put on the fiber during installation.
Finally, a PVC outer jacket seals the cable and prevents
moisture from entering.
What is optical fiber (continued)
Basic optical fiber is ideal for most inter-building applications
where extreme ruggedness is not required.
In addition to the "basic" variety, it is also available for just about
any application, including direct buried, armored, rodent
resistant cable with steel outer jacket.
Color-coded, multi-fiber cable is also available.
SiO2 Cladding
125 m
n 1.44
n1
n2
Propagation of light in optical fiber
The angle A in the Figure is called the Acceptance Angle.
Any light entering the fibre at an angle < c will meet the
cladding at an angle greater than c .
If light meets the inner surface of the cladding (the core -
cladding interface) at an angle greater than or equal to
c then TotaI Internal Reflection occurs.
So all the energy in the ray of light is reflected back into
the core and none escapes into the cladding.
The ray then crosses to the other side of the core and because
the fiber is more or less straight ,the ray will meet the
Cladding n the other side at an angle which again causes TIR.
The ray is then reflected back across the core again and the
same thing happens.
In this way the light zig zags its way along the fiber.
This means that the light will be transmitted to the end of the
fiber.
How Does fiber optic transmit light
Optical fiber is a wave guide
Optical fiber is essentially a wave guide.
It guides electromagnetic wave through it.
The guiding is done by total internal
reflection, i.e. by suitable choice of
refractive indices.
Source and transmitters
+
+
Types of Optical Fiber
there are three types of fiber optic cable
commonly used:
single mode,
multimode and
plastic optical fiber (POF)
Types of Optical Fiber
Optical fibers are the actual media that guides the light
There are three types of fiber optic cable commonly
used
Single Mode
SM
Single-Mode
MM-SI
Multi-Mode
Step Index
MM-GI
Multi-Mode
Graded
Index
refractive
index
Step Index (Singlemode,multimode)
graded index fiber
Step Index Fiber:
The refractive index of the fiber 'steps" up as we move
from the cladding to the core of the fiber.
Within the cladding the refractive index is constant, and within
the core of the refractive index is constant.
Multimode:
Because of the wave nature of light, only certain ray directions can
actually travel down the fibre.
These are called the "Fibre Mode".
In a multimode fibre many different modes are supported by the fibre.
Single mode:
Because its core is so narrow Single Mode fibre can support only one
mode.
This is called the "Lowest Order Mode".
Single mode fibre has some advantages over multimode fibre which we
will deal with later
Graded Index Fibre
Graded Index Fibre has a different core structure from
single mode and multimode fibre.
Whereas in a step-index fibre the refractive index of the
core is constant throughout the core, in a graded index
fibre the value of the refractive index changes from the
centre of the core onwards.
In fact it has what we call a Quadratic Profile.
This means that the refractive index of the core is
proportional to the square root of the distance from the
centre of the fibre.
Graded index fibre is actually a multimode fibre.
It can support more than one fibre mode.
But when we refer to "multimode" fibre we normally mean
"step index multimode".
Fiber classification (1)
MM-SI: Multi Mode - Step Index fiber
FIBER
Performance
+ Modulation speed
Fiber-coupled power
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
+
Typical performance data
Power in MM-fiber: 100 W
Power in SM-fiber: 1 W
Direct Modulation Bandwidth: 100 MHz
Laser
Typical performance
PIN
APD
Photodiode detector
+
Typical performance data
Responsivity: ~1 mA / mW
Bandwidth: 1-20 GHz
Dispersion in Fiber Optics
Dispersion occurs when photons from the same light pulse take
slight different paths along the optical fiber.
Over long distances, one pulse may merge with another pulse.
When this happens, the receiving device will not be able to
distinguish between pulses.
Dispersion Continued
Normal fiber optic cable is called multimode
because photons can take different paths
along it.
L Ln
[ns / km ]
2 n 2 cc cn 2 c 2 nc
2n2c
t
L n2c 2n2c
BL = L = =
2 2 nc
[( Mb / s ) km ]
BL = T =1 NA 2
n
2
T
B = bit rate NA
Idea of Modulation
When sending information by an optical fiber,
the information must be encoded or
transformed somehow into information that
capable of being transmitted through a fiber.
d 2 2
Planar: V = n1 n 2
Single-mode if V
2a 2 2
Fiber: V= n1 n2
Single-mode if V 2.405
Number of modes
Number of modes in step-index fiber
2
1 2a 2 V 2
M
2
1
n n2 (
2
=
2
)
Optical power in the cladding
Pcladding 4
for large values of V
P 3 M
Fiber materials
Silica glass fiber
starting material: pure silica (SiO2) in the form of
fused quartz (amorphous)
modification of refractive index by addition of
impurities
lowering refractive index : B2O3, F
raising refractive index : P2O5, GeO2
Polymer optical fiber (POF)
large core (multimode)
large refractive index difference between core and
cladding
easy handling
relatively high losses
Attenuation
When light travels along the fibre, there is a loss of optical
power, which is called attenuation. Signal attenuation is
defined as the ratio of optical input power (Pi) to the optical
output power (Po). (Attenuation is represented in decibels (dB), which is ten
times the logarithm of the signal power at a particular input divided by the signal
power at an output of a specified medium.)
Pulse Dispersion: spreading of pulses during propagation
Dispersive effects in a single mode fibre are much smaller
than a multimode fibre. This is because, in multimode fibres,
different axial speeds of different transverse modes cause
intermodal dispersion that limits the performance of the fibre.
Due to dispersion, signals degrade over long distances
In single mode, chromatic dispersion occurs because of the
slight variation in the index of the glass with the wavelength
of the light.
Causes of Fiber loss
Material absorption
Impurity absorptions
Scattering effects
Interface inhomogeneities
where
= (10/L)log10(P1/P2)
Scattering Losses
Basic fundamental wave interacts with particle in
a way that removes energy in the direction of
propagating of the wave, and transfers it to
other directions
1. Linear Scattering
Rayleigh Scattering
Mie scattering
2. Non-linear Scattering
Brillouin scattering
Raman scattering
Linear Scattering
Frequency does not change; only power is
transferred.
Rayleigh scattering:
Interaction of light with inhomogeneties in medium
smaller than operating wave length.
Scattering strength proportional to (1/4)
0.2 dB/km attained (silica at 1550 nm)
Mie scattering:
Inhomogeneities comparable in size to a wave
length
Large angular dependence
Non linear scattering
High values of Elastic field leads to non-linear scattering
Significant power scattered in all directions
Frequency shift takes place
Brillouin Scattering
1. Modulation of light by thermal energy
2. Incident photon produces vibrational energy in
material and scatter light (Phonons and Photons)
3. Scattered light is modulated in forward and backward
direction.
4. Maximum is backward and minimum is Forward.
Brillouin Scattering (Contd)
PR = (23.6)x10-2 a2
Interface Inhomogeneties
Macrobending and Microbending
Cabling loss and spooling loss
Micro bend 1 - 2 dB/km
Bend Losses
Po/Pi = exp(-bz)
b is the attenuation coefficient due to bend
and
b =C1exp(-C2r)
where r is the radius of curvature of bend
C1 and C2 are constants
The losses are negligible till r rcritical (rCT)
rCT {(2n2)/4(NA)3}
Radiation from Bends
Optical fibre radiates power to the surrounding
medium on bending.
1. radius of curvature
Medical uses - Optical fibres are well suited for medical use. They can be made
in extremely thin, flexible strands for insertion into the blood vessels, lungs,
and other hollow parts of the body. Optical fibres are used in a number of
instruments that enable doctors to view internal body parts without having to
perform surgery.