L-1

Introduction to Optical Fibre Cable

Introduction to OFC

Introduction to Fibre Optics, theory and principle of Fibre Optics, propagation of light through fibre, Fibre Geometry, Fibre Types.

FIBRE OPTICS :
Optical Fibre is new medium, in which information (voice, Data or Video) is transmitted through a glass or plastic fibre, in the form of light, following the transmission sequence give below : (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Information is encoded into electrical signals. Electrical signals are converted into light signals. Light travels down the fibre. A detector changes the light signals into electrical signals. Electrical signals are decoded into information.

ADVANTAGES OF FIBRE OPTICS :

Fibre Optics has the following advantages : (I) Optical Fibres are non conductive (Dielectrics) (II) (III) (v) (vi) (vii) Grounding and surge suppression not required. Cables can be all dielectric. Immune to electromagnetic interference (EMI) No radiated energy. Unauthorised tapping difficult. Future upgradability. Maximum utilization of cable right of way. One time cable installation costs. Loss is low and same at all operating speeds within the fibre's specified bandwidth long, unrepeated links (>70km is operation). Small, Light weight cables. Easy installation and Handling. Efficient use of space. Available in Long lengths (> 12 kms) Less splice points. Security 2

Electromagnetic Immunity :

Large Bandwidth (> 5.0 GHz for 1 km length)

(IV) Low Loss (5 dB/km to < 0.25 dB/km typical)

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Extremely difficult to tap a fibre as it does not radiate energy that can Highly secure transmission medium. It cannot cause fire. Does not carry electricity. Can be run through hazardous areas. Serve all communication needs. Non-obsolescence.

be received by a nearby antenna. (viii) Security - Being a dielectric (ix) -

Universal medium

APPLICATION OF FIBRE OPTICS IN COMMUNICATIONS :

Common carrier nationwide networks. Telephone Inter-office Trunk lines. Customer premise communication networks. Undersea cables. High EMI areas (Power lines, Rails, Roads). Factory communication/ Automation. Control systems. Expensive environments. High lightening areas. Military applications. Classified (secure) communications.

Transmission Sequence :
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Information is Encoded into Electrical Signals. Electrical Signals are Coverted into light Signals. Light Travels Down the Fiber. A Detector Changes the Light Signals into Electrical Signals. Electrical Signals are Decoded into Information.

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Inexpensive light sources available. Repeater spacing increases along with operating speeds because low loss fibres are used at high data rates.

Principle of Operation - Theory

Total Internal Reflection - The Reflection that Occurs when a Ligh Ray Travelling in One Material Hits a Different Material and Reflects Back into the Original Material without any Loss of Light.

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THEORY AND PRINCIPLE OF FIBRE OPTICS

Speed of light is actually the velocity of electromagnetic energy in vacuum such as space. Light travels at slower velocities in other materials such as glass. Light travelling from one material to another changes speed, which results in light changing its direction of travel. This deflection of light is called Refraction. The amount that a ray of light passing from a lower refractive index to a higher one is bent towards the normal. But light going from a higher index to a lower one refracting away from the normal, as shown in the figures. As the angle of incidence increases, the angle of refraction approaches 90o to the normal. The angle of incidence that yields an angle of refraction of 90o is the critical angle. If the angle of incidence increases amore than the critical angle, the light is totally reflected back into the first material so that it does not enter the second material. The angle of incidence and reflection are equal and it is called Total Internal Reflection. By Snell's law, n1 sin 1 = n2 sing 2 The critical angle of incidence c where 2 = 90 o Is c = arc sing (n2 / n1) At angle greater than c the light is reflected, Because reflected light means that n1 and n2 are equal (since they are in the same material), 1 and 2 are also equal. The angle of incidence and reflection are equal. These simple 5

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principles of refraction and reflection form the basis of light propagation through an optical fibre.

Angle of incidence

1 n1 n2 2
Light is bent away from normal

1 n1 n2

1 n1 n2

Angle of reflection

2
Light does not enter second material

PROPAGATION OF LIGHT THROUGH FIBRE.

The optical fibre has two concentric layers called the core and the cladding. The inner core is the light carrying part. The surrounding cladding provides the difference refractive index that allows total internal reflection of light through the core. The index of the cladding is less than 1%, lower than that of the core. Typical values for example are a core refractive index of 1.47 and a cladding index of 1.46. Fibre manufacturers control this difference to obtain desired optical fibre characteristics. Most fibres have an additional coating around the cladding. This buffer coating is a shock absorber and has no optical properties affecting the propagation of light within the fibre. Figure shows the idea of light travelling through a fibre. Light injected into the fibre and striking core to cladding interface at grater than the critical angle, reflects back into core, since the angle of incidence and reflection are equal, the reflected light will again be reflected. The light will continue zigzagging down the length of the fibre.

