Fiber Optics
changes in detector current to changes in
 Refers to the medium and the
technology associated with the
transmission of information as light
impulse along glass or plastic fiber.
 100GHZ-400GHZ
OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
 Communications system that utilizes
light as the carrier of information.
Transmitter- comprise of a voltage-to-
current converter, a light source and a
source-to-fiber interface.
Fiber guide/Cable- the transmission
medium which is either an ultra-pure glass
or plastic.
Regenerator- performs light amplification
Receiver- includes a fiber-to-detector
interface, a photo detector and a current-
to-voltage converter.
Voltage-to-current converter- serves as an
electrical interface between the input
circuitry and the light source
Light source- either an infrared LED or ILD
Source-to-fiber coupler- a mechanical
interface used to couple light emitted by
the light source.
Optical fiber cable- consists of a glass or
plastic fiber core surrounded by a cladding
then encapsulated in a protective jacket
Fiber-to-detector coupling device- a
mechanical coupler that couples as much
light as possible
Light detector- generally a PIN diode, an
APD or a phototransistor
Current-to-voltage converter- transforms
voltage
Analog or digital interface- electrical
interfaces that match impedances and
signal levels between the information
source and the destination
Planck’s law- when light is emitted or
absorbed it behaves like an electromagnetic
𝐸𝑝 = ℎ𝑓
ℎ𝑐
𝐸𝑝 =
λ
Photon- is a quantum of electromagnetic
wave energy.
Violet wavelength- refracted the most
Red wavelength- refracted the least
Prismatic refraction- causes the spectral
separation of white light and causes
rainbow.
Reflection- is the act of light bouncing off
the core-cladding interface at the same
angle that is struck it
Refraction- can be described as the act of
light changing speed and direction when it
travels through one transparent material to
another
Refractive index (n)- defined as the ratio of
the velocity of light in free space to velocity
of light in a given material
𝑐
𝑛=
𝑣
Normal- simply an imaginary line drawn
perpendicular to the interface of the two
materials at the point of incidence
Snell’s law- a law that tells us how a light
ray reacts when it meets the interface of
two materials that have different indices of
refraction
𝑛1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜗1 = 𝑛2 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜗2
Angle of incidence- the angle at which the
propagating ray strikes the interface with
respect to the normal after the ray has
entered the second medium
Angle of refraction- the angle formed
between the propagating ray and the
normal after ray has entered the second
medium
Critical angle- the minimum angle of
incidence at a which a light may strike the
interface of two media
𝑛2
𝜃𝑐 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 ( )
𝑛1
Acceptance angle- the maximum angle in
which external light rays may strike the
air/glass interface and still propagate.
(acceptance cone half-angle)
𝜃𝑖𝑛(max) = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 (√𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2 )
Acceptance cone- it is formed by rotating
the acceptance angle around the fiber core
axis
Numerical aperture (NA)- the figure merit
commonly used to measure the magnitude
of the acceptance angle. Use to describe
the light gathering of an optical fiber
𝑁𝐴 = √𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2
850nm- most widely used because 850nm
devices are inexpensive
1300/1310 nm- offers low loss but a
modest increase in cost for LEDs
1550 nm- is mainly of interest to long
distance telecommunications
OPTICAL FIBER CONSTRUCTION
Fiber core and cladding- the actual portion
of an optical fiber is generally considered to
include both core and cladding
Protective coating- made of special lacquer,
silicon or acrylate this is applied to the
outside of the cladding to seal and
preserve’s fiber
Stress corrosion/ static fatigue- a
detrimental phenomenon resulting if the
fiber glass is exposed to long periods of high
humidity
Buffer jacket- provides the cable additional
protection against abrasion and shock
Polyurethane jacket- used for the entire
outer cable assembly
TYPES OF OPTICAL FIBER
Plastic core and cladding- more flexible and
rugged than glass easy to install can better
withstand stress, less expensive but high
attenuation
Glass core with plastic cladding
(PCS/plastic-clad-silica)- glass core exhibits
low attenuation less affected by radiation
and immune to external interferences
Glass core with glass cladding (SCS/silica-
clad-silica)- has the best propagation
characteristics and are easier to terminate
than PCS
How the light propagated- depends on
mode and index profile
Mode – simply means path
Single mode- only one path for light rays to
take down the fiber
Multimode- more than one path
Index profile- is a graphical representation
of the value of the refractive index across
the fiber
Step index- has a central core with uniform
refractive index
Graded index- it has no cladding and the
refractive index of the core is non-uniform
OPTICAL FIBER CONFIGURATIONS
Single-mode step-index fiber- has
minimum dispersion all rays propagating
down the fiber take approximately the
same path 7-10 micrometer
Chromatic dispersion- one pulse-spreading
due to different wavelengths of light
travelling at different speed, will cause
pulses of light injected into the fiber to
spread as they travel
Multi-mode step-index fiber- inexpensive
and simple to manufacture easier to couple
light 5-100 micrometer bigger that single
mode
