FIBER OPTICS

An optical fiber (or fibre) is a

glass or plastic fiber that
carries light along its length.

Fibers are used instead of

metal wires because signals
travel along them with less
loss, and they are also
immune to electromagnetic
interference.
 3 Regions (3C)

1.) Core glass or plastic

diameter: 5 20um
n = 1.4

2.) Cladding glass or plastic

diameter:
n = 1.7

3.) Coating for protection

 3 Variation of Optical Fiber

Plastic core and cladding (PCP)

Glass core and cladding (SCS)

Glass core and plastic cladding

(PCS)
 Advantages of Plastic over
Glass Fiber

Flexibility and ruggedness

Easy to install
Less weight
More economical
Can withstand stress
 Disadvantages

High attenuation

Inefficient

Limited for short distance applications

 Classifications of
Optical Fibers
Depends on:
a.) Mode (path) of propagation
- A stable propagation state in an
optical fiber.
- The number of modes a fiber can
transmit depend on its numerical
aperture as well as the
wavelength.
Two types:
Single-Mode (monomode)
Multimode
b.) Index Profile
- A graphical representation of the
refractive index of the core.
Two types:
Step Index

Graded Index
Single-Mode ( Monomode)

Only one path

for light to take
down the cable.
Extremely wide
bandwidths and
low losses.
8um (not
commonly used
core diameter)
Placed 3km
between
repeater.
 Multimode Fiber

The light wave rays

take many paths
between the source
and the far end of the
fiber.
Placed 2km between
repeaters
Diameter: 50 200 um
62.5um most
commonly used
 Step Index
The core has a uniform index of refraction
providing an abrupt change in refraction index at
the core-cladding interface.
These types of fibers have relatively high
dispersion making it useful only at lower rates
and shorter distance.
 Graded Index
The core has index of refraction that changes
continuously from the center to the outside.
This core is made out of many thin layers,
each with lower index of refraction than the
adjacent inner core.
The effect of this grading is that light waves
are propagated by refraction so they are bent
in a sinusoid like curve about the fiber.
 Light Propagation

Light is propagated through the optical fiber

using the principles of refraction.
Light rays bend or change direction when they
pass from one medium to another.
They bend because the speed of propagation of
light in each medium is different.
The amount of bending or refraction that occurs
at the core-cladding interface depends on the
refractive index of the two materials.
 Refractive Index ()

The ratio of light velocity in free space

to the velocity of a light in a given
material.

Where: c = speed of light in free space

v = speed of light in a given material
 MEDIUM
Vacuum 1.0
Air 1.00029
Water 1.33
Ethyl Alcohol 1.36
Fused Quartz 1.46
Glass Fiber 1.5 1.9
Diamond 2.0 2.42
Silicon 3.4
 Snells law

Explains how a light may react when it meets the

interface of two transmittive materials that have
different indices of refraction using the law
which states that:

1 sin 1 = 2 sin 2

where: 1 = refraction index of material 1

2 = refraction index of material 2
1 = angle of incidence
2 = angle of refraction
 When a light travels from a less
dense material into a more dense
material, the wave is refracted
towards the normal

When light ray enters a less dense

material, the ray bends away from the
normal.
 Refracted
ray;
toward
normal
1 < 2
1 = 2
Unrefracted ray

Refracte
d ray;
away
Medium 2 from
normal
Medium 1 1 > 2
For Total Internal Reflection

The glass inside the fiber core must have

a slightly higher index of refraction 1
than the index of refraction 2 of the
material ( cladding ) surrounding the fiber.

The light must have an angle of incidence

( between the ray path and the normal to the
fiber wall ) which is greater than a critical
angle c, which is defined as the angle of
incidence.
 Critical Angle of Incident (c )

The minimum angle of incidence at

which a light ray may strike the
interference of two media and result in
an angle of refraction of 90 degrees or
when the incident ray is in parallel to the
boundary.
 Acceptance Angle or Acceptance Cone Half
Angle (in)

Maximum angle in which external light rays

may strike the air/fiber interface and still
propagate down the fiber.
 Numerical Aperture (NA)

A figure of merit used to measure the light

gathering or light collecting ability of the optical
fiber.

NA = sin in

2 2
NA = N1 - N2
 V Parameter (V)

It is a key parameter that describes the mode

structure of a fiber.

;multimode

;single-mode
where:

;fractional change in the

index of refraction
of
multi-mode step
index

;fractional change in the

index of refraction
of
multi-mode graded
index
a = radius of the core of the fiber
= wavelength
1 = index of refraction of core
2 = index of refraction of cladding
g = gradient of graded fiber
= 2 ; parabolic profile
= 1 ; triangular profile
= ; step index profile
Number of Modes (N)

; for multimode step

index

; for multimode graded

index
also;
 Light Sources

A light source is any material or

device which gives off energy with a
wavelength from about 300 microns
down to 0.5 microns.
 Requirements:

a. Their light must be as nearly monochromatic

( single frequency) as possible.
b. Capable of being easily modulated; PCM for
better noise immunity
c. High intensity light output so that sufficient
energy is transmitted to overcome the losses
encountered during transmission down the
fiber.

d. Devices should be small, compact, and easily

couple to the fibers so that excessive coupling
losses do not occur.

e. Must be inexpensive to manufacture.

