INSTITUTE OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

(Autonomous)
Dundigal, Hyderabad -500 043

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONENGINEERING

COURSE LECTURE NOTES

Course Name OPTICAL COMMUNICATION

Course Code AEC018

Programme B.Tech
Semester VIII
Course Coordinator Mr. U Soma Naidu , Assistant Professor
Course Faculty Mr. U Soma Naidu , Assistant Professor
Lecture Numbers 1-45
Topic Covered All

COURSE OBJECTIVES (COs):

The course should enable the students to:

I Understand the different kind of losses, signal distortion in optical wave guides and other signal degradation factors.
Design optimization of SM fibers, RI profile and cut-off wave length.
II Interpret various optical source materials, LED structures, quantum efficiency, Laser diodes and different fiber
amplifiers.
III Understand fiber optical receivers such as PIN APD diodes, noise performance in photo detector, receiver operation
and configuration.
IV Analyze fiber slicing and connectors, noise effects on system performance, operational
principles WDM and solutions.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLOs):

Students, who complete the course, will have demonstrated the ability to do the following:
CLO CLO’s At the end of the course, the student will PO’s Strength of
Code have the ability to: Mapped Mapping
AEC018.01 CLO 1 Understand Basic principles of optical fiber PO 1, PO12 2
Communications.

AEC018.02 CLO 2 Define light, propagation of light, modes, PO 1, PO 2 1

propagation of light different levels. PO 4, PO 12

AEC018.03 CLO 3 Given the propagation of light in a cylindrical PO 2 1

dielectric rod; rays and modes types of optical
fibers.

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CLO CLO’s At the end of the course, the student will PO’s Strength of
Code have the ability to: Mapped Mapping
AEC018.04 CLO 4 Given the Photonic components in optical PO 1, PO 2 2
communication systems .

AEC018.05 CLO 5 Understand modal analysis of a step index fiber, PO 1 1

linearly polarized modes, single mode fibers and
graded - index fiber.

AEC018.06 CLO 6 Understand Signal Degradation And Optical PO 1 1

Sources, Attenuation- Absorption, scattering
losses, bending losses, core.

AEC018.07 CLO 7 Explain cladding losses, optical waveguides; PO 1, PO 4 2

Material Dispersion, Waveguide Dispersion;
Optical sources.

AEC018.08 CLO 8 Explain Semiconductor device fabrication, LED and PO 1 2

LASER diode; Principles of operation, concepts of
line width.

AEC018.09 CLO 9 Understand phase noise, switching and PO 1, PO 2 1

modulation characteristics PO 4, PO 12

AEC018.10 CLO 10 Define Optical detectors: pin detector, avalanche PO 4 2

photodiode.

AEC018.11 CLO 11 Understand Principles of operation, concepts of PO 4 2

responsively, sensitivity and quantum efficiency,
noise in detection.

AEC018.12 CLO 12 PO 1, PO 4 2
Explain Multichannel Transmission Technique-
PO 12
Multichannel Frequency Modulation, Subcarrier
multiplexing. WDM Concepts and Components.

AEC018.13 CLO 13 Understand semiconductor amplifier, erbium- PO 1, PO 4 2

doped fiber amplifier, Raman amplifier, Brillouin PO 12
amplifier.

AEC018.14 CLO 14 Understand principles of operation, amplifier PO 1, PO 4 2

noise, signal to noise ratio, gain, gain bandwidth,
gain.

AEC018.15 CLO 15 Explain noise dependencies, inter modulation PO 1, PO 12 2

effects, saturation induced crosstalk, wavelength
range of operation.

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 CLO CLO’s At the end of the course, the student will PO’s Strength of
Code have the ability to: Mapped Mapping
AEC018.16 CLO 16 Design Optical networks-SONET/SDH, ATM, IP, PO 1 2
wavelength routed networks, soliton
communication system.

AEC018.17 CLO 17 Understand iber soliton, soliton based PO 1, PO 12 1

communication system design, high capacity and
WDM soliton.

SYLLABUS
UNIT - I OVERVIEW OF OPTICAL FIBRE COMMUNICATION Classes: 10

OVERVIEW : Introduction to vector nature of light, propagation of light, propagation of light in a cylindrical
dielectric rod; rays and modes; different types of optical fibers, modal analysis of a step index fiber, linearly
polarized modes, single mode fibers and graded - index fiber.

UNIT - II SIGNAL DEGRADATION AND OPTICAL SOURCES Classes: 09

Attenuation- Absorption, scattering losses, bending losses, core and cladding losses; signal distortion in optical
waveguides; Material Dispersion, Waveguide Dispersion; Optical sources; Semiconductor device fabrication, LED
and LASER diode; Principles of operation, concepts of line width, phase noise, switching and modulation
characteristics.

UNIT - III OPTICAL DETECTORS Classes: 08

Optical detectors: pin detector, avalanche photodiode - Principles of operation, concepts of responsively,
sensitivity and quantum efficiency, noise in detection.

Multichannel Transmission Technique-Multichannel Frequency Modulation, Subcarrier multiplexing. WDM

Concepts and Components.

UNIT - IV OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS Classes: 08

Basic concepts: semiconductor amplifier, erbium-doped fiber amplifier, Raman amplifier, Brillouin amplifier -
principles of operation, amplifier noise, signal to noise ratio, gain, gain bandwidth, gain and noise dependencies,
inter modulation effects, saturation induced crosstalk, wavelength range of operation.

UNIT -V OPTICAL NETWORKS AND DISPERSION COMPENSATION Classes: 10

Optical networks: SONET/SDH, ATM, IP, wavelength routed networks, soliton communication system, fiber
soliton, soliton based communication system design, high capacity and WDM soliton.

Text Books:

1. Keiser. G, “Optical fiber communications”, Tata McGraw-Hill, 4th Edition, New Delhi, 2008.
2. Agrawal. G.P, “Fiber-Optic Communication Systems” John Wiley & Sons, 3rd Edition, 2002.
3.Emmanuel C, Ifeacher, Barrie. W. Jervis, DSP-A Practical Approach, Pearson Education, 2nd Edition, 2002.

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Reference Books:

1. John Gowar, “Optical Communication Systems”, Prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 1993.
2. Franz, Jain, “Optical communication, Systems and Components”, Narosa Publications, 1st Edition New Delhi,
2000.
3.Karminvov, T. Li “Optical Fibre Telecommunications”, Vol A & B, Academic Press, 2002.

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 UNIT –1

OVERVIEW OF OPTICAL FIBRE COMMUNICATION

Historical Development

 Fiber optics deals with study of propagation of light through transparent

dielectric wageguides. The fiber optics are used for transmission of data
from point to point location. Fiber optic systems currently used most
extensively as the transmission line between terrestrial hardwired systems.

 The carrier frequencies used in conventional systems had the limitations in

handlinmg the volume and rate of the data transmission. The greater the
carrier frequency larger the available bandwith and information carrying
capacity.

First generation

 The first generation of lightwave systems uses GaAs semiconductor laser

and operating region was near 0.8 µm. Other specifications of this
generation are as under:

i) Bit rate : 45 Mb/s

ii) Repeater spacing : 10 km

Second generation

i) Bit rate : 100 Mb/s to 1.7 Gb/s

ii) Repeater spacing : 50 km

iii) Operation wavelength : 1.3 µm

iv) Semiconductor : In GaAsP

Third generation

i) Bit rate : 10 Gb/s

ii) Repeater spacing : 100 km

iii) Operating wavelength : 1.55 µm

Fourth generation

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 Fourth generation uses WDM technique.

Bit rate : 10 Tb/s

Repeater spacing : > 10,000 km

Operating wavelength : 1.45 to 1.62 µm

Fifth generation

Fifth generation uses Roman amplification technique and optical solitiors.

Bit rate : 40 - 160 Gb/s

Repeater spacing : 24000 km - 35000 km

Operating wavelength : 1.53 to 1.57 µm

Need of fiber optic communication

 Fiber optic communication system has emerged as most important

communication system. Compared to traditional system because of
following requirements :

1. In long haul transmission system there is need of low loss transmission medium

2. There is need of compact and least weight transmitters and receivers.

3. There is need of increase dspan of transmission.

4. There is need of increased bit rate-distrance product.

 A fiber optic communication system fulfills these requirements, hence

most widely acception.

General Optical Fiber Communication System

 Basic block diagram of optical fiber communication system consists of

following important blocks.

1. Transmitter

2. Information channel

3. Receiver.

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 Fig. 1.2.1 shows block diagram of OFC system.

Message origin :

 Generally message origin is from a transducer that converts a non-electrical

message into an electrical signal. Common examples include microphones
for converting sound waves into currents and video (TV) cameras for converting
images into current. For data transfer between computers, the message is already
in electrical form.

Modulator :

 The modulator has two main functions.

1) It converts the electrical message into the proper format.

2) It impresses this signal onto the wave generated by the carrier source.

Two distinct categories of modulation are used i.e. analog modulation and
digital modulation.

Carrier source :

 Carrier source generates the wave on which the information is transmitted.

This wave is called the carrier. For fiber optic system, a laser diode (LD) or a
light emitting diode (LED) is used. They can be called as optic oscillators, they
provide stable, single frequency waves with sufficient power for long
distance propagation.

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Channel coupler :

 Coupler feeds the power into the information channel. For an atmospheric
optic system, the channel coupler is a lens used for collimating the light
emitted by the source and directing this light towards the receiver. The
coupler must efficiently transfer the modulated light beam from the source
to the optic fiber. The channel coupler design is an important part of fiber
system because of possibility of high losses.

Information channel :

 The information channel is the path between the transmitter and receiver.
In fiber optic communications, a glass or plastic fiber is the channel.
Desirable characteristics of the information channel include low attenuation
and large light acceptance cone angle. Optical amplifiers boost the power
levels of weak signals. Amplifiers are needed in very long links to provide
sufficient power to the receiver. Repeaters can be used only for digital
systems. They convert weak and distorted optical signals to electrical ones
and then regenerate the original disgital pulse trains for further
transmission.

 Another important property of the information channel is the propagation

time of the waes travelling along it. A signal propagating along a fiber
normally contains a range of optic frequencies and divides its power along
several ray paths. This results in a distortion of the propagating signal. In a
digital system, this distortion appears as a spreading and deforming of the
pulses. The spreading is so great that adjacent pulses begin to overlap and
become unrecognizable as separate bits of information.
Optical detector :

 The information being transmitted is detector. In the fiber system the optic
wave is converted into an electric current by a photodetector. The current
developed by the

 detector is proportional to the power in the incident optic wave. Detector

output current contains the transmitted information. This detector output is
then filtered to remove the constant bias and thn amplified.

 The important properties of photodetectors are small size, economy, long

life, low power consumption, high sensitivity to optic signals and fast
response to quick variations in the optic power.

Signal processing :

 Signal processing includes filtering, amplification. Proper filtering maximizes

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 the ratio of signal to unwanted power. For a digital system decision circuit is
an additional block. The bit error rate (BER) should be very small for quality
communications.

Message output :

 The electrical form of the message emerging from the signal processor are
transformed into a soud wave or visual image. Sometimes these signals are
directly usable when computers or other machines are connected through a
fiber system.

Advantages of Optical Fiber Communications

1. Wide bandwidth

 The light wave occupies the frequency range between 2 x 1012 Hz to 3.7
x 1012 Hz. Thus the information carrying capability of fiber optic cables is
much higher.

2. Low losses

 Fiber optic cables offers bery less signal attenuation over long
distances. Typically it is less than 1 dB/km. This enables longer distance
between repeaters.

3. Immune to cross talk

 Fiber optic cables has very high immunity to electricaland magnetic field.
Since fiber optic cables are non-conductors of electricity hence they do not
produce magnetic field. Thus fiber optic cables are immune to cross talk
between cables cause dby magnetic induction.

4. Interference immune
 Fiber optic cable sar eimmune to conductive and radiative
interferences caused by electrical noise sources such as lighting,
electric motors, fluorescent lights.

5. Light weight

 As fiber cables are made of silica glass or plastic which is much lighter than
copper or aluminium cables. Light weight fiber cables are cheaper to
transport.

6. Small size

9
  The diameter of fiber is much smaller compared to other cables,
therefore fiber calbe is small in size, requires less storage space.

7. More strength

 Fiber cables are stronger and rugged hence can support more weight.

8. Security

 Fiber cables are more secure than other cables. It is almost impossible to
tap into a fiber cable as they do n ot radiate signals.

No ground loops exist between optical fibers hence they are more secure.

9. Long distance transmission

 Becaujse of less attenuation transmission at a longer distance is possible.

10. Environment immune

 Fiber calbes are more immune to environmental extremes. They can

operate over a large temperature varioations. Also they are not affected
by corrosive liquids and gases.

11. Sage and easy installation

 Fiber cables are safer and easier to install and maintain. They are non-
conductors hence there is no shock hazards as no current or voltage is
associated with them. Their small size and light weight feature makes
installation easier.

12. Less cost

 Cost of fiber optic system is less compated to any other system.

Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Communicaitons

1. High initial cost

 The intial cost of installation or setting up cost is very high compared to all
other system.

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2. Maintenance and repaiding cost

 The maintenance and repaiding of fiber optic systems is not only difficult
but expensive also.

3. Jointing and test procedures

 Since optical fibers are of very small size. The fiber joining process is very
constly and requires skilled manpower.

4. Tensile stress

 Optical fibers are more susceptible to buckling, bending and tensile stress
than copper cables. This leades to restricted practice to use optical fiber
technology to premises and floor backbones with a few interfaces to the
copper cables.

5. Short links

 Eventhough optical fiber calbes are inexpensive, it is still not cost effective to
replace every small conventional connector (e.g. between computers and
peripherals), as the price of optoelectronic transducers are very high.

6. Fiber losses

 The amount of optical fiber available to the photodetector at the end of

fiber length depends on various fiber losses such as scattering, dispersion,
attenuation and reflection.

Applications of Optical Fiber Communicaitons

 Applications of optical fiber communications include telecommunications,

data communications, video control and protection switching, sensors and
power applications.

1. Telephone networks

 Optical waveguide has low attenuation, high transmission bandwidth

compated to copper lines, therefore numbers of long haul co-axial trunks
l;links between telephone exchanges are being replaced by optical fiber
links.
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2. Urban broadband service networks

 Optical waveguide provides much larger bandwidth than co-axial calbe,

also the number of repeaters required is reduced considerably.

 Modern suburban communications involves videotext, videoconferencing

videotelephony, switched broadband communication network. All these can
be supplied over a single fiber optic link. Fiber optic calbes is the solution to many
of today’s high speed, high bandwidth data communication problems and will
continue to play a large role in future telecom and data-com networks.

Optical Fiber Waveguides

 In free space light ravels as its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or
186 x 103 miles/sec. When light travels through a material it exnibits certain
behavior explaned by laws of reflection, refraction.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

 The radio waves and light are electromagnetic waves. The rate at which
they alternate in
polarity is called their frequency (f) measured in hertz (Hz). The speed of
electromagnetic wave (c) in free space is approximately 3 x 108 m/sec. The
distance travelled during each cycle is called as wavelength (λ)

 In fiber optics, it is more convenient to use the wavelength of light instead

of the frequency with light frequencies, wavlengfth is often stated in
microns or nanometers.

