PYL 115: Applied Optics

Tutorial Sheet-VIII
Waveguides and Fiber Optics
1. Consider a symmetric planar waveguide shown in Fig. 1. The direction of propagation is z. The waveguide
is excited by a beam from a GaAlAs laser (free space wavelength = 850 nm). What are the guided modes
that could propagate? Draw a labelled approximately scaled diagram of the transverse electric field of each
of these modes.
x
n2  1.50

6 m
Fig. 1 n1  1.51 z y

2. What are the values of U, W and V at cutoff for the all the modes in Problem 1 above?
3. The refractive index variation for pure silica in the wavelength region 0.5 m < 0 < 1.6 m is
approximately described by the following empirical formula
2 2
n( 0 )  C0  a  0  (b  0 )
where C0  1.451, a  b  0.003 and 0 is measured in m. Calculate phase velocity vp and group velocity
vg at  0  0.6 m , 0.8 5 m , 1.0 m , 1.2 5 m , 1.4 m and 1.55 m.
Plot vg as a function of 0 and interpret the result physically. Calculate and plot the material dispersion (in
ps/km.nm) in the wavelength domain 0.5 < 0 < 1.6 m.
4. For a step index multimode fiber, n1 = 1.5 and  = 0.015. Calculate n2, NA and the maximum acceptance
angle. (Ans: 1.477, 0.26, 15o).
5. Based on the previous problem, consider the same step index fiber immersed in water of refractive index
1.33. Calculate the maximum acceptance angle.
6. The power of a 2 mW laser beam decreases to 15  W after traversing through 25 km of a single mode
optical fiber. Calculate the attenuation of the fiber. (Ans: 0.85 dB/km)
5. A 5 mW laser beam passes through a 26 km fiber of loss 0.2 dB/km. Calculate the power at the output end.
(Ans: 1.5 mW).
6. Consider a step-index fiber with n1 = 1.5, a = 40  m and  = 0.015 operating at 850 nm with a spectral
width of 50 nm. (a) Is this a single mode fiber or a multimode fiber? (b) Calculate the material dispersion,
intermodal dispersion and the total pulse dispersion. [Ans. (b) 4.2 ns/km, 75 ns/km, 75.1 ns/km]. Calculate
the same parameters for the same fiber operating at 1.25 m with a source of spectral width 25 nm.
7. Consider a bare fiber with: n1 = 1.46 (pure silica), n2 = 1.0 (air) and core radius a = 30 m.
(a) Show that all rays making an angle  < 46.770 with the z –axis will be guided through the fiber.
(b) Assume  = 300 and calculate the number of reflections that will occur in propagating through 1 km
length of the fiber. Assume only 0.01% decrease in power at each reflection; calculate the power loss
in propagating through 1 km length of the fiber. [9.6 x 10 6,4179 dB/km]
8. Consider a bare step index fiber with n1 = 1.46, n2 = 1.0 and a = 50 m. Show that the pulse dispersion is
about 2240 ns/km.
9. Consider a step index fiber with n2 = 1.46 and  = 0.0015. If the operating wavelength is 1.3 m, show that
it is single moded for a > 6.2 m.
10. Consider a step index fiber with n2 = 1.46 ,  = 0.0015 and a = 5 m. Show that it is single-moded for 0 >
1.04 m.
11. A step index fiber, n1 = 2, n2 = 3 is placed in air, what is the maximum angle an incident ray can make
with the axis of the fiber at the input end in air, so that it is guided after entering the fiber. [90 o]