 Light Emitting Diode (LED)

Non coherent injection light sources

which are low-cost, low-heat light sources
and are the most promising light sources for
optical transmission.
LEDS have the necessary reliability, life
expectancy, and simplicity for optical
transmission purposes.
LEDS are able to couple about 100uw of
power with a coupling efficiency of 2 %.
Injection Laser Diodes (ILD)

ILDs make the most efficient use of electric

energy.
This coherent light source can couple a few
milliwatts of light power into a fiber since it has
a more direct radiation pattern.
 Advantages of ILDs over LED

Reduced coupling losses

Greater radiant output power
Can be used at higher bit rates
Reduced wavelength dispersion;
monochromatic
 Disadvantages of ILDs

Expensive
Shorter lifetime
Temperature dependence
Requires automatic level control circuit
to protect the device from power
Supply transients.
Light Detectors
PIN (Positive Intrinsic Negative) diodes

When photons are absorbed by

intrinsic layers electrons in the
valence band, they add sufficient
energy to generate carriers in the
depletion region and allow current
to flow thru the device
 APD ( Avalanche Photo Diode )

Light enters diode and is absorbed

by the thin, heavily doped n-layer
causing a high electric field
intensity to be across in p-n
junction thus ionization occur and
continues like avalanche.
 Advantages of APD over PIN

APDs give better sensitivity over PIN

APDs provides larger amplification

Disadvantages

High bias requirement

Temperature dependence
Long transit time
Advantages of Optical Fibers over
Metallic Cables

Broad Bandwidth Capability

Fiber Optics can be used to form a
Compact concept
Immunity to Crosstalk
Immunity to Electromagnetic and
Radio Frequency Interference
 Lower Attenuation
Capability for secure transmission
Safer to install and Maintain
More Economical
 Disadvantages of Fiber System

High initial cost of installation

Any damage inflicted on a fiber cable

is not easily repairable.
 Losses in Optical Fiber
Cables
1. Scattering losses due to imperfections in the fiber
that are formed during manufacturing process.
a.) Linear scattering power
transferred from a wave is
proportional to the power of the
wave.

i. Rayleigh Scattering light interacting with

inhomogeneities in the medium that are
much smaller than the wavelength of light.

ii. Mie Scattering inhomogeneities that are

compatible in size to a wavelength.
 b. Nonlinear Scattering significant power
to be scattered in the forward, backward,
or sideways direction, depending on the
nature of the interaction.

i. Brillouin Scattering modulation of the

light by the thermal energy in the material.

ii. Raman Scattering the nonlinear

interaction produces a high frequency phonon and
scattered photon.
2. Absorption Losses
- impurities in the fiber absorb the light
and convert it to heat.

a. Ultraviolet Absorption light ionizes the

valence electrons into conduction; ionization is
equivalent to a loss in the light field.
b. Infrared Absorption photons of light
absorbed by atoms of the glass core are
converted to mechanical vibrations typical
of heating.A

c. Ion Resonance Absorption caused by OH

ions from water molecules trapped in the
glass during manufacturing process.

d. Hydrogen Effect fiber is exposed to

hydrogen gas
- corrosion of steel cable
 3. Dispersion

Spreading of pulse out in the time domain,

changing its shape so that it may merge into
the previous and succeeding pulses.
The pulses may be separated by spacing them
out at the transmitter but this means reducing
the maximum bit rate.
4. Coupling Losses

a. Lateral Misalignment
b. Gap Misalignment or Longitudinal
Displacement
c. Angular Misalignment
d. Imperfect Surface Finish
 5. Bending or radiation losses

As light travels around a bend on an

optical fiber, the light traveling on the
outside of the bend would have to
travel faster than the local speed of
light to maintain a constant phase
across the wave.
a.) Microbending occurs as a result of
differences in the thermal contraction rates
between core and cladding.
- small scale bending.

b.) constant-radius bends occur when fibers are

bend during handling and installation.
- large bends
 Power budgeting

Receiver input = transmitter output

- losses - margin

Note : margin; a safety factor to allow

for aging components and system
modifications and repairs, typical
values are 3- 10 dB
 PtdBm PrdBm = M + Lpt + Lpr + Nc Lc
+ Ns Ls + ZLf
Where: Pt = transmitted power of the
source
= loss margin
= fiber length
Nc = number of connectors
Ns = numbers of splices
Lf = loss due to fiber
Pr = received power at detector
Lpt = loss of port, transmitting end
Lpr = loss of port, receiving end
Lc = loss per connector
Ls = loss per splice
Dispersion limited fiber
= 1
5bt

Where: z = total fiber length:Km

B = maximum bit rate;
mbps
t = dispersion; s
km