1 micron (µ) = 1

Micrometre (1 x 10-6) 1

nano (n) = 10-9 metre

 Fiber optics uses visible and infrared light. Infrared light covers a fairly wide
range of wavelengths and is generally used for all fiber optic
communications. Visible light is normally used for very short range
transmission using a plastic fiber.

12
 Fig. 1.6.1 shows electromagnetic frequency spectrum
Ray Transmission Theory

 Before studying how the light actually propagates through the fiber, laws
governing the nature of light m ust be studied. These was called as laws of
optics (Ray theory). There is conception that light always travels at the same
speed. This fact is simply not true. The speed of light depends upon the
material or medium through which it is moving. In free space light travels at
its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or 186 x 103 miles/sec. When
light travels through a material it exhibits certain behavior explained by laws
of reflection, refraction.

Reflection

 The law of reflection states that, when a light ray is incident upon a reflective
surface at some incident angle 1 from imaginary perpendicular normal, the
ray will be reflected from the surface at some angle 2 from normal which is equal
to the angle of incidence.

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Refraction

 Refraction occurs when light ray passes from one medium to another i.e. the
light ray changes its direction at interface. Refraction occurs whenever
density of medium changes. E.g. refraction occurs at air and water interface,
Fig. 1.6.2
the straw in a glass shows
of water willlaw of reflection.
appear as it is bent.

The refraction can also observed at air and glass interface.

 When wave passes through less dense medium to more dense medium,
the wave is refracted (bent) towards the normal. Fig. 1.6.3 shows the
refraction phenomena.

 The refraction (bending) takes place because light travels at different speed
in different mediums. The speed of light in free space is higher than in water
or glass.

14
 Fig.1.6.3 Refraction

Refractive Index

 The amount of refraction or bending that occurs at the interface of two

materials of different densities is usually expressed as refractive index of
two materials. Refractive index is also known as index of refraction and is
denoted by n.

 Based on material density, the refractive index is expressed as the ratio of

the velocity of light in free space to the velocity of light of the dielectric
material (substance).

The refractive index for vacuum and air os 1.0 for water it is 1.3 and for glass
refractive index is 1.5.

Snell’s Law

 Snell’s law states how light ray reacts when it meets the interface of
two media having different indexes of refraction.

 Let the two medias have refractive indexes n1 and n2 where n1 >n2.

1 and 2 be the angles of incidence and angle of refraction respectively.

Then according to Snell’s law, a relationship exists between the refractive index of both
materials given by

n1 sin1 = n2 sin2 … (1.6.1)

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  A refractive index model for Snell’s law is shown in Fig. 1.6.4.

 The refracted wave will be towards the normal when n1 < n2 and will
away from it when n1 > n2.
Equation (1.6.1) can be written as,

Fig 1.6.4 Refractive model for Snells Law

 This equation shows that the ratio of refractive index of two mediums
is inversely proportional to the refractive and incident angles.

As refractive index and substituting these values in equation (1.6.2)

Critical Angle

 When the angle of incidence (1) is profressively increased, there will be

progressive increase of refractive angle (2). At some condition (1) the
refractive angle (2) becomes
90o to the normal. When this happens the refracted light ray travels along the
interface. The angle of incidence (1) at the point at which the refractive angle (1)
becomes 90o is called the critical angle. It is denoted by c.

 The critical angle is defined as the minimum angle of incidence (1) at which
the ray strikes the interface of two media and causes an agnle of refraction
(2) equal to 90o. Fig 1.6.5 shows critical angle refraction.

16
 Fig.1.6.5 Critical Angle

o
Hence at critical angle 1 = c and 2 = 90 Using

Snell’s law : n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2

Therefore,

…
(1.6
.3)

17
  The actual value of critical angle is dependent upon combination of
materials present on each side of boundary.

Total Internal Refleciton (TIR)

 When the incident angle is increase dbeyond the critical angle, the light ray
does not pass through the interface into the other medium. This gives the
effect of mirror exist at the
interface with no possibility of light escaping outside the medium. In this
condition angle of reflection (2) is equal to angle of incidence (1). This action is
called as Total Internal Reflection (TIR) of the beam. It is TIR that leads to the
propagation of waves within fiber-cable medium. TIR can be observed only in
materials in which the velocity of light is less than in air.

The refractive index of first medium must be greater than the refractive index of second
one.

1. The angle of incidence must be greater than (or equal to) the critical angle.

Example 1.6.1 : A light ray is incident from medium-1 to medium-2. If the refractive indices
of medium-1 and medium-2 are 1.5 and 1.36 respectively then determine the angle of
o
refraction for an angle of incidence of 30 .
Solution : Medium-1 n1 = 1.5

Medium-2 n2 = 1.36

Angle of incidence 1 = 30o.

Angle of incident 2 = ?

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Angle of refraction 33.46o from normal. … Ans.

Example 1.6.2 : A light ray is incident from glass to air. Calculate the critical angle (c).

Solution : Refractive index of glass n1 = 1.50

Refrative indes of air n2 = 1.00

Example 1.6.3 : Calculate the NA, acceptance angle and critical angle of the fiber having n1
(Core refractive index) = 1.50 and refractive index of cladding = 1.45.

Soluiton : n1 = 1.50, n2 = 1.45

Optical Fiver as Waveguide

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  An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide capable of conveying
electromagnetic waves at optical frequencies. The electromagnetic energy is
in the form of the light and propagates along the axis of the fiber. The
structural of the fiver determines the transmission characteristics.
 The propagation of light along the waveguide is decided by the modes of the
waveguides, here mode means path. Each mode has distict pattern of
electric and magnetic field distributions along the fiber length. Only few
modes can satisfy the homogeneous wav equation in the fiver also the
boundary condition a waveguide surfaces. When there is only one path for light to
follow then it is called as single mode propagation. When there is more than one
path then it is called as multimode propagation.

Single fiber structure

 A single fiber structure is shown in Fig. 1.6.6. It consists of a solid dielectric

cylinder with radius ‘a’. This cylinder is called as core of fiber. The core is
surrounded by dielectric, called cladding. The index of refraction of core
(glass fiber) is slightly greater than the index of refraction of cladding.

If refractive index of core (glass fiver) = n1 and

refractive index of cladding = n2

then n1 > n2.

Fig.1.6.6. Single optical Fibre Structure

Propagation in Optical Fiber

 To understand the general nature of light wave propagation in optical fiber.

We first consider the construction of optical fiber. The innermost is the glass
core of very thin diameter with a slight lower refractive index n2. The light
wave can propagate along such a optical fiber. A single mode propagation is
illustrated in Fig. 1.6.7 along with standard size of fiber.

Single mode fibers are capable of carrying only one signal of a specific wavelength.

 In multimode propagation the light propagates along the fiber in zigzag

fashion, provided it can undergo total internal reflection (TIR) at the
core cladding boundaries.
 Total internal reflection at the fiber wall can occur only if two conditions
are satisfied.

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Condition 1:
The index of refraction of glass fiber must be slightly greater than the index of
refraction of material surrounding the fiber (cladding).

If refractive index of glass fiber = n1

and refractive index of cladding = n2

then n1 > n2.

Condition 2 :

The angle of incidence (1 of light ray must be greater than critical angle (c).

 A light beam is focused at one end of cable. The light enters the fibers at
different angles.
Fig. 1.6.8 shows the conditions exist at the launching end of optic fiber. The light
source is surrounded by air and the refractive index of air is n0 = 1. Let the incident
ray makes an angle 0 with fiber axis. The ray enters into glass

fiber at point P making refracted angle 1 to the fiber axis, the ray is then
propagated diagonally down the core and reflect from the core wall at point
Q. When the light ray reflects off the inner surface, the angle of incidence is equal
to the angle of reflection, which is greater than critical angle.
 In order for a ray of light to propagate down the cable, it must strike the
core cladding interface at an angle that is greater than critical angle (c).

Acceptance Angle

Applying Snell’s law to external incidence angle.

n0 sin 0 = n1 sin 1

But 1 = (90 - c)

sin 1 = sing (90 - c) = cos c

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 Substituting sin 1 in above equation.

n0 sin 0 = n1 cos c

Applying Pythagorean theorem to ΔPQR.

The maximum value of external incidence angle for which light will propagate in the fiber.

When the light rays enters the fivers from an air medium n0 = 1. Then
above equation reduces to,

The angle 0 is called as acceptance angle and defines the maximum

angle in which the light ray may incident on fiber to propagate down the fiber.

Acceptance Cone

 Rotating the acceptance angle around the fiber axis, a cone shaped
pattern is obtained, it is called as acceptance cone of the fiber input. Fig
1.6.10 shows formation of acceptance cone of a fiber cable.

FIG: 1.6.10 shows formation of acceptance cone of a fiber cable.

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  The Cone of acceptance is the angle within which the light is accepted into
the core and is able to travel along the fiber. The launching of light wave
becomes easier for large acceptance come.
 The angle is measured from the axis of the positive cone so the total angle
of convergence is actually twice the stated value.

Numerical Aperture (NA)

 The numerical aperture (NA) of a fiber is a figure of merit which represents

its light gathering capability. Larger the numerical aperture, the greater
the
amount of light accepted by fiber. The acceptance angle also determines how
much light is able to be enter the fiber and hence there is relation between the
numerical aperture and the cone of acceptance.

Numerical aperture (NA) = sin

For air no = 1

Hence acceptance angle = sin-1 NA

By the formula of NA note that the numerical aperture is effectively dependent

only on refractive indices of core and cladding material. NA is not a function of fiber
A
dimension.
l
s
 The index difference (Δ) and the numerical aperture (NA) are related to o
the core and cladding indices:

23
Example 1.6.5 : Calculate the numerical aperture and acceptance angle for a fiber cable …
of which ncore = 1.5 and ncladding = 1.48. The launching takes place from air. (1.6
.4)

24
Solution :

NA = 0.244 …Ans.

Acceptance angle –

Acceptance angle = sin-1 0.244

0 = 14.12o …Ans.

Types of Rays

 If the rays are launched within core of acceptance can be successfully

propagated along the fiber. But the exact path of the ray is determined by
the position and angle of ray at which it strikes the core.
There exists three different types of rays.
i) Skew rays ii) Meridional rays iii) Axial rays.

 The skew rays does not pass through the center, as show in Fig. 1.6.11 (a).
The skew rays reflects off from the core cladding boundaries and again
bounces around the outside of the core. It takes somewhat similar shape of
spiral of helical path.

25
 Fig:1.6.11 Different Ray Propagation

 The meridional ray enters the core and passes through its axis. When the
core surface is parallel, it will always be reflected to pass through the enter.
The meridional ray is shown in fig. 1.6.11 (b).
 The axial ray travels along the axis of the fiber and stays at the axis all the
time. It is shown in fig. 1.6.11 (c).

Modes of Fiber

 Fiber cables cal also be classified as per their mode. Light rays propagate as
an electromagnetic wave along the fiber. The two components, the electric
field and the magnetic field form patterns across the fiber. These patterns
are called modes of transmission. The mode of a fiber refers to the number
of paths for the light rays within the cable. According to modes optic fibers
can be classified into two types.
i) Single mode fiber ii) Multimode fiber.

26
  Multimode fiber was the first fiber type to be manufactured and
commercialized. The term multimode simply refers to the fact that
numerous modes (light rays) are carried simultaneously through the
waveguide. Multimode fiber has a much larger diameter, compared to single
mode fiber, this allows large number of modes.
 Single mode fiber allows propagation to light ray by only one path. Single
mode fibers are best at retaining the fidelity of each light pulse over longer
distance also they do not exhibit dispersion caused by multiple modes.

Thus more information can be transmitted per unit of time.

This gives single mode fiber higher bandwidth compared to multimode fiber.

 Some disadvantages of single mode fiber are smaller core diameter makes
coupling light into the core more difficult. Precision required for single mode
connectors and splices are more demanding.

Fiber Profiles

 A fiber is characterized by its profile and by its core and cladding diameters.
 One way of classifying the fiber cables is according to the index profile at
fiber. The index profile is a graphical representation of value of refractive
index across the core diameter.
 There are two basic types of index profiles.

i) Step index fiber. ii) Graded index fiber.

Fig. 1.6.12 shows the index profiles of fibers.

Step Index (SI) Fiber

 The step index (SI) fiber is a cylindrical waveguide core with central or inner
core has a uniform refractive index of n1 and the core is surrounded by
outer cladding with uniform refractive index of n2. The cladding refractive
index
(n2) is less than the core refractive index (n1). But there is an abrupt change in the
refractive index at the core cladding interface. Refractive index profile of step
indexed optical fiber is shown in Fig. 1.6.13. The refractive index is plotted on
horizontal axis and radial distance from the core is plotted on vertical axis.

27
  The propagation of light wave within the core of step index fiber takes
the path of meridional ray i.e. ray follows a zig-zag path of straight line
segments.
The core typically has diameter of 50-80 µm and the cladding has a diameter of 125
µm.
 The refractive index profile is defined as –

Graded Index (GRIN) Fiber

 The graded index fiber has a core made from many layers of glass.
 In the graded index (GRIN) fiber the refractive index is not uniform within
the core, it is highest at the center and decreases smoothly and continuously
with distance towards the cladding. The refractive index profile across the
core takes the parabolic nature. Fig. 1.6.14 shows refractive index profile of
graded index fiber.

 In graded index fiber the light waves are bent by refraction towards the core
axis and they follow the curved path down the fiber length. This results
because of change in refractive index as moved away from the center of the
core.
 A graded index fiber has lower coupling efficiency and higher bandwidth
than the step index fiber. It is available in 50/125 and 62.5/125 sizes. The
50/125 fiber has been optimized for long haul applications and has a smaller
NA and higher bandwidth. 62.5/125 fiber is optimized for LAN applications
which is costing 25% more than the 50/125 fiber cable.
 The refractive index variation in the core is giver by relationship

where,
= Radial distance from fiber axis

28
 a = Core radius
n1= Refractive index of core

n2 = Refractive index of cladding α

= Shape of index profile.

 Profile parameter α determines the characteristic refractive index profile

of fiber core. The range of refractive index as variation of α is shown in
Fig. 1.6.1

Comparison of Step Index and Graded Index Fiber

Sr.
No Graded index
. Parameter Step index fiber fiber
1. Data rate Slow. Higher
Coupling Coupling efficiency Lower coupling
2. efficiency with fiber efficiency.
is higher.
By total internal Light
3. Ray path reflection. travelled
oscillatory fashion.
Index
4. variation

Numerical
5. aperture NA remains same. Changes continuously
distance from fiber axis.
Material Normally plastic or Only glass is
6. used glass is preferred.
preferred.
7. Bandwidth 10 – 20 MHz/km 1 GHz/km
efficiency

29
 Pulse Pulse spreading by Pulse spreading
8. spreading fiber is less

length is more.
9. Attenuation Less typically 0.34 More 0.6 to 1 dB/km at 1.3
of light dB/km at
1.3 µm. µm.
10 Typical light
source LED. LED, Lasers.

Applications Subscriber local network

communicat
ion. networks.

Optic Fiber Configurations

 Depending on the refractive index profile of fiber and modes of fiber

there exist three types of optical fiber configurations. These optic-fiber
configurations are -

i) Single mode step index fiber.

ii) Multimode step index fiber.
iii) Multimode graded index fiber.