Modal dispersion- cause the pulses to
overlap such that receiver the receiver can
no longer distinguish where one pulse
begins and ends
Multimode graded-index fiber- easier to
couple light cable density is maximum at
the center and decreases gradually towards
the outer edge 50-85 micrometer
Number of propagating modes
𝜋𝑑
𝑁 = ( √𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2 )2
λ LIGHT DETECTORS
LIGHT SOURCES
LED- usually made from aluminum-gallium-
arsenide they emit light by spontaneous
emission that is a result of the combination
of electrons and holes
ILD (injection laser diode)- easier to couple
which reduces the coupling losses and
allows smaller fiber to be used.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT SOURCE
Optical power- measure the rate at which
electromagnetic waves transfer light energy
Photometry- the science of measuring only
light waves that are visible to the human
eye
Radiometry- the science of measuring light
energy throughout the entire
electromagnetic spectrum
Spectral width- range of wavelengths
spread around the center wavelength
Narrow- laser and ILD
Wide- LED
Center wavelength- any light source emits
light with its own set of colors or range of
wavelengths
Infrared- band of light wavelength that is
too long to be seen by the human eye
Visible- band of light wavelength to which
the human eye will respond
Ultraviolet- band of light wavelength that is
too short to be seen by human eye
1 Angstrom- 1x10-10 meter= 0.0001 micron
Modulation frequency- the rate at which
the transmission changes in intensity
usually using logical 0s and 1s.
PIN diode- most common device used as a
light detector in fiber communications
APDs- more sensitive than PIN diodes and
require less additional amplification
LASER diodes (light amplification
stimulated by the emission of radiation)-
radiation of a laser is extremely intense and
directional focused into a fine hair-like can
concentrate all its power into the narrow
beam
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT DETECTORS
Responsivity- a measure of the conversion
efficiency of a photo detector it is the ration
of the output current of a photodiode to
the input optical power
Dark current- the leakage current that flows
through a photodiode with no light input
Transit time/ response time- the time it
takes a light induced carrier to travel across
the depletion region of a semiconductor
Spectral response- the range of wavelength
values that a given photodiode will respond
Light sensitivity- the minimum optical
power a light detector can receive and still
produce a usable electrical output
LOSSES IN OPTICAL FIBER CABLES
Absorption losses- analogous to power
dissipation in copper cables impurities in
the fiber absorb the light and convert it to
heat
Rayleigh or material or scattering losses-
the light rays that escape through the
cladding
Chromatic or wavelength dispersion-
different time of arrival of light rays at the
far end results in an impairment called
chromatic distortion
Radiation losses- caused mainly by small
bends in the fiber
Modal dispersion or pulse spreading-
caused by the difference in the propagation
times of light rays that take different paths
down the fiber
 Dispersion is expressed as a bandwidth
length product (BLP) or bandwidth
distance product (BDP)
 As the length of the optical fiber
increases the bandwidth decreases
Coupling losses- caused by imperfect
physical connections, displacements, gap
displacements, angular displacements and
imperfect surface
Cable losses
Connector losses
Source-to-cable interface losses
Splicing loss
Cable bends
TESTING THE SYSTEM
Visible light continuity test- this method is
commonly used to test short connecting
short cables called patchcords
Light source and power meter- the benefit
is that they can measure the actual power
loss of the fiber system
Mode stripper or mode filter- device that
makes the light escape much faster than in
normal fiber so that we can lose all the
unwanted modes
Light source- it is handheld instrument able
to provide light output within one or more
of the standard windows
Power meter- they are often sold as
matching pairs though thou is nothing
prevent any light meter
Calibration or traceability- customers will
need assurance that your instruments are
telling the truth
 Optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR)-
this instrument is connected to one end of
any fiber optic system up to 250km in
length

Fault locator- used to locate faults quickly

and easily than provide a detailed analysis
of a system

Multimode frequency- 300MHZ to 3 GHZ

Single mode frequency- 500MHZ to 10 GHZ

Rise time- time taken for the light to

increase from 10% to 90% of the final value

Laser risetime- 0.3ns

LED risetime- 5ns

MULTIMODE
0.35
𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 =
𝑡𝑟𝑇

𝑡𝑟𝑇 = √𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 2 + 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 2 + 𝑡𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟 2

SINGLEMODE
0.44
𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓 =
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
= 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒔 𝒙 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒙 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉
𝟎. 𝟑𝟓
𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓 =
𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓

𝑡𝑟𝑇 = √𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 2 + 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟 2 + 𝑡𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟 2

0.35
𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 =
𝑡𝑟𝑇