Single mode Step index Fiber

 In single mode step index fiber has a central core that is sufficiently small so
that there is essentially only one path for light ray through the cable. The
light ray is propagated in the fiber through reflection. Typical core sizes are 2
to 15 µm. Single mode fiber is also known as fundamental or monomode
fiber.

Fig. 1.6.16 shows single mode fiber.

30
  Single mode fiber will permit only one mode to propagate and does not
suffer from mode delay differences. These are primarily developed for the
1300 nm window but they can be also be used effectively with time division
multiplex (TDM) and wavelength division multiplex (WDM) systems
operating in 1550 nm wavelength region.
 The core fiber of a single mode fiber is very narrow compared to the
wavelength of light being used. Therefore, only a single path exists through
the cable core through which light can travel. Usually, 20 percent of the light
in a single mode cable actually
travels down the cladding and the effective diameter of the cable is a blend of
single mode core and degree to which the cladding carries light. This is referred to
as the ‘mode field diameter’, which is larger than physical diameter of the core
depending on the refractive indices of the core and cladding.

 The disadvantage of this type of cable is that because of extremely small size
interconnection of cables and interfacing with source is difficult. Another
disadvantage of single mode fibers is that as the refractive index of glass
decreases with optical wavelength, the light velocity will also be wavelength
dependent. Thus the light from an optical transmitter will have definite
spectral width.

Multimode step Index Fiber

 Multimode step index fiber is more widely used type. It is easy to

manufacture. Its core diameter is 50 to 1000 µm i.e. large aperture and
allows more light to enter the cable. The light rays are propagated down the
core in zig-zag manner. There are many many paths that a light ray may
follow during the propagation.
 The light ray is propagated using the principle of total internal reflection
(TIR). Since the core index of refraction is higher than the cladding index of
refraction, the light enters at less than critical angle is guided along the fiber.

 Light rays passing through the fiber are continuously reflected off the
glass cladding towards the centre of the core at different angles and
lengths, limiting overall bandwidth.
 The disadvantage of multimode step index fibers is that the different optical
lengths caused by various angles at which light is propagated relative to the
core, causes the
31
 transmission bandwidth to be fairly small. Because of these limitations, multimode
step index fiber is typically only used in applications requiring distances of less than
1 km.

Multimode Graded Index Fiber

 The core size of multimode graded index fiber cable is varying from 50 to
100 µm range. The light ray is propagated through the refraction. The light
ray enters the fiber at

many different angles. As the light propagates across the core toward the center it
is intersecting a less dense to more dense medium. Therefore the light rays are
being constantly being refracted and ray is bending continuously. This cable is
mostly used for long distance communication.

Fig 1.6.18 shows multimode graded index fiber.

 The light rays no longer follow straight lines, they follow a serpentine path
being gradually bent back towards the center by the continuously declining
refractive index. The modes travelling in a straight line are in a higher
refractive index so they travel slower than the serpentine modes. This
reduces the arrival time disparity because all modes arrive at about the
same time.
 Fig 1.6.19 shows the light trajectory in detail. It is seen that light rays running
close to the fiber axis with shorter path length, will have a lower velocity
because they pass through a region with a high refractive index.

32
 Rays on core edges offers reduced refractive index, hence travel more faster than
axial rays and cause the light components to take same amount of time to travel
the length of fiber, thus minimizing dispersion losses. Each path at a different angle
is termed as
‘transmission mode’ and the NA of graded index fiber is defined as the
maximum value of acceptance angle at the fiber axis.

 Typical attenuation coefficients of graded index fibers at 850 nm are 2.5 to

3 dB/km, while at 1300 nm they are 1.0 to 1.5 dB/km.
 The main advantages of graded index fiber are:
1. Reduced refractive index at the centre of core.
2. Comparatively cheap to produce.
Standard fibers

Cladding Core
Fiber Diamete diam Applicatio
Sr. No. type r eter ns
(µm) (µm)
Single 1. Long
0.1% to
mode distance
1. 125 8 0.2%
2. High
(8/125) data rate
Multimo 1% to 1. Short
de distance
2. 125 50 2%
2. Low data
(50/125) rate
Multimo
1% to
de
3. 125 62.5 2% LAN
(62.5/12
5)
Multimo
1% to
de
4. 140 100 2% LAN
(100/140
)

Mode Theory for Cylindrical Waveguide

33
  To analyze the optical fiber propagation mechanism within a fiber, Maxwell
equations are to solve subject to the cylindrical boundary conditions at core-
cladding interface. The core-cladding boundary conditions lead to coupling
of electric and magnetic field components resulting in hybrid modes. Hence
the analysis of optical waveguide is more complex than metallic hollow
waveguide analysis.
 Depending on the large E-field, the hybrid modes are HE or EH modes. The
two lowest order does are HE11 and TE01.

Overview of Modes

 The order states the number of field zeros across the guide. The electric
fields are not completely confined within the core i.e. they do not go to zero
at core-cladding interface and extends into the cladding. The low order
mode confines the electric field near the axis of the fiber core and there is
less penetration into the cladding. While the high order mode distribute the
field towards the edge of the core fiber and penetrations into the cladding.
Therefore cladding modes also appear resulting in power loss.
 In leaky modes the fields are confined partially in the fiber core attenuated
as they propagate along the fiber length due to radiation and tunnel effect.
 Therefore in order to mode remain guided, the propagation factor β
must satisfy the condition

n2k < β < n1k

n1 = Refractive index of fiber core

where,
n2 = Refractive index of cladding k =

Propagation constant = 2π / λ

 The cladding is used to prevent scattering loss that results from core
material discontinuities. Cladding also improves the mechanical strength of
fiber core and reduces
surface contamination. Plastic cladding is commonly used. Materials used for
fabrication of optical fibers are silicon dioxide (SiO2), boric oxide-silica.

Summary of Key Modal Concepts

 Normalized frequency variable, V is defined as

where, a = Core radiu Free space wav

(1.7
.1)

34
 Since = NA … (1.7.2)

 The total number of modes in a multimode fiber is given by

Example 1.7.1 : Calculate the number of modes of an optical fiber having diameter of 50

µm, n1 = 1.48, n2 = 1.46 and λ = 0.82 µm.

Solution : d = 50 µm

n1 = 1.48

n2 = 1.46
λ = 0.82
µm

NA = (1.482 – 1.462)1/2
NA = 0.243
Number of modes are given by,

35
 M = 1083 …Ans.

Example 1.7.2 : A fiber has normalized frequency V = 26.6 and the operating wavelength is
1300nm. If the radius of the fiber core is 25 µm. Compute the numerical aperture.

Solution : V = 26.6
λ = 1300 nm = 1300 X
10-9 m
a = 25 µm = 25 X 10-
6m

NA = 0.220 … Ans.

Example 1.7.3 : A multimode step index fiber with a core diameter of 80 µm and a relative
index difference of 1.5 % is operating at a wavelength of 0.85 µm. If the core refractive
index is 1.48, estimate the normalized frequency for the fiber and number of guided
modes.

36
 [July/Aug.-
2008, 6 Marks]

Solution : Given : MM step index fiber, 2 a = 80 µm

 Core radians a = 40 µm

Relative index difference, = 1.5% = 0.015

Wavelength, λ = 0.85µm

Core refractive index, n1 = 1.48

Normalized frequency, V = ?

Number of modes, M = ?

Numerical aperture

1/2
= 1.48 (2 X 0.015)

= 0.2563

Normalized frequency is given by,

V = 75.78 … Ans.

Number of modes is given by,

37
 Ans

Example 1.7.4 : A step index multimode fiber with a numerical aperture of a 0.20
supports approximately 1000 modes at an 850 nm wavelength.

i) What is the diameter of its core?

ii) How many modes does the fiber support at 1320 nm?
iii) How many modes does the fiber support at 1550 nm? [Jan./Feb.-2007,
10 Marks]

Solution : i) Number of modes is given by,

38
 a = 60.49 µm … Ans.

ii
)

M = (14.39)2 = 207.07

iii)

M = 300.63

Wave Propagation

Maxwell’s Equations

Maxwell’s equation for non-conducting medium:

X E = - ∂B / X

H = - ∂D /

.D=0

.B0

where,

39
E and H are electric and magnetic field vectors.

 The relation between flux densities and filed

vectors: D = ε0 E + P

B = µ0 H + M

where,

ε0 is vacuum permittivity.

40
µ0 is vacuum permeability.

P is induced electric polarization.

M is induced magnetic polarization (M = 0, for non-magnetic silica glass)

 P and E are related by:

P(r, t) = ε0

Where,

X is linear susceptibility.

 Wave equation:

Fourier transform of E (r, t)

where,

n is refractive index.

α is absorption coefficient.

41
  Both n and α are frequency dependent. The frequency dependence of n
is called as chromatic dispersion or material dispersion.
 For step index fiber,

Fiber Modes

Optical mode : An optical mode is a specific solution of the wave equation that satisfies
boundary conditions. There are three types of fiber modes.

42
 a) Guided modes
b) Leaky modes
c) Radiation modes

 For fiber optic communication system guided mode is sued for

signal transmission.
Considering a step index fiber with core radius ‘a’.
The cylindrical co-ordinates ρ,  and can be used to represent boundary conditions.

 The refractive index ‘n’ has values

 The general solutions for boundary condition of optical field under guided
mode is
infinite at and decay to zero at . Using Maxwell’s equation in the
core region.

 The cut-off condition is defined as –

It is also called as normalized frequency.

Graded Index Fiber Structure

 The Refractive index of graded index fiber decreases continuously

43
 towards its radius from the fiber axis and that for cladding is constant.

 The refractive index variation in the core is usually designed by using power law
relationship.Where, r = Radial distance from fiber axis

a = Core radius

n1 = Refractive index core

n2 Refractive index of cladding and α

= The shape of the index profile

 For graded index fiber, the index difference is given by,

 In graded index fiber the incident light will propagate when local numerical
aperture at distance r from axis, NA is axial numerical aperture NA(0). The
local numerical aperture is given as,

 The axial numerical aperture NA(0) is given as,

Hence Na for graded index decreases to zero as it moves from fiber axis to core-
cladding boundary.

 The variation of NA for different values of α is shown in Fig. 1.7.1.

 The number of modes for graded index fiber in given as,

44
 Single Mode Fibers

 Propagation in single mode fiber is advantageous because signal dispersion

due to delay differences amongst various modes in multimode is avoided.
Multimode step index fibers cannot be used for single mode propagation
due to difficulties in maintaining single mode operation. Therefore for the
transmission of single mode the fiber is designed to allow propagation in one mode
only, while all other modes are attenuated by leakage or absorption.

 For single mode operation, only fundamental LP01 mode many exist. The
single mode propagation of LP01 mode in step index fibers is possible over the
range.

 The normalized frequency for the fiber can be adjusted within the range by
reducing core radius and refractive index difference < 1%. In order to obtain
single mode operation with maximum V number (2.4), the single mode fiber
must have smaller core diameter than the equivalent multimode step index
fiber. But smaller core diameter has problem of launching light into the fiber,
jointing fibers and reduced relative index difference.

 Graded index fibers can also be sued for single mode operation with some
special fiber design. The cut-off value of normalized frequency Vc in single
mode operation for a graded index fiber is given by,

Example 1.8.1 : A multimode step index optical fiber with relative refractive index
difference 1.5% and core refractive index 1.48 is to be used for single mode operation. If
the operating wavelength is 0.85µm calculate the maximum core diameter.

Solution : Given :

n1 = 1.48
∆ = 1.5 % = 0.015

λ = 0.85 µm = 0.85 x 10-6 m

Maximum V value for a fiber which gives single mode operations is 2.4. Normalized

frequency (V number) and core diameter is related by expression,

45
 a = 1.3 µm … Ans.

Maximum core diameter for single mode operation is 2.6 µm.

46
Example 1.8.2 : A GRIN fiber with parabolic refractive index profile core has a refractive index at
the core axis of 1.5 and relative index difference at 1%. Calculate maximum possible core
diameter that allows single mode operations at λ = 1.3 µm.

Solution : Given :

for a GRIN

Maximum value of normalized frequency for single mode operation is given by,

Maximum core radius is given by expression,

a = 3.3 µm … Ans.

 Maximum core diameter which allows single mode operation is 6.6 µm.

Cut-off Wavelength

 One important transmission parameter for single mode fiber us cut-off

wavelength for the first higher order mode as it distinguishes the single
mode and multim0de regions.
 The effective cut-off wavelength λc is defined as the largest wavelength
at which
higher order mode power relative to the fundamental mode
power is reduced to 0.1 dB. The range of cut-off wavelength recommended to
avoid modal noise and dispersion problems is : 1100 to 1280 nm (1.1 to
1.28µm) for single mode fiber at 1.3 µm.
 The cut-off wavelength λc can be computed from expression of
47
 normalized frequency.

…. (1.8.1)

 .... (1.8.2)

where,

Vc is cut-off normalized frequency.

 λc is the wavelength above which a particular fiber becomes single

moded. For same fiber dividing λc by λ we get the relation as:

… (1.8.3)

But for step index fiver Vc = 2.405 then

Example 1.8.3 : Estimate cut-off wavelength for step index fiber in single mode
operation. The core refractive index is 1.46 and core radius is 4.5 µm. The relative index
difference is 0.25 %.

Solutions : Given :

n1 = 1.46

a = 4.5 µm

∆ = 0.25 % = 0.0025

Cut-off wavelength is given by,

For cut-off wavelength, Vc = 2.405

48
 Mode Field Diameter and Spot Size

 The mode filed diameter is fundamental parameter of a single mode

fiber. This parameter is determined from mode field distributions of
fundamental
LP01 mode.

 In step index and graded single mode fibers, the field amplitude distribution
is

49
 approximated by Gaussian distribution. The mode Field diameter (MFD) is distance
between opposite 1/e – 0.37 times the near field strength )amplitude) and power is
1/e2 = 0.135 times.
 In single mode fiber for fundamental mode, on field amplitude
distribution the mode filed diameter is shown in fig. 1.8.1.

 The spot size ω0 is gives as –

MFD = 2 ω0

The parameter takes into account the wavelength dependent filed penetration
into the cladding. Fig. 1.8.2 shows mode field diameters variation with λ.

50
 UNIT - 2

SIGNAL DEGRADATION OPTICAL FIBERS.

Introduction

 One of the important property of optical fiber is signal attenuation. It is also known as fiber loss or
signal loss. The signal attenuation of fiber determines the maximum distance between
transmitter and receiver. The attenuation also determines the number of repeaters required,
maintaining repeater is a costly affair.
 Another important property of optical fiber is distortion mechanism. As the signal pulse travels
along the fiber length it becomes more broader. After sufficient length the broad pulses starts
overlapping with adjacent pulses. This creates error in the receiver. Hence the distortion limits
the information carrying capacity of fiber.

Attenuation

 Attenuation is a measure of decay of signal strength or loss of light power that occurs
as light pulses propagate through the length of the fiber.
 In optical fibers the attenuation is mainly caused by two physical factors absorption and
scattering losses. Absorption is because of fiber material and scattering due to structural
imperfection within the fiber. Nearly 90 % of total attenuation is caused by Rayleigh
scattering only. Microbending of optical fiber also contributes to the attenuation of
signal.
 The rate at which light is absorbed is dependent on the wavelength of the light and the
characteristics of particular glass. Glass is a silicon compound, by adding different
additional chemicals to the basic silicon dioxide the optical properties of the glass can be
changed.
 The Rayleigh scattering is wavelength dependent and reduces rapidly as the
wavelength of the incident radiation increases.
 The attenuation of fiber is governed by the materials from which it is fabricated, the
manufacturing process and the refractive index profile chosen. Attenuation loss is
measured in dB/km.
51
Attenuation Units

 As attenuation leads to a loss of power along the fiber, the output power is
significantly less than the couples power. Let the couples optical power is p(0) i.e. at
origin (z = 0).

Then the power at distance z is given by,

52
where, αp is fiber attenuation constant (per km).

… (2.1.1

This parameter is known as fiber loss or fiber attenuation.

 Attenuation is also a function of wavelength. Optical fiber wavelength as a function

of wavelength is shown in Fig. 2.1.1.

Example 2.1.1 : A low loss fiber has average loss of 3 dB/km at 900 nm. Compute the length over
which –

53
 a) Power decreases by 50 % b) Power decreases by 75 %.

Solution : α = 3 dB/km

a) Power decreases by 50 %. is given by,


z = 1 km … Ans.

b)

Since power decrease by 75 %.

 z = 2 km … Ans.

Example 2.1.2 : For a 30 km long fiber attenuation 0.8 dB/km at 1300nm. If a 200 µwatt power is
launched into the fiber, find the output power.

Solution : z = 30 km

= 0.8 dB/km

P(0) = 200 µW

54
 Attenuation in optical fiber is given by,







55
 Example 2.1.3 : When mean optical power launched into an 8 km length of fiber is 12 µW, the mean
optical power at the fiber output is 3 µW.

Determine –

Overall signal attenuation in dB.

The overall signal attenuation for a 10 km optical link using the same fiber with splices at 1 km
intervals, each giving an attenuation of 1 dB.

Solution : Given : z = 8 km

P(0) = 120 µW

P(z) = 3 µW

1) Overall attenuation is given by,

2) Overall attenuation for 10 km,

Attenuation per km
Attenuation in 10 km link = 2.00 x 10 = 20 dB

In 10 km link there will be 9 splices at 1 km interval. Each splice introducing attenuation of 1 dB.
Total attenuation = 20 dB + 9 dB = 29 dB

56
 Example 2.1.4 : A continuous 12 km long optical fiber link has a loss of 1.5 dB/km.

What is the minimum optical power level that must be launched into the fiber to maintain as
optical power level of 0.3 µW at the receiving end?
What is the required input power if the fiber has a loss of 2.5 dB/km?

Solution : Given data : z = 12 km

= 1.5 dB/km

P(0) = 0.3 µW

Attenuation in optical fiber is given by,

= 1.80

57
Optical power output = 4.76 x 10-9 W … Ans.

ii) Input power = ? P(0)

When α = 2.5 dB/km

58
 P(0) = 4.76 µW

Input power= 4.76 µW … Ans.

Example 2.1.5 : Optical power launched into fiber at transmitter end is 150 µW. The power at the end of
10 km length of the link working in first windows is – 38.2 dBm. Another system of same length working
in second window is 47.5 µW. Same length system working in third window has 50 % launched power.
Calculate fiber attenuation for each case and mention wavelength of operation. [Jan./Feb.-2009, 4
Marks]

Solution : Given data:

P(0) = 150 µW

z= 10 km

z = 10 km

Attenuation in 1st window:

59
Attenuation in 2nd window: … Ans.

rd
Attenuation in 3 window:

… Ans.

60
 … Ans.

Wavelength in 1st window is 850 nm.

nd
Wavelength in 2 window is 1300 nm.

Wavelength in 3rd window is 1550 nm.

Example 2.1.6 : The input power to an optical fiber is 2 mW while the power measured at the output
end is 2 µW. If the fiber attenuation is 0.5 dB/km, calculate the length of the fiber.

Solution : Given : P(0) = 2 mwatt = 2 x 10-3 watt

P(z) = 2 µwatt = 2 x 10-6 watt α

= 0.5 dB/km

… Ans.

Absorption

 Absorption loss is related to the material composition and fabrication process of fiber.
Absorption loss results in dissipation of some optical power as hear in the fiber cable.
Although glass fibers are extremely pure, some impurities still remain as residue after

61
 purification. The amount of absorption by these impurities depends on their
concentration and light wavelength.

 Absorption is caused by three different mechanisms.

Absorption by atomtic defects in glass composition.
Extrinsic absorption by impurity atoms in glass matts.
Intrinsic absorption by basic constituent atom of
fiber.

62
 Absorption by Atomic Defects

 Atomic defects are imperfections in the atomic structure of the fiber materials such as
missing molecules, high density clusters of atom groups. These absorption losses are
negligible compared with intrinsic and extrinsic losses.
 The absorption effect is most significant when fiber is exposed to ionizing radiation in
nuclear reactor, medical therapies, space missions etc. The radiation dames the internal
structure of fiber. The damages are proportional to the intensity of ionizing particles.
This results in increasing attenuation due to atomic defects and absorbing optical
energy. The total dose a material receives is expressed in rad (Si), this is the unit for
measuring radiation absorbed in bulk silicon.

1 rad (Si) = 0.01 J.kg

The higher the radiation intensity more the attenuation as shown in Fig 2.2.1.

Extrinsic Absorption

 Extrinsic absorption occurs due to electronic transitions between the energy level and
because of charge transitions from one ion to another. A major source of attenuation is

63
 from transition of metal impurity ions such as iron, chromium, cobalt and copper. These losses
can be upto 1 to 10 dB/km. The effect of metallic impurities can be reduced by glass refining
techniques.

 Another major extrinsic loss is caused by absorption due to OH (Hydroxil) ions impurities
dissolved in glass. Vibrations occur at wavelengths between 2.7 and 4.2 µm.

64
 The absorption peaks occurs at 1400, 950 and 750 nm. These are first, second and third overtones
respectively.

 Fig. 2.2.2 shows absorption spectrum for OH group in silica. Between these
absorption peaks there are regions of low attenuation.

Intrinsic Absorption

 Intrinsic absorption occurs when material is in absolutely pure state, no density variation
and inhomogenities. Thus intrinsic absorption sets the fundamental lower limit on
absorption for any particular material.
 Intrinsic absorption results from electronic absorption bands in UV region and
from atomic vibration bands in the near infrared region.
 The electronic absorption bands are associated with the band gaps of amorphous glass
materials. Absorption occurs when a photon interacts with an electron in the valene
band and excites it to a higher energy level. UV absorption decays exponentially with
increasing wavelength (λ).
 In the IR (infrared) region above 1.2 µm the optical waveguide loss is determined by
presence of the OH ions and inherent IR absorption of the constituent materials. The
inherent IR absorption is due to interaction between the vibrating band and the
electromagnetic field of optical signal this results in transfer of energy from field to the
band, thereby giving rise to absorption, this absorption is strong because of many bonds
present in the fiber.
 The ultraviolet loss at any wavelength is expressed as,

… (2.2.1)

65
where, x is mole fraction of GeO2.

λ is operating wavelength.

αuv is in dB/km.

 The loss in infrared (IR) region (above 1.2 µm) is given by expression :

… (2.2.2)

The expression is derived for GeO2-SiO2 glass fiber.

Rayleigh Scattering Losses

 Scattering losses exists in optical fibers because of microscopic variations in the material density
and composition. As glass is composed by randomly connected network of
molecules and several oxides (e.g. SiO2, GeO2 and P2O5), these are the major cause of
compositional structure fluctuation. These two effects results to variation in refractive index and
Rayleigh type scattering of light.
 Rayleigh scattering of light is due to small localized changes in the refractive index of the core
and cladding material. There are two causes during the manufacturing of fiber.

 The first is due to slight fluctuation in mixing of ingredients. The random changes because
of this are impossible to eliminate completely.
 The other cause is slight change in density as the silica cools and solidifies. When light ray strikes
such zones it gets scattered in all directions. The amount of scatter depends on the size of the
discontinuity compared with the wavelength of the light so the shortest wavelength (highest
frequency) suffers most scattering. Fig. 2.3.1 shows graphically the relationship between
wavelength and Rayleigh scattering loss.

66
67
 Scattering loss for single component glass is given by,

… (2.3.1)

68
where, n = Refractive index

kB = Boltzmann’s constant

βT = Isothermal compressibility of material

Tf = Temperature at which density fluctuations are frozen into the glass as it solidifies (fictive
temperature)

Another form of equation is

… (2.3.2)

where, P = Photoelastic coefficient

where, = Mean square refractive index fluctuation

= Volume of fiber

 Multimode fibers have higher dopant concentrations and greater compositional

fluctuations. The overall losses in this fibers are more as compared to single mode
fibers. Mie Scattering :
 Linear scattering also occurs at inhomogenities and these arise from imperfections in the
fiber’s geometry, irregularities in the refractive index and the presence of bubbles etc.
caused during manufacture. Careful control of manufacturing process can reduce mie
scattering to insignificant levels.

Bending Loss

 Losses due to curvature and losses caused by an abrupt change in radius of curvature
are referred to as ‘bending losses.’
 The sharp bend of a fiber causes significant radiative losses and there is also
69
 possibility of mechanical failure. This is shown in Fig. 2.4.1.

 As the core bends the normal will follow it and the ray will now find itself on the wrong side of
critical angle and will escape. The sharp bends are therefore avoided.
 The radiation loss from a bent fiber depends on –
Field strength of certain critical distance xc from fiber axis where power is lost
through radiation.
The radius of curvature R.
 The higher order modes are less tightly bound to the fiber core, the higher order modes
radiate out of fiber firstly.
5 For multimode fiber, the effective number of modes that can be guided by curved fiber is
where, α is graded index profile.

is core – cladding index difference.

n2 is refractive index of cladding.k is

wave propagation constant .

N∞ is total number of modes in a straight fiber.

… (2.4.2)

Microbending

 Microbending is a loss due to small bending or distortions. This small microbending is

not visible. The losses due to this are temperature related, tensile related or crush
related.
 The effects of microbending on multimode fiber can result in increasing attenuation
(depending on wavelength) to a series of periodic peaks and troughs on the spectral
attenuation curve. These effects can be minimized during installation and testing.
70
Fig.
2.4.2 illustrates microbening.

71
Macrobending

 The change in spectral attenuation caused by macrobending is different to

microbending. Usually there are no peaks and troughs because in a macrobending no
light is coupled back into the core from the cladding as can happen in the case of
microbends.

 The macrobending losses are cause by large scale bending of fiber. The losses are
eliminated when the bends are straightened. The losses can be minimized by not
exceeding the long term bend radii. Fig. 2.4.3 illustrates macrobending.

Core and Cladding Loss

 Since the core and cladding have different indices of refraction hence they have
different attenuation coefficients α1 and α2 respectively.
 For step index fiber, the loss for a mode order (v, m) is given by,

… (2.5.1)

For low-order modes, the expression reduced to

… (2.5.2)

72
where, and are fractional powers.

 For graded index fiber, loss at radial distance is expressed as,

73
 … (2.5.3)

The loss for a given mode is expressed by,

… (2.5.4)

where, P(r) is power density of that model at radial distance r.

Signal Distortion in Optical Waveguide

 The pulse get distorted as it travels along the fiber lengths. Pulse spreading in fiber is
referred as dispersion. Dispersion is caused by difference in the propagation times of
light rays that takes different paths during the propagation. The light pulses travelling
down the fiber encounter dispersion effect because of this the pulse spreads out in time
domain. Dispersion limits the information bandwidth. The distortion effects can be
analyzed by studying the group velocities in guided modes.

Information Capacity Determination

 Dispersion and attenuation of pulse travelling along the fiber is shown in Fig. 2.6.1.

74
  Fig. 2.6.1 shows, after travelling some distance, pulse starts broadening and overlap
with the neighbouring pulses. At certain distance the pulses are not even distinguishable
and error will occur at receiver. Therefore the information capacity is specified by
bandwidth- distance product (MHz . km). For step index bandwidth distance product is
20 MHz . km and for graded index it is 2.5 MHz . km.

Group Delay

75
  Consider a fiber cable carrying optical signal equally with various modes and each mode
contains all the spectral components in the wavelength band. All the spectral
components travel independently and they observe different time delay and group
delay in the direction of propagation. The velocity at which the energy in a pulse travels
along the fiber is known as group velocity. Group velocity is given by,
… (2.6.1)

 Thus different frequency components in a signal will travel at different group velocities
and so will arrive at their destination at different times, for digital modulation of carrier,
this results in dispersion of pulse, which affects the maximum rate of modulation. Let
the difference in propagation times for two side bands is δτ.

… (2.6.2)

where, = Wavelength difference between upper and lower sideband (spectral

width) = Dispersion coefficient (D)

Then, where, L is length of fiber.

and considering unit length L = 1.

Now

 

 Dispersion is measured in picoseconds per nanometer per kilometer.

76
Material Dispersion

 Material dispersion is also called as chromatic dispersion. Material dispersion exists due
to change in index of refraction for different wavelengths. A light ray contains
components of various wavelengths centered at wavelength λ10. The time delay is different for
different wavelength components. This results in time dispersion of pulse at

77
 the receiving end of fiber. Fig. 2.6.2 shows index of refraction as a function of optical wavelength.

 The material dispersion for unit length (L = 1) is given by

… (2.6.4)

where, c = Light velocity

λ = Center wavelength

= Second derivative of index of refraction w.r.t wavelength

Negative sign shows that the upper sideband signal (lowest wavelength) arrives before the
lower sideband (highest wavelength).

A plot of material dispersion and wavelength is shown in

78
  The unit of dispersion is : ps/nm . km. The amount of material dispersion depends
upon the chemical composition of glass.

Example 2.6.1 : An LED operating at 850 nm has a spectral width of 45 nm. What is the pulse
spreading in ns/km due to material dispersion? [Jan./Feb.-2007, 3 Marks]

Solution : Given : λ = 850 nm

ς = 45 nm

pulse broadening due to material dispersion is given by,

ςm = ς LM

Considering length L = 1 metre

For LED source operating at 850 nm, = 0.025

79


M = 9.8 ps/nm/km

ςm = 441 ns/km … Ans.

80
Example 2.6.2 : What is the pulse spreading when a laser diode having a 2 nm spectral width is used? Find
the the material-dispersion-induced pulse spreading at 1550 nm for an LED with a 75
nm spectral width [Jan./Feb.-2007, 7 Marks]

Solutions : Given : λ = 2 nm

σ = 75

ςm = 2 x 1 x 50 = 100 ns/km … Ans.

For LED

ςm = 75 x 1 x 53.76

ςm = 4.03 ns/km … Ans.

Waveguide Dispersion

 Waveguide dispersion is caused by the difference in the index of refraction between the
core and cladding, resulting in a ‘drag’ effect between the core and cladding portions of
the power.
 Waveguide dispersion is significant only in fibers carrying fewer than 5-10 modes. Since
multimode optical fibers carry hundreds of modes, they will not have observable
waveguide dispersion.
 The group delay (τwg) arising due to waveguide dispersion.

… (2.6.5)

Where, b = Normalized propagation constant k

= 2π / λ (group velocity)

81
Normalized frequency V,

82
  

The second term is waveguide dispersion and is mode dependent term..

 As frequency is a function of wavelength, the group velocity of the energy varies with
frequency. The produces additional losses (waveguide dispersion). The propagation
constant (b) varies with wavelength, the causes of which are independent of material
dispersion.

Chromatic Dispersion

 The combination of material dispersion and waveguide dispersion is called chromatic

dispersion. These losses primarily concern the spectral width of transmitter and choice
of correct wavelength.
 A graph of effective refractive index against wavelength illustrates the effects of
material, chromatic and waveguide dispersion.

Material dispersion and waveguide dispersion effects vary in vary in opposite senses as the
wavelength increased, but at an optimum wavelength around 1300 nm, two effects almost
cancel each other and chromatic dispersion is at minimum. Attenuation is therefore also at
minimum and makes 1300 nm a highly attractive operating wavelength.

83
Modal Dispersion

84
  As only a certain number of modes can propagate down the fiber, each of these modes
carries the modulation signal and each one is incident on the boundary at a different
angle, they will each have their own individual propagation times. The net effect is
spreading of pulse, this form o dispersion is called modal dispersion.
 Modal dispersion takes place in multimode fibers. It is moderately present in
graded index fibers and almost eliminated in single mode step index fibers.
 Modal dispersion is given by,

where ∆tmodal = Dispersion

n1 = Core refractive index Z

= Total fiber length

c = Velocity of light in air

Fractional refractive index

=

Putting in above equation

 The modal dispersion ∆tmodal describes the optical pulse spreading due to modal
effects optical pulse width can be converted to electrical rise time through the
relationship.

Signal distortion in Single Mode Fibers

 The pulse spreading ςwg over range of wavelengths can be obtained from derivative
of group delay with respect t
85
86
where,

… (2.6.8)

 This is the equation for waveguide dispersion for unit

length.

Example 2.6.3 : For a single mode fiber n2 = 1.48 and = 0.2 % operating at A = 1320 nm, compute the

waveguide dispersion if

Solution : n2 = 1.48

0.2

= 1320 nm

Waveguide dispersion is given by,

i) -1.943 picosec/nm .

km. Higher Order Dispersion

 Higher order dispersive effective effects are governed by dispersion slope S.

87
where, D is total dispersion

Also,

where,

β2 and β3 are second and third order dispersion parameters.

 Dispersion slope S plays an important role in designing WDM system

88
Dispersion Induced Limitations

 The extent of pulse broadening depends on the width and the shape of input pulses.
The pulse broadening is studied with the help of wave equation.

Basic Propagation Equation

 The basic propagation equation which governs pulse evolution in a single mode fiber
is given by,

where,

β1, β2 and β3 are different dispersion parameters.

Chirped Gaussian Pulses

 A pulse is said to b e chirped if its carrier frequency changes with time.

 For a Gaussian spectrum having spectral width ςω, the pulse broadening factor is
given by,

where, Vω = 2ςω ς0

Limitations of Bit Rate

 The limiting bit rate is given by,

4B ς ≤ 1

89
The condition relating bit rate-distance product (BL) and dispersion (D) is given

90
where, S is dispersion slope.

 Limiting bit rate a single mode fibers as a function of fiber length for ςλ = 0, a and 5nm is
shown in fig. 2.6.5.

Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)

 Different frequency component of a pulse acquires different polarization state (such as

linear polarization and circular polarization). This results in pulse broadening is know as
polarization mode dispersion (PMD).
 PMD is the limiting factor for optical communication system at high data rates.
The effects of PMD must be compensated.

Pulse Broadening in GI Fibers

 The core refractive index varies radially in case of graded index fibers, hence it supports
multimode propagation with a low intermodal delay distortion and high data rate over
long distance is possible. The higher order modes travelling in outer regions of the core,
will travel faster than the lower order modes travelling in high refractive index region. If
the index profile is carefully controlled, then the transit times of the individual modes
will be identical, so eliminating modal dispersion.
The r.m.s pulse broadening is given as:

62
 … (2.7.1)

where,

ςintermodal – R.M.S pulse width due to intermodal delay distortion.

ςintermodal – R.M.S pulse width resulting from pulse broadening within each mode.

 The intermodal delay and pulse broadening are related by expression given by Personick.

… (2.7.2)

Where τg is group delay.

From this the expression for intermodal pulse broadening is given as:

… (2.7.3)

 The intramodal pulse broadening is given as :

… (2.7.4)

Where ςλ is spectral width of optical source.

Solving the expression gives :

63
64
 Mode Coupling

 After certain initial length, the pulse distortion increases less rapidly because of
mode coupling. The energy from one mode is coupled to other mods because of:
Structural imperfections.
Fiber diameter variations.
Refractive index variations.
Microbends in cable.

 Due to the mode coupling, average propagation delay become less and
intermodal distortion reduces.
 Suppose certain initial coupling length = Lc, mode coupling length, over Lc = Z.
Additional loss associated with mode coupling = h (dB/ km).

Therefore the excess attenuation resulting from mode coupling = hZ. The

improvement in pulse spreading by mode coupling is given as :

where, C is constant independent of all dimensional quantities and refractive indices. ςc is

pulse broadening under mode coupling.

ς0 is pulse broadening in absence of mode coupling.

For long fiber length’s the effect of mode coupling on pulse distortion is significant. For a graded
index fiber, the effect of distance on pulse broading for various coupling losses are shown

65
 Significant mode coupling occurs of connectors, splices and with other passive
components of an optical link.

Design Optimization

 Features of single mode fibers are

: Longer life.
Low attenuation.
Signal transfer quality is good.
Modal noise is absent.
Largest BW-distance product.
 Basic design – optimization includes the following :
Cut-off wavelength.
Dispersion.
Mode field diameter.
Bending loss.
Refractive index profile.

Refractive Index Profile

Dispersion of single mode silica fiber is lowest at 1300 nm while its attenuation is minimum at
1550 nm. For archiving maximum transmission distance the dispersion null should be at the

66
 wavelength of minimum attenuation. The waveguide dispersion is easier to control than the
material dispersion. Therefore a variety of core-cladding refractive.

idex configuration fivers. Such as 1300 nm – optimized fibers, dispersion shifted fibers,
dispersion – flattened fibers and large effective core area fibers.

1300 nm – Optimized Fibers

These are most popularly used fibers. The two configurations of 1300 nm – optimized single
mode fibers are :

67
 Matched cladding fibers.
Dressed cladding fibers.
Matched cladding fibers have uniform refractive index throughout its cladding. Typical
diameter is 9.0 µm and ∆ = 0.35 %.
Dressed cladding fibers have the innermost cladding portion has low refractive index than
outrcladding region. Typical diameter is 8.4 µm and ∆1 = 0.25 %, ∆2 = 0.12 %.

Fig 2.9.1 shows both types of fibers.

2. Dispersion Shifted Fibers

3. The addition of wavelength and material dispersion can shift the zero dispersion point
of longer wavelength. Two configurations of dispersion shifted fibers are
68
 Step index dispersion shifted fiber.
Triangular dispersion shifted fiber.

Dispersion Flattened

69
 Dispersion flattened fibers are more complex to design. It offers much broader span of
wavelengths to suit desirable characteristics. Two configurations are :

 Fig 2.9.4 shows total resultant dispersion.

Dispersion Calculations

 The total dispersion consists of material and waveguide dispersions. The

resultant intermodal dispersion is given as,

where, τ is group delay per unit length of fiber.

The broadening ς of an optical pulse is given

70
ς = D (λ) Lς λ

71
where, ςλ is half power spectral width of source.

 As the dispersion varies with wavelength and fiber type. Different formulae are used to
calculate dispersions for variety of fiber at different wavelength.
 For a non – dispersion shifted fiber between 1270 nm to 1340 nm wavelength, the
expression for dispersion is given as :

where,

λ0 is zero dispersion wavelength.

S0 is value at dispersion slop at λ0.

 Fig 2.9.5 shows dispersion performance curve for non-dispersion shifted fibers in 1270 – 1340 nm
region.

72
73
  Maximum dispersion specified as 3.5 ps/(nm . km) marked as dotted line in Fig. 2.9.5.

The cut-off frequency of an optical fiber

 The cut-off frequency of an optical fiber is determined not only by the fiber itself (modal
dispersion in case of multimode fibers and waveguide dispersion in case of single mode
fibers) but also by the amount of material dispersion caused by the spectral width of
transmitter.
Bending Loss Limitations

 The macrobending and microbending losses are significant in single mode fibers at 1550
nm region, the lower cut-off wavelengths affects more. Fig. 2.9.6 shows macrobending
losses.

 The bending losses are function of mode-filed diameter, smaller the mode-field diameter, the
smaller the bending loss. Fig. 2.9.7 shows loss due to mode-field diameter.
 The bending losses are also function of bend-radius of curvature. If the bend radius is less,

74
the losses are more and when the radius is more, the bending losses are less.

75
Recommended Questions:

d) Briefly explain material dispersion with suitable sketch.

e) Give expression of pulse broadening in graded index fiber.
f) State the significance of mode coupling in optic fiber communication.
g) Explain in detail the design optimization of single mode fibers.
h) Elaborate dispersion mechanism in optical fibers.

UNIT - 3
OPTICAL DETECTORS
Optical Sources

 Optical transmitter coverts electrical input signal into corresponding optical signal. The optical
signal is then launched into the fiber. Optical source is the major component in an optical
transmitter.
 Popularly used optical transmitters are Light Emitting Diode (LED) and semiconductor Laser
Diodes (LD).

Characteristics of Light Source of Communication

 To be useful in an optical link, a light source needs the following characteristics:

It must be possible to operate the device continuously at a variety of temperatures for
many years.
It must be possible to modulate the light output over a wide range of modulating
frequencies.
For fiber links, the wavelength of the output should coincide with one of transmission windows for
the fiber type used.
To couple large amount of power into an optical fiber, the emitting area should be small.
To reduce material dispersion in an optical fiber link, the output spectrum should be
narrow.
76
The power requirement for its operation must be low.

77
 The light source must be compatible with the modern solid state devices.
The optical output power must be directly modulated by varying the input current to
the device.
Better linearity of prevent harmonics and intermodulation distortion. High
coupling efficiency.
High optical output power.
High reliability.

Low weight and low cost.

Two types of light sources used in fiber optics are light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes
(LDs).

Light Emitting Diodes(LEDs) p-n

Junction

Conventional p-n junction is called as homojunction as same semiconductor material is sued on

both sides junction. The electron-hole recombination occurs in relatively

layer = 10 µm. As the carriers are not confined to the immediate vicinity of junction, hence
high current densities can not be realized.

 The carrier confinement problem can be resolved by sandwiching a thin layer ( = 0.1 µm)
between p-type and n-type layers. The middle layer may or may not be doped. The
carrier confinement occurs due to bandgap discontinuity of the junction. Such a junction
is call heterojunction and the device is called double heterostructure.
 In any optical communication system when the requirements is –
1. Bit rate f 100-2—Mb/sec.
2. Optical power in tens of micro watts.
LEDs are best suitable optical source.

LED Structures

Heterojuncitons

 A heterojunction is an interface between two adjoining single

crystal semiconductors with different bandgap.
78
 Heterojuctions are of two types, Isotype (n-n or p-p) or Antisotype (p-n).

79
Double Heterojunctions (DH)

In order to achieve efficient confinement of emitted radiation double heterojunctions are used
in LED structure. A heterojunciton is a junction formed by dissimilar semiconductors. Double
heterojunction (DH) is formed by two different semiconductors on each side of active region. Fig. 3.1.1
shows double heterojunction (DH) light emitter.

 The crosshatched regions represent the energy levels of freecharge. Recombination

occurs only in active InGaAsP layer. The two materials have different bandgap energies
and different refractive indices. The changes in bandgap energies create potential
barrier for both holes and electrons. The free charges can recombine only in narrow,
well defined active layer side.
 A double heterjuction (DH) structure will confine both hole and electrons to a narrow
active layer. Under forward bias, there will be a large number of carriers injected into
active region where they are efficiently confined. Carrier recombination occurs in small
active region so leading to an efficient device. Antoer advantage DH structure is that the
active region has a higher refractive index than the materials on either side, hence light
emission occurs in an optical waveguide, which serves to narrow the output beam.

LED configurations

 At present there are two main types of LED used in optical fiber links –
Surface emitting LED.
Edge emitting LED.
Both devices used a DH structure to constrain the carriers and the light to an
active layer.

Surface Emitting LEDs

80
 In surface emitting LEDs the plane of active light emitting region is oriented perpendicularly to the
axis of the fiber. A DH diode is grown on an N-type substrate at the top of the diode as shown in Fig. 3.1.2. A
circular well is etched through the substrate of the device. A fiber is then connected to accept the emitted

 At the back of device is a gold heat sink. The current flows through the p-type
material and forms the small circular active region resulting in the intense beam of
light. Diameter of circular active area = 50 µm
Thickness of circular active area = 2.5 µm
Current density = 2000 A/cm2 half-power
Emission pattern = Isotropic, 120o
beamwidth.

 The isotropic emission pattern from surface emitting LED is of Lambartian pattern. In
Lambartian pattern, the emitting surface is uniformly bright, but its projected area
diminishes as cos θ, where θ is the angle between the viewing direction and the normal
to the surface as shown in Fig. 3.1.3. The beam intensity is maximum along the normal.

81
 The power is reduced to 50% of its peak when θ = 60o, therefore the total half-
power beamwidth is 120o. The radiation pattern decides the coupling efficiency of
LED.

82
Edge Emitting LEDS (ELEDs)

 In order to reduce the losses caused by absorption in the active layer and to make the
beam more directional, the light is collected from the edge of the LED. Such a device is
known as edge emitting LED or ELED.
It consists of an active junction region which is the source of incoherent light and two guiding
layers. The refractive index of guiding layers is lower than active region but higher than outer surrounding material.
Thus a waveguide channel is form and optical radiation is directed into the fiber. Fig.
shows structure of LED

Edge emitter’s emission pattern is more concentrated (directional) providing improved coupling
efficiency. The beam is Lambartian in the plane parallel to the junction but diverges more slowly in the
plane perpendicular to the junction. In this plane, the beam divergence is limited. In the parallel plane,
there is no beam confinement and the radiation is Lambartian. To maximize the useful output power, a
reflector may be placed at the end of the diode opposite the emitting edge. Fig. 3.1.5 shows radiation
from ELED.

83
Features of ELED:

Linear relationship between optical output and current.

Spectral width is 25 to 400 nm for λ = 0.8 – 0.9 µm.
Modulation bandwidth is much large.

84
 Not affected by catastrophic gradation mechanisms hence are more reliable. ELEDs
have better coupling efficiency than surface emitter.
ELEDs are temperature sensitive.

Usage :

7. LEDs are suited for short range narrow and medium bandwidth links.
8. Suitable for digital systems up to 140 Mb/sec.
9. Long distance analog links

Light Source Materials

 The spontaneous emission due to carrier recombination is called electro luminescence. To
encourage electroluminescence it is necessary to select as appropriate semiconductor material.
The semiconductors depending on energy bandgap can be categorized into,
Direct bandgap semiconductors.
Indirect bandgap semiconductors.

 Some commonly used bandgap semiconductors are shown in following table 3.1.1

Semiconductor Energy bandgap (eV) Recombination Br (cm3 / sec)

GaAs Direct : 1.43 7.21 x 10-10

GaSb Direct : 0.73 2.39 x 10-10

InAs Direct : 0.35 8.5 x 10-11

InSb Direct : 0.18 4.58 x 10-11

Si Indirect : 1.12 1.79 x 10-15

Ge Indirect : 0.67 5.25 x 10-14

GaP Indirect : 2.26 5.37 x 10-14

85
 Table 3.1.1 Semiconductor material for optical sources

 Direct bandgap semiconductors are most useful for this purpose. In direct bandgap
semiconductors the electrons and holes on either side of bandgap have same value of crystal
momentum. Hence direct recombination is possible. The recombination occurs

within 10-8 to 10-10 sec.

 In indirect bandgap semiconductors, the maximum and minimum energies occur at

86
 different values of crystal momentum. The recombination in these semiconductors is quite
slow i.e. 10-2 and 10-3 sec.
The active layer semiconductor material must have a direct bandgap. In direct bandgap semiconductor,
electrons and holes can recombine directly without need of third particle to conserve momentum. In these
materials the optical radiation is sufficiently high. these
materials are compounds of group III elements (Al, Ga, In) and group V element (P, As,
Sb). Some tertiary allos Ga1-x Alx As are also used.

 Emission spectrum of Ga1-x AlxAs LED is shown in Fig. 3.1.6.

 The peak output power is obtained at 810 nm. The width of emission spectrum at half power (0.5)
is referred as full width half maximum (FWHM) spectral width. For the given LED FWHM is 36
nm.
 The fundamental quantum mechanical relationship between gap energy E and frequency v is
given as –

87
 where, energy (E) is in joules and wavelength (λ) is in meters. Expressing the gap energy (Eg) in
electron volts and wavelength (λ) in micrometers for this application.

88
Different materials and alloys have different band gap energies

 The bandgap energy (Eg) can be controlled by two compositional parameters x and y, within direct
bandgap region. The quartenary alloy In1-x Gax Asy P1-y is the principal material sued in such
LEDs. Two expression relating Eg and x,y are –

… 3.1.3

… 3.1.4

Example 3.1.1 : Compute the emitted wavelength from an optical source having x = 0.07.

Solution : x = 0.07

Eg = 1.513
eV

Now

89
 …Ans.

Example 3.1.2 : For an alloy In0.74 Ga0.26 As0.57 P0.43 to be sued in Led. Find the wavelength
emitted by this source.

Solution : Comparing the alloy with the quartenary alloy composition.

In1-x Gax As P1-y it is found that

x = 0.26 and y= 0.57

90
 Eg = 1.35 – 0.72 y + 0.12 y2

Using

Eg = 1.35-(0.72 x 0.57) + 0.12 x 0.572 Eg =

0.978 eV

Now

… Ans.

Quantum Efficiency and Power

 The internal quantum efficiency (ηint) is defined as the ratio of radiative

recombination rate to the total recombination rate.

… 3.1.5

Where,

Rr is radiative recombination rate.

Rnr is non-radiative recombination rate.

91
If n are the excess carriers, then radiative life time, and

non-radiative life time,

The internal quantum efficiency is given

 The recombination time of carriers in active region is τ. It is also known as bulk
recombination life time.

… 3.1.7

92
Therefore internal quantum efficiency is given as –

… 3.1.8

 If the current injected into the LED is I and q is electron charge then total number
of recombinations per second is –

From equation 3.1.5

 

 Optical power generated internally in LED is given as –

  
93





Not all internally generated photons will available from output of device. The external quantum
efficiency is used to calculate the emitted power. The external quantum

efficiency is defined as the ratio of photons emitted from LED to the number of photons generated
internally. It is given by equation

… 3.1.11

94
  The optical output power emitted from LED is given as –

Example 3.1.3 : The radiative and non radiative recombination life times of minority carriers in the
active region of a double heterojunction LED are 60 nsec and 90 nsec respectively. Determine the total
carrier recombination life time and optical power generated internally if the peak emission wavelength
si 870 nm and the drive currect is 40 mA. [July/Aug.-2006, 6 Marks]

Solutions : Given : λ = 870 nm 0.87 x 10-6 m

τr = 60 nsec.

τnr = 90 nsec.

I = 40 mA = 0.04 Amp.

i) Total carrier recombination life time:

 τ   nsec. … Ans.

ii) Internal optical power

95
Example 3.1.4 : A double heterjunciton InGaAsP LED operating at 1310 nm has radiative and non-
radiative recombination times of 30 and 100 ns respectively. The current injected is 40 Ma. Calculate –

Bulk recombination life time.

Internal quantum efficiency.
Internal power level.

Solution : λ = 1310 nm = (1.31 x 10-6 m)

τr = 30 ns

τnr = 100 ns

I = 40 MA – 0.04 Amp.

Bulk Recombination Life time (τ) :

 τ   nsec. … Ans.

81
 Internal euqntum efficienty (ηint)

… Ans.
iii) Internal pwer level (Pint) :

82
 Advantages and Disadvantages of LED

Advantages of LED

Simple design.
Ease of manufacture. Simple
system integration. Low
cost.

High reliability.

Disadvantages of LED

Refraction of light at semiconductor/air interface.

The average life time of a radiative recombination is only a few nanoseconds, therefore nodulation BW
is limited to only few hundred megahertz.
Low coupling efficiency. Large
chromatic dispersion.

Comparison of Surface and Edge Emitting LED

Maximum
Fiber coupled power
LED type modulation Output power (mW)
(mW)
frequency (MHz)
Surface emitting 60 <4 < 0.2

Edge emitting 200 <7 < 1.0

Injection Laser Diode (ILD)

 The laser is a device which amplifies the light, hence the LASER is an acronym for light
amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

83
The operation of the device may be described by the formation of an electromagnetic standing
wave within a cavity (optical resonator) which provides an output of monochromatic highly
coherent radiation.

84
Principle :

Material absorb light than emitting. Three different fundamental process occurs between the
two energy states of an atom.
Absorption 2) Spontaneous emission 3) Stimulated emission.

 Laser action is the result of three process absorption of energy packets (photons)
spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission. (These processes are represented by
the simple two-energy-level diagrams).
Where E1 is the lower state energy level.

E2 is the higher state energy level.

 Quantum theory states that any atom exists only in certain discrete energy state,
absorption or emission of light causes them to make a transition from one state to
another. The frequency of the absorbed or emitted radiation f is related to the
difference in energy E between the two states.
If E1 is lower state energy level. and
E2 is higher state energy level. E = (E2
– E1) = h.f.
-34
Where, h = 6.626 x 10 J/s (Plank’s constant).
An atom is initially in the lower energy state, when the photon with energy (E2 – E1) is
incident on the atom it will be excited into the higher energy state E2 through the absorption
of the photon

 When the atom is initially in the higher energy state E2, it can make a transition to the
lower energy state E1 providing the emission of a photon at a frequency corresponding to E = h.f.
The emission process can occur in two ways.
85
By spontaneous emission in which the atom returns to the lower energy state in
random manner.
By stimulated emission when a photon having equal energy to the difference between
the two states (E2 – E1) interacts with the atom causing it to the lower state with the
creation of the second photon

86
  Spontaneous emission gives incoherent radiation while stimulated emission gives
coherent radiation. Hence the light associated with emitted photon is of same
frequency of incident photon, and in same phase with same polarization.
 It means that when an atom is stimulated to emit light energy by an incident wave, the
liberated energy can add to the wave in constructive manner. The emitted light is
bounced back and forth internally between two reflecting surface. The bouncing back
and forth of light wave cause their intensity to reinforce and build-up. The result in a
high brilliance, single frequency light beam providing amplification.

Emission and Absorption Rates

 It N1 and N2 are the atomic densities in the ground and excited states.

Rate of spontaneous emission

Rspon = AN2 … 3.1.13

Rate of stimulated emission

87
 Rstim = BN2 ρem … 3.1.14

Rate of absorption

Rabs = B’ N1 ρem … 3.1.15

88
 where,

A, B and B’ are constants.

ρem is spectral density.

 Under equilibrium condition the atomic densities N1 and N2 are given by

Boltzmann statistics.

… 3.1.16

… 3.1.17

where,

KB is Boltzmann constant. T

is absolute temperature.

 Under equilibrium the upward and downward transition rates are equal.

AN2 + BN2 ρem = B’ N1 ρem … 3.1.18

Spectral density ρem

… 3.1.19

Comparing spectral density of black body radiation given by Plank’s formula,

… 3.1.20

Therefore, … 3.1.21
 A and B are called Einstein’s coefficient.

Fabry – Perot Resonator

 Lasers are oscillators operating at frequency. The oscillator is formed by a resonant

cavity providing a selective feedback. The cavity is normally a Fabry-Perot resonator i.e.
two parallel plane mirrors separated by distance L,

89
 Light propagating along the axis of the interferometer is reflected by the mirrors back to the amplifying
medium providing optical gain. The dimensions of cavity are 25-500 µm longitudinal 5-15 µm lateral and
0.1-0.2 µm transverse. Fig. 3.1.10 shows Fabry-Perot resonator cavity for a laser diode.

 The two heterojunctions provide carrier and optical confinement in a direction normal
to the junction. The current at which lasing starts is the threshold current. Above this
current the output power increases sharply.

Distributed Feedback (DFB) Laser

In DFB laster the lasing action is obtained by periodic variations of refractive index along the
longitudinal dimension of the diode. Fig. 3.1.11 shows the structure of DFB laser diode

Lasing conditions and resonant Frequencies

 The electromagnetic wave propagating in longitudinal direction is expressed as –

E(z, t) = I(z) ej(ω t-β z) …3.1.23

where,

I(z) is optical field intensity.

90
 is optical radian

frequency. β is propagation

constant.

91
 The fundamental expression for lasing in Fabry-Perot cavity is –

… 3.1.24

where,

is optical field confinement factor or the fraction of optical power in the active layer. α is
effective absorption coefficient of material.

g is gain coefficient.

h v is photon energy.

z is distance traverses along the lasing cavity.

The condition of lasing threshold is given as –

For amplitude : I (2L) = I (0) For

phase : e-j2β L = 1
Optical gain at threshold = Total loss in the cavity.

i.e. Γ gth = αt

 Now the lasing expression is reduced to –

… 3.1.26

92
 … 3.1.27

where,

Αend is mirror loss in lasing cavity.

 An important condition for lasing to occur is that gain, g ≥ g th i.e. threshold gain.

Example 3.1.5 : Find the optical gain at threshold of a laser diode having following parametric values –
R1 = R2 = 0.32, α = 10cm-1 and L = 500 µm.

93
 Solution : Optical gain in laser diode is given by –

… Ans.

Power Current Characteristics

The output optic power versus forward input current characteristics is plotted in Fig.
3.1.12 for a typical laser diode. Below the threshold current (Ith) only spontaneous emission is
emitted hence there is small increase in optic power with drive current. at threshold when
lasing conditions are satisfied. The optical power increases sharply after the lasing threshold
because of stimulated emission.

 The lasing threshold optical gain (gth) is related by threshold current density (Jth)
for stimulated emission by expression –

g th = β Jth … 3.1.28

where, β is constant for device structure.

94
 Fig. 3.1.12 Power current characteristics

External Quantum Efficiency

95
  The external quantum efficiency is defined as the number of photons emitted per electron
hole pair recombination above threshold point. The external quantum efficiency ηext is given
by –

… 3.1.29

where,

ηi = Internal quantum efficiency (0.6-0.7). gth =

Threshold gain.

α = Absorption coefficient

 Typical value of ηext for standard semiconductor laser is ranging between 15-20 %.

Resonant Frequencies

 At threshold lasing

2β L = 2π m

where, (propagation constant)

m is an integer.

 m  

Since c = vλ

96


Substituting λ in 3.1.30

=z… 3.1.31

 Gain in any laser is a function of frequency. For a Gaussian output the gain
and frequency are related by expression –

97
 … 3.1.32

where,

g(0) is maximum gain.

λ0 is center wavelength in spectrum.

is spectral width of the gain.The frequency spacing between the two successive modes is –

… 3.1.34

Optical Characteristics of LED and Laser

 The output of laser diode depends on the drive current passing through it. At low drive
current, the laser operates as an inefficient Led, When drive current crosses threshold
value, lasing action beings. Fig. 3.1.13 illustrates graph comparing optical powers of LED
operation (due to spontaneous emission) and laser operation (due to stimulated
emission).

98
Spectral and Spatial Distribution of Led and Laser

At low current laser diode acts like normal LED above threshold current, stimulated emission i.e.
narrowing of light ray to a few spectral lines instead of broad spectral distribution, exist. This enables the laser to
easily couple to single mode fiber and reduces the amount of uncoupled light (i.e. spatial radiation distribution).
Fig. 3.1.14 shows spectral and spatial distribution difference between two diodes

99
Advantages and Disadvantages of Laser Diode

Advantages of Laser Diode

Simple economic design.

High optical power.
Production of light can be precisely controlled. Can be
used at high temperatures.
Better modulation capability.
High coupling efficiency.
Low spectral width (3.5 nm)
Ability to transmit optical output powers between 5 and 10 mW. Ability to
maintain the intrinsic layer characteristics over long periods.

Disadvantages of Laser Diode

At the end of fiber, a speckle pattern appears as two coherent light beams add or subtract their
electric field depending upon their relative phases.
Laser diode is extremely sensitive to overload currents and at high transmission rates, when
laser is required to operate continuously the use of large drive current produces unfavourable
thermal characteristics and necessitates the use of cooling and power stabilization.

Comparison of LED and Laser Diode

Sr. No. Parameter LED LD (Laser Diode)

1. Principle of operation Spontaneous emission. Stimulated emission.

2. Output beam Non – coherent. Coherent.

10
0
3. Spectral width Board spectrum (20 nm – 100 nm) Much narrower (1-5 nm).

10
1
4. Data rate Low. Very high.

5. Transmission distance Smaller. Greater.

6. Temperature sensitivity Less sensitive. More temperature sensitive.

7. Coupling efficiency Very low. High.

10
2
 Multimode step index multimode Single mode Sl Multimode
8. Compatible fibers
GRIN. GRIN.
9. Circuit complexity Simple Complex

10. Life time 105 hours. 104 hours.

11. Cost Low. High.

Linearly proportional to drive Proportional to current
12. Output power
current. above threshold.
Threshold current 5 to 40
13. Current required Drive current 50 to 100 mA peak.
mA.
14. Wavelengths available 0.66 to 1.65 µm. 0.78 to 1.65 µm.
Long distance high data
15. Applications Moderate distance low data rate.
rates.

Important Formulae for LED and Laser

LED

1.

2.

3.

4.

LASER

1.
93
2.

3.

94
 Optical Detectors

Principles of Optical Detectors

 The photodetector works on the principle of optical absorption. The main requirement
of light detector or photodector is its fast response. For fiber optic communication
purpose most suited photodetectors are PIN (p-type- Instrinsic-n-type) diodes and APD
(Avalanche photodiodes)
 The performance parameters of a photodetector are responsivity, quantum
efficiency, response time and dark current.

Cut-off Wavelength (λc)

 Any particular semiconductor can absorb photon over a limited wavelength range. The
highest wavelength is known as cut-off wavelength (λc). The cut-off wavelength is
determined by bandgap energy Eg of material.

… 3.2.1

where,

Eg inelectron volts (eV) and

λc cut-off wavelength is in µm.

Typical value of λc for silicon is 1.06 µm and for germanium it is 1.6 µm.

Quantum Efficiency (η)

 The quantum efficiency is define as the number of electron-hole carrier pair

generated per incident photon of energy h v and is given as –

95
 … 3.2.2

where, Ip is average photocurrent.

Pin is average optical power incident on photo detectors.

96
  Absorption coefficient of material determines the quantum efficiency. Quantum
efficiency η < 1 as all the photons incident will not generate e-h pairs. It is normally
expressed in percentage.

Fiber Alignment

 In any fiber optic communication system, in order to increase fiber length there is need to joint
the length of fiber. The interconnection of fiber causes some loss of optical power. Different
techniques are used to interconnect fibers. A permanent joint of cable is referred to as splice
and a temporary joint can be done with the connector.
 The fraction of energy coupled from one fiber to other proportional to common mode
volume Mcommon. The fiber – to – fiber coupling efficiency is given as –

where,

ME is number of modes in fiber which launches power into next fiber.

 The fiber – to – fiber coupling loss LF is given as –

LF = -10log ηF

Mechanical Misalignment

The diameter of fiber is few micrometer hence the microscopic alignment is required. If the radiation
cone of emitting fiber does not match the acceptance cone of receiving fiber, radiation loss takes place.
The magnitude of radiation loss depends on the degree of misalignment. Different types of mechanical
misalignments are shown in Fig. 4.1.1.

97
 Lateral misalignment
Lateral or axial misalignment occurs when the axes of two fibers are separated by
distance ‘d’.

Longitudinal misalignment
Longitudinal misalignment occurs when fibers have same axes but their end faces are
separated by distance ‘S’.
Angular misalignment
Angular misalignment occurs when fiber axes and fiber end faces are no longer parallel. There
is an angle ‘θ’ between fiber end faces.
The axial or lateral misalignment is most common in practice causing considerable power loss. The
axial offset reduces the common core area of two fiber end faces as shown in

98
  The optical power coupled is proportional to common area of two fiber
cores. The common area is given by expression –

… (4.1.3)

where,

99
 a is core radius of fiber.

d is separation of core axes.

 The coupling efficiency for step index fiber is the ratio of common core area to the
end- face area.

 For graded index fiber, the total received power for axial misalignment is given by –

.1.5)

where,

P is the power in emitting fiber.

When, d << a, the above expression reduces … (4.1.6)

Fiber Related Losses

100
 Losses in fiber cables also causes due to differences in geometrical
and fiber characteristics.
These includes,

1) Variation in core diameter.

2) Core area ellipticity.
3) Numerical aperture.
4) Refractive – index profile.
5) Core-cladding concentricity.

The user have less control over these variations since they are related to
manufacturing process.

101
  Coupling loss when emitter fiber radius aE and receiving fiber radius aR is not same,
is given as –

(4.1.7)

where,

aE is emitter fiber radius. aR

is receiver fiber radius.

 Coupling loss when numerical apertures of two fibers are not equal, to expressed as –

(4.1.8)

 Coupling loss when core refractive index of two fibers are not same, is expressed as

(4.1.9)

Fiber Splices

 A permanent or semipermanent connection between two individual optical fibers

is known as fiber splice. And the process of joining two fibers is called as splicing.
 Typically, a splice is used outside the buildings and connectors are used to join the cables
within the buildings. Splices offer lower attenuation and lower back reflection than
connectors and are less expensive.

Types of Splicing

 There are two main types of splicing

102
 Fusion splicing.
Mechanical splicing / V groove

Fusion Splicing

 Fusion splicing involves butting two cleaned fiber end faces and heating them until they melt
together or fuse.
 Fusion splicing is normally done with a fusion splicer that controls the alignment of the two
fibers to keep losses as low as 0.05 dB.

103
 6. Fiber ends are first prealigned and butted together under a microscope with
micromanipulators. The butted joint is heated with electric arc or laser pulse to melt the
fiber ends so can be bonded together. Fig. 4.2.1 shows fusion splicing of optical fiber

Mechanical Splicing / V Groove

 Mechanical splices join two fibers together by clamping them with a structure or by
epoxying the fibers together.
 Mechanical splices may have a slightly higher loss and back reflection. These can be reduced by
inserting index matching gel.
 V groove mechanical splicing provides a temporary joint i.e fibers can be disassembled if required. The
fiber ends are butted together in a V – shaped groove as shown in Fig..

104
  The splice loss depends on fiber size and eccentricity.

Source-to-Fiber Power Launching

105
 Optical output from a source is measured in radiance (B). Radiance is defined as the optical power radiated
into a solid angle per unit emitting surface area. Radiance is
2
specified in Watts/cm /Steradian. Radiance is important for defining source to fiber
coupling efficiency.

Source Output Pattern

 Spatial radiation pattern of source helps to determine the power accepting capability of fiber.
 Fig. 4.3.1 shows three dimensional spherical co-ordinate system for characterizing the emission
pattern from an optical source. Where the polar axis is normal to the emitting surface and
radiance is a function of θ and .

 The Lambartian output by surface emitting LED is equally bright from any direction. The emission
pattern of Lambartian output is shown in Fig. 4.3.2 and its output is –

B(θ,) = B0cos θ

where, B0 is the radiance along the normal to the radiating surface.

106
  Both radiations in parallel and normal to the emitting plane are approximated
by expression –

… (4.3.2)

where,

T and L are transverse and lateral power distribution coefficients.

Power Coupling Calculation

 To calculate power coupling into the fiber, consider an optical source launched into
the fiber as shown in Fig. 4.3.3.

Brightness of source is expressed as B(As, Ωs),

Where, As is area of source

Ωs is solid emission angle of source.

107
The coupled power P can be calculated as –

… (4.3.3)

108
 The integral limits are area of source and solid acceptance angle (θ0max).

Here dθs rdr is incremental emitting area.

 Let the radius of surface emitting LED is rs, and for Lambartian emitter, B(θ,) = B0 cos
θ then

… (4.3.4)

Since

Power coupled to step – index fiver

 For step index fiber NA is not dependent on θs and r. Therefore LED power from step
index fiber is,

… (4.3.5)

 Consider optical power Ps emitted from source are As into hemisphere(2π

Sr).

109
 When source radius rs <a, the fiber core radius, the LED output power is given
from equation (4.3.5).

… (4.3.7)

 When rs > a equation (4.3.5)

becomes,
… (4.3.8)

110
Power coupled to graded index fiber

 In graded index fiber, the index of refraction varies radially from fiber axis. Numerical
aperture for graded index fiber is given by,

Is source radius (rs) is less than fiber core radius (a) i.e. rs <a, the power coupled from surface
emitting LED is given as –

 For coupling maximum power to fiber, the refractive index of the medium separating
source and fiber must be same, otherwise there will be loss of power. The power couple
is reduced by factor,

where,

n is the refractive index of medium.

n1 is the refractive index of fiber core. R is the Fresnel reflection or reflectivity

Lensing Schemes for Coupling Improvement

 When When the emitting area of the source is smaller than the core area of fiber, the
power coupling efficiency becomes poor. In order to improve the coupling efficiency
miniature lens is placed between source and fiber. Microlens magnifies the emitting
area of source equal to core area. The power coupled increases by a factor equal to
magnification factor of lens.

111
 Important types of lensing schemes are
: Rounded – end fiber.
Spherical – surfaced LED and Spherical-ended fiber.
Taper ended fiber.
Non imaging microsphere.
Cylindrical lens,
Imaging sphere.

 There are some drawbacks of using lens.

112
Complexity increases.
Fabrication and handling difficulty.

113
114
 UNIT-IV

OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS

Detector Responsivity (

 The responsivity of a photodetector is the ratio of the current output in amperes to

the incident optical power in watts. Responsivity is denoted by

… 3.2.3

But

 …
3.2.4

Therefore   

 Responsivity gives transfer characteristics of detector i.e. photo current per unit
incident optical power.
 Typical responsivities of pin photodiodes are –
Silicon pin photodiode at 900 nm →0.65 A/W.
Germanium pin photodiode at 1.3 µm →0.45
A/W. In GaAs pin photodiode at 1.3 µm →0.9
A/W.

… Ans.

115
  r photodetectors are sued. As the intensity of optical signal at the receiver is very low,
the detector has to meet high performance specifications.
The conversion efficiency must be high at the operating wavelength. The
speed of response must be high enough to ensure that signal distortion does not occur

116
 The detection process introduce the minimum amount of noise.
It must be possible to operate continuously over a wide range of temperatures for
many years.
The detector size must be compatible with the fiber dimensions.
 At present, these requirements are met by reverse biased p-n photodiodes. In these devices, the
semiconductor material absorbs a photon of light, which excites an electron from the valence
band to the conduction band (opposite of photon emission). The photo
 generated electron leaves behind it a hole, and so each photon generates two charge carriers. The
increases the material conductivity so call photoconductivity resulting in an increase in the
diode current. The diode equation is modified as –

… 3.2.6

where,

Id is dark current i.e. current that flows when no signal is present. Is is

photo generated current due to incident optical signal.

Fig. 3.2.1 shows a plot of this equation for varying amounts of incident optical power.

 Three regions can be seen forward bias, reverse bias and avalanche breakdown.

117
Forward bias, region 1 : A change in incident power causes a change in terminal voltage, it is called as
photovoltaic mode. If the diode is operated in this mode, the frequency response of the diode is poor and
so photovoltaic operation is rarely used in optical links

118
 Reverse bias, region 2 : A change in optical power produces a proportional change in
diode current, it is called as photoconductive mode of operation which most detectors use. Under
these condition, the exponential term in equation 3.2.6 becomes insignificant and the reverse bias
current is given by –

 Responsivity of photodiode is defined as the change in reverse bias current per

unit change in optical powr, and so efficient detectors need large responsivities.

Avalanche breakdown, region 3 : When biased in this region, a photo generated

electron-hole pair causes avalanche breakdown, resulting in large diode for a single incident photon.
Avalance photodiodes (APDs) operate in this region APDs exhibit carrier multiplication. They are
usually very sensitive detectors. Unfortunately V-I characteristic is very steep in this region and so
the bias voltage must be tightly controlled to prevent spontaneous breakdown.

PIN Photodiode

 PIN diode consists of an intrinsic semiconductor sandwiched between two heavily

doped p-type and n-type semiconductors as shown in Fig. 3.2.2

119
 Sufficient reverse voltage is applied so as to keep intrinsic region free from
carries, so its resistance is high, most of diode voltage appears across it, and
the electrical forces are strong within it. The incident photons give up their
energy and excite an electron from valance to conduction band. Thus a free
electron hole pair is generated, these are

as photocarriers. These carriers are collected across the reverse biased

junction resulting in rise in current in external circuit called photocurrent.
In the absence of light, PIN photodiodes behave electrically just like an
ordinary rectifier diode. If forward biased, they conduct large amount of
current
PIN detectors can be operated in two modes : Photovoltaic and
photoconductive. In photovoltaic mode, no bias is applied to the detector. In
this case the detector works very slow, and output is approximately logarithmic
to the input light level. Real world fiber optic receivers never use the
photovoltaic mode.
In photoconductive mode, the detector is reverse biased. The output in this
case is a current that is very linear with the input light power.
The intrinsic region some what improves the sensitivity of the device. It does
not provide internal gain. The combination of different semiconductors
operating at different wavelengths allows the selection of material capable of
responding to the desired operating wavelength.

Characteristics of common PIN photodiodes

Sr. No. Parameters Symbol Unit Si Ge InGaAs

1. Wavelength λ µm 0.4 – 1.1 0.8 – 1.8 1.0 – 1.7

2. Reponsivity A/W 0.4 – 0.6 0.5 – 0.7 0.6 – 0.9

Quantum
3. Η % 75 -90 50 – 55 60 – 70
efficiency
4. Darl current Id nA 1 – 10 50 – 500 1 - 20

5. Rise time Tr nS 0.5 – 1 0.1 – 0.5 0.02 – 0.5

6. Bandwidth B GHz 0.3 – 0.6 0.5 – 3 1 – 10

Bias
7. Vb V 50 – 100 5 – 10 5-6
voltage

108
Depletion Layer Photocurrent

 Consider a reverse biased PIN photodiode.

 The total current density through depletion layer is –

Jtot = Jdr + Jdiff … 3.2.7

Where,

Jdr is drift current densioty due to carriers generated in depletion region.

Jdiff is diffusion current density due to carriers generated outside depletion region.

 The drift current density is expressed as –

where,

A is photodiode area.

0 is incident photon flux per unit area.

 The diffusion current density is expressed as –

… 3.2.

where,

Dp is hole diffusion coefficient

109
Pn is hole concentration in n-type material.

110
Pn0 is equilibrium hole density.

Substituting in equation 3.2.7, total current density through reverse biased

depletion layer
is –

Response Time

 Factors that determine the response time of a photodiode are – Transit

time of photocarriers within the depletion region. Diffusion time
of photocarriers outside the depletion region. RC time constant
of diode and external circuit.
 The transit time is given by –

 The diffusion process is slow and diffusion times are less than carrier drift time.
By considering the photodiode response time the effect of diffusion can be
calculated. Fig. 3.2.4 shows the response time of photodiode which is not fully
depleted.

 The detector behaves as a simple low pass RC filter having passband of

where

110
RT, is combination input resistance of load and amplifier. CT is

sum of photodiode and amplifier capacitance.

110
 Example 3.2.5 : Compute the bandwidth of a photodetector having parameters as –

Photodiode capacitance = 3 pF

Amplifier capacitance = 4 pF

Load resistance = 50 Ω

Amplifier input resistance = 1 MΩ

Solution : Sum of photodiode and amplifier capacitance

CT = 3 + 4 = 7 pF

Combination of load resistance and amplifier and input resistance RT =

50Ω || 1 MΩ ≈ 50 Ω

B = 454.95 MHz … Ans.

Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

 When a p-n junction diode is applied with high reverse bias breakdown
can occur by two separate mechanisms direct ionization of the lattice
atoms, zener breakdown and high velocity carriers impact ionization of
the lattice atoms called avalanche breakdown. APDs uses the avalanche
breakdown phenomena for its operation. The APD has its internal gain
which increases its responsivity.
Fig. 3.2.5 shows the schematic structure of an APD. By virtue of the doping
concentration and physical construction of the n+ p junction, the electric filed
is high enough to cause impact ionization. Under normal operating bias, the I-
layer (the p‫ ־‬region) is completely depleted. This is known as reach through
condition, hence APDs are also known as reach through APD or RAPDs

 Similar to PIN photodiode, light absorption in APDs is most efficient in I-

111
layer. In this region, the E-field separates the carriers and the electrons
drift into the avalanche region where carrier multiplication occurs. If the
APD is biased close to breakdown, it will result

112
 in reverse leakage current. Thus APDs are usually biased just below
breakdown, with the bias voltage being tightly controlled.

 The multiplication for all carriers generated in the photodiode is given as –

where,

IM = Average value of total multiplied output current. IP =

Primary unmultiplied photocurrent.

 Responsivity of APD is given by –

where, 0 = Unity gain responsivity

MSM Photodetector

 Metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector uses a sandwiched

semiconductor between two metals. The middle semiconductor layer
acts as optical absorbing layer. A Schottky barrier is formed at each
metal semiconductor interface (junction), which prevents flow of

113
 electrons.
 When optical power is incident on it, the electron-hole pairs
generated through photo absorption flow towards metal contacts
and causes photocurrent.
 MSM photodetectors are manufactured using different combinations of
semiconductors such as – GaAs, InGaAs, InP, InAIAs. Each MSM
photodetectors had distinct features e.g. responsivity, quantum
efficiency, bandwidth etc.

114
  With InAIAs based MSM photodetector, 92 % quantum efficiency can be
obtained at 1.3 µm with low dark current. An inverted MSM
photodetector shows high responsivity when illuminated from top.
 A GaAs based device with travelling wave structure gives a bandwidth beyond
500 GHz.

Optical Detector

With a proper sketch briefly explain the structure of PIN diode.

Explain the following term relating to PIN photodiode with proper expressions.
Cut-off wavelength.
Quantum efficiency.
Responsivity.
Explain the structure and principle of working of APD. Deduce
the expression for total current density for APD. How the
response time of APD is estimated?
Give expression for passband of APD detector. Compare the
performance parameters of PIN and APD.

115
 UNIT-V
OPTICAL NETWORKS AND DISPERSION COMPENSATION
BASICS

1. Optical fiber is basically a solid glass rod. The diameter of rod is so small that it looks

like a fiber.

2. Optical fiber is a dielectric waveguide. The light travels like an electromagnetic wave inside the
waveguide. The dielectric waveguide is different from a metallic waveguide which is used at microwave
and millimeter wave frequencies.

3. In a metallic waveguide, there is a complete shielding of electromagnetic radiation but in an optical

fiber the electromagnetic radiation is not just confined inside the fiber but also extends outside the
fiber.

4. The light gets guided inside the structure, through the basic phenomenon of total internal reflection.

5. The optical fiber consists of two concentric cylinders; the inside solid cylinder is called the core and
the surrounding shell is called the cladding. (See Fig 1)

Figure1 Schematic of an optical fiber

116
6. For the light to propagate inside the fiber through total internal reflections at

core-cladding interface, the refractive index of the core must be greater than the refractive

index of the cladding. That is n1  n2 .

1.2 SIMPLE RAY MODEL

Figure 2 (optical fiber with core, cladding and total internally reflected ray)

For propagation of light inside the core there are two possibilities.

1. A light ray is launched in a plane containing the axis of the fiber. We can then see the light ray after
total internal reflection travels in the same plane i.e., the ray is confined to the plane in which it was

117
launched and never leave the plane. In this situation the rays will always cross the axis of the fiber.
These are called the Meridional rays. (Fig. 2)

2. The other possibility is that the ray is not launched in a plane containing the axis of the fiber.

For example if the ray is launched at some angle such that it does not intersect the axis of the fiber, then
after total internal reflection it will go to some other plane. We can see that in this situation the ray will
never intersect the axis of the fiber. The ray essentially will spiral around the axis of fiber. These rays are
called the Skew rays.

So it can be concluded that if the light is to propagate inside an optical fiber it could be through two
types of rays

a) Meridional rays: The rays which always pass through the axis of fiber giving high optical intensity at
the center of the core of the fiber.

b) Skew Rays: The rays which never intersect the axis of the fiber, giving low optical intensity at the
center and high intensity towards the rim of the fiber.

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1.3 Propagation of Meridional Rays

Figure (3)

1. Let us consider figure 3. A ray is launched from outside (air) at an angle  0 , from the axis of the
fiber.
The question is, under what conditions the ray is ultimately guided inside the core due to total
internal reflections at the core cladding boundary?

2. Let the ray makes an angle 1 with the axis of the fiber inside the core, and let the ray make an
angle 1 with core -cladding interface. Let 2 be the angle of refraction in the cladding.
If 1 < critical angle the ray is refracted in cladding. The ray which goes to cladding is lost and is
not useful for communication. The ray which is confined to the core is useful for optical
communication.

3. Now as we increase the launching angle  0 , the angle 1 also increases.

119
 Since


1  1  ,
2

1 decreases and at some point becomes less than the critical angle. When 1 equals the
critical angle, 2 equals  / 2 . The maximum launching angle then corresponds to 2   / 2 .

4. Let us apply Snell’s law at the launching point and at the core-cladding interface for the
maximum launching angle  0max . For this case let 1  1' and 1  1'
we then have


n1sin1' n2 (since 2 '  )
2

n2
 sin 1 ' 
n1

now,

sin 0 max  n1 cos 1'  n1 1  sin 2 1'

n2 2
 n1 1  2  n12  n22
n1

So the sine of the maximum angle at which the ray will be guided inside the fiber is given by square root
of the difference of squares of the refractive indices of the core and cladding. The quantity sin 0 max is
called the NUMERICAL APERTURE of an optical fiber. The NA is a measure of the power launching
efficiently of an optical fiber.

120
5. Numerical Aperture: This parameter tells us that if we take an optical fiber and put it in front of an
optical source then how much light is collected by the fiber from the source. Smaller the value of N.A,
smaller the value of  0max (maximum launching angle) and smaller is the power accepted by the fiber.
In other words, if the light is available from various directions from the source, only a portion of light is
accepted by an optical fiber and the remaining part of the light is rejected by it.

6. If we want good light launching efficiency then  0max should be as large as possible. Since sin 0max is
related to the difference of the squares of the refractive indices of the core and the cladding, the
difference of squares of the refractive indices should be as large as possible.

2 2
So, for good launching efficiency, n1 should be large compared to n2 . Since the material for the optical
fiber has been chosen as glass, the refractive index of the core is practically fixed to about 1.5.

The only choice therefore we have is to reduce the refractive index of the cladding for good launching
efficiency. Since n2  1 (i.e., no cladding) is the minimum possible value, it suggests that the cladding is
an undesirable feature. In the first look it then appears that the cladding is only for mechanical support.

4. DISPERSION

1. The amount of light accepted by an optical fiber is only one of the parameters in optical
communication. A more important parameter is the data rate which the fiber can handle
since the primary purpose here is to send information from one point to another.

121
 Figure (4)

2. (a) As we see from the figure 4, all the rays contained within the cone 2 0max are accepted by the
optical fiber.

(b) Let us take two extreme rays; one at the lowest possible angle (along the axis of the fiber), and
one at the highest possible angle (  0max ). Take a length L along the fiber axis traveled by the
rays.

(c) Let us now transmit a narrow pulse of light. The light pulse indicates binary information. If there
is a pulse then a bit is present, otherwise the bit is absent. When the light is switched on, all
the rays are switched on at the same time. The pulse energy is therefore divided between
different rays which travel by different paths inside the fiber.

(d) The pulse along the axis of the optical fiber takes less time to travel the distance L, than the
pulse which travels at the extreme angle  0max .

L
(e) As shown in the figure 4, the distance traveled by the extreme ray is .
cos 1'

The time difference between the axial ray and the extreme ray then is:

L n1 L
t   n1
cos 1' c c
Ln1  1 
   1 
c  cos 1' 
Ln1  n1 
   1
c  n2 
Ln
 1  n1  n2 
cn2

122
where c is velocity of light. Since the core material is glass, n1  1.5 , and since n2  n1 , it can lie
between 1 and 1.5. The ratio n1 / n2 then lies between 1 and 1.5 only. The time difference t per unit
length therefore is more or less proportional to  n1  n2  .

t per km  ( n1  n2 )

The time difference t essentially is the measure of pulse broadening on the optical fiber.

This phenomenon is called DISPERSION of an optical fiber. The dispersion (pulse broadening) has to be
small since the data rate is inversely proportional to the pulse broadening. For high speed
communication (high speed does not refer to the time taken by data to reach the destination but it
refers to the number of bits per sec) the pulse broadening and hence the dispersion should be minimal.

(f) For low dispersion ( n1  n2 ) should be as small as possible. So for an optical fiber the refractive index
of core has to be made as close to the refractive index of cladding as possible.

3. Contradictory Requirement:

(a) For higher launching efficiency (higher NA), n1  n2 should be as large as possible.

(b) For high data rate (bandwidth), n1  n2 should be as small as possible.

The two are contradictory requirements.

Since data transfer rate is rather more important in communication, n1  n2 is made as small as
the fabrication technology permits.

123
 n1  n2
So for all practical fibers,  102  103
n1

Refractive index of the cladding differs from that of the core by only 0.1 to 1%.

3. Different types of fibers:

1. STEP INDEX FIBER

Figure (5): Step Index Fiber (Refractive index profile)

For this fiber the refractive index of the core is constant (see Fig 5). Since refractive index profile looks
like a pulse or step, this kind of fiber is called the STEP INDEX FIBER. This structure is useful for
analyzing propagation of light inside an optical fiber. Generally it is not used in practice because data
transfer rate in this fiber is the lowest.

Just as a small exercise we can ask, what kind of pulse broadening occurs in a step index fiber if we do
not use cladding?

Let us take 1Km of the optical fiber.

Since n1  1.5, n2  1 and L  1000m ,

124
 L n1
t  .  n1  n2 
c n2
103 1.5
 . 1.5  1
3  108 1
 .25 105 sec
4 =
=

1 1
Bandwidth   6
 4  105 Hz
t 2.5  10

So if we make a cladding-less optical fiber, its light launching efficiency is excellent but it has hardly
any bandwidth. Even an electrical cable is better than the optical fiber.

Important Conclusion: The cladding is an essential part of an optical fiber. It does not just provide
the mechanical support but increases the bandwidth of the fiber.

We can observe from the expression for pulse broadening that t  L keeping all other
parameters constant.

Since BW  1/ t , we get

 BW  L  const .

Important: We can trade in the bandwidth for the length and vice versa. That is, we can send low bit
rate signals over long distances and high bit rate signals only over short distances.

2. GRADED INDEX FIBER

125
(a) In a step index fiber since the refractive index is constant inside the core, the velocity of all the rays
is constant and hence there is travel time difference between different rays. If we develop a
system where the rays which travel longer distances travel with higher velocities and the rays
which travel shorter distances travel with lower velocities, the pulse spread on the fiber can be
reduced and consequently the bandwidth can be increased.

(b) The ray which is at a higher angle, should speed up and the ray which is along the axis of the fiber
should travel with the slowest possible velocity.

Since velocity is inversely proportional to the refractive index, it can be manipulated by changing
the refractive index of the core. The refractive index of outer layers of the core should be smaller
compared to that of the inner layers, so the rays that go in the outer layers, travel faster.

So we find that for reducing dispersion, the refractive index at the center should be maximum and
it should gradually decrease from the center to the core-cladding interface. The rays that go at
higher angles speed up and the dispersion gets reduced. 2

In this fiber we grade the refractive index profile of the core and consequently it is called the
graded index fiber.

A graded index fiber and the ray propagation is shown in the figure 6:

Figure (6): (Graded Index Profile)

(c) If we taper the profile optimally, we get the dispersion reduction compared to that for a step
index fiber, even by a factor of thousand. The data rate of a typical graded index fiber is
typically 10 to 100 times higher compared to a step index fiber.

126
 Therefore, in practice, even for LANs, we use GIF (Graded Index Fiber) instead of SIF (Step
Index Fiber).

3. SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBER

The light basically consists of wave fronts. A line perpendicular to a wave front is called the ray. Light is
an electromagnetic wave and when we say it travels like a ray it is a collection of wavefronts which
move.

Let us take an optical fiber with light rays propagating in it. The rays and the wave fronts which are
perpendicular to the rays, are as shown in figure 7:

Figure (7): Core of optical fiber, rays with wave fronts

Let us consider a phase front corresponding to the ray AB and passing through the point B . This phase
front also meets the ray CD at point E . In other words, the phase of the ray at B (just before the

127
reflection) is same as that of the ray at point E . That is to say that the phase change corresponding to
the distance BCE added with the phase   of the reflection coefficient at points B and C should be a
multiple of 2 . This is what is called the condition for the constructive interference.

From simple geometric considerations we have

  2   / 2
BC  d sec 
CE  BC sin   d sec  .sin  / 2  2 
 d sec  cos 2

phase change from B to E is

2
 . n ( BC  CE )  2
 1
2
 n {d sec   d sec  cos 2}  2
 1

For constructive interference the phase change should be multiple of 2

   2m

Simplifying equations we get a condition for sustained propagation of light rays inside the core as

2 n1 d cos 
   m


It can be noted that for    / 2 (i.e. the ray along the axis of the fiber),   0 and the condition is
satisfied with m  0 for any value of n1 , d and  .

As  n1d /   increases (either due to increase of the diameter of the core or refractive index of the core,
or decrease in wavelength) more values of m satisfy the condition and therefore have sustained
propagation inside the fiber.

128
The above phase condition can be satisfied only by discrete rays entering the structure i.e. rays at finite
number of angles are accepted by the optical fiber. The ensemble of rays entering at a specific angle
from the axis of the fiber gives discrete optical intensity distributions. These are called the modes of an
optical fiber.

From the expression of the phase matching condition we find that as d increases, the number of rays
accepted by the optical fiber increases and as d decreases the number of rays decreases.

Since the dispersion is due to presence of multiple rays (modes), if only one ray is made to propagate
inside the fiber, there is no dispersion. So if we take a value of d small enough such that it satisfies the
phase condition only the lowest value of m , only one mode will propagate inside the fiber.

The lowest value of m corresponds to the ray traveling along the axis of the fiber. In fact this ray does
not have any constraint on the size of the fiber etc, as it does not really go through the total internal
reflection at the core cladding boundary. This ray therefore always propagates.

The optical fiber in which only one ray travels along the axis of fiber is called the single mode optical
fiber.

Single mode optical fiber is the best amongst the three types of fibers, namely the step index fiber, GI
fiber and the single mode fiber.

In a long distance communication, we use single mode optical fiber, whereas in LANs we generally use
graded index optical fiber.

Note: For single mode optical fiber however we have to use a source like laser because the diameter of
the fiber is very small and without a highly collimated beam, sufficient light can not be launched inside
the fiber.

The three types of fibers have typical diameters as follows:

129
 OPTICAL FIBERS CORE DIAMETER.

SM 5  10 m

GRADED INDEX 50  60 m

STEP INDEX 50  60 m

Note: The Cladding Diameter for all types of fibers has been standardized to 125 m

Limitations of the Ray-model

(1) The ray model gives an impression that during total internal reflection the energy is confined to the
core only. However, it is not so. In reality the optical energy spreads in cladding also.

(2) The ray model does not speak of the discrete field patterns for propagation inside a fiber.

(3) The ray model breaks down when the core size becomes comparable to the wavelength of light.
The ray model therefore is not quite justified for a SM fiber.

The limitations of the Ray model are overcome in the wave model discussed in the next module.

g. due to temperature variation, moisture and dust etc.

130
131