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Light striking the interface at less than the critical angle passes into the cladding, where it is lost over distance. The cladding is usually inefficient as a light carrier, and light in the cladding becomes attenuated fairly. Propagation of light through fibre is governed by the indices of the core and cladding by Snell's law. Such total internal reflection forms the basis of light propagation through a optical fibre. This analysis consider only meridional rays- those that pass through the fibre axis each time, they are reflected. Other rays called Skew rays travel down the fibre without passing through the axis. The path of a skew ray is typically helical wrapping around and around the central axis. Fortunately skew rays are ignored in most fibre optics analysis. The specific characteristics of light propagation through a fibre depends on many factors, including The size of the fibre. The composition of the fibre. The light injected into the fibre.

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Jacket

Jacket Cladding Core

Cladding (n2) Core (n2)

Cladding Jacket Light at less than Angle of Angle of critical angle is incidence reflection absorbed in jacket Light is propagated by total internal reflection Fig. Total Internal Reflection in an optical Fibre

FIBRE GEOMETRY
An Optical fibre consists of a core of optically transparent material usually silica or borosilicate glass surrounded by a cladding of the same material but a slightly lower refractive index. Fibre themselves have exceedingly small diameters. Figure shows cross section of the core and cladding diameters of commonly used fibres. The diameters of the core and cladding are as follows.

Core (m) 8 50 62.5 100

Cladding ( m) 125 125 125 140

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125 8

125 50

125 62.5

125 100

Core

Cladding

Typical Core and Cladding Diameters Fibre sizes are usually expressed by first giving the core size followed by the cladding size. Thus 50/125 means a core diameter of 50m and a cladding diameter of 125m.

FIBRE TYPES
The refractive Index profile describes the relation between the indices of the core and cladding. Two main relationship exists : (I) (II) Step Index Graded Index

The step index fibre has a core with uniform index throughout. The profile shows a sharp step at the junction of the core and cladding. In contrast, the graded index has a non-uniform core. The Index is highest at the center and gradually decreases until it matches with that of the cladding. There is no sharp break in indices between the core and the cladding. By this classification there are three types of fibres : (I) (II) (III) Multimode Step Index fibre (Step Index fibre) Multimode graded Index fibre (Graded Index fibre) Single- Mode Step Index fibre (Single Mode Fibre)

(1)

STEP INDEX MULTIMODE FIBRE

This fibre is called "Step Index" because the refractive index changes

abruptly from cladding to core. The cladding has a refractive index somewhat lower than the refractive index of the core glass. As a result, all rays within a certain angle will be totally reflected at the core-cladding boundary. Rays striking the boundary at angles grater than the critical angle will be partially reflected and 9

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partially transmitted out through the boundary. After many such bounces the energy in these rays will be lost from the fibre. The paths along which the rays (modes) of this step index fibre travel differ, depending on their angles relative to the axis. As a result, the different modes in a pulse will arrive at the far end of the fibre at different times, resulting in pulse spreading which limits the bit-rate of a digital signal which can be transmitted. The maximum number of modes (N) depends on the core diameter (d), wavelength and numerical aperture (NA) (xdxNA () This types of fibre results in considerable model dispersion, which results the fibre's band width.

N= 0.5 x

(---------------------- )

(2)

GRADED INDEX MULTI-MODE FIBRE

This fibre is called graded index because there are many changes in the

refractive index with larger values towards the center. As light travels faster in a lower index of refraction. So, the farther the light is from the center axis, the grater is its speed. Each layer of the core refracts the light. Instead of being sharply reflected as it is in a step index fibre, the light is now bent or continuously refracted in an almost sinusoidal pattern. Those rays that follow the longest path by travelling near the outside of the core, have a faster average velocity. The light travelling near the center of the core, has the slowest average velocity. As a result all rays tend to reach the end of the fibre at the same time. That causes the end travel time of different rays to be nearly equal, even though they travel different paths. The graded index reduces model dispersing to 1ns/km or less. Graded index fibres have core diameter of 50, 62.5 or 85 m and a cladding diameter of 125 m. The fibre is used in applications requiring a wide bandwidth a low model dispersion. The number of modes in the fibre is about half that of step index fibre having the same diameter & NA.

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Introduction to OFC

Input Pulse

Output Pulse

High order Mode

Dispersion

Refractive Index Profile

n1 n2

Multi mode Step Index

Low Order Mode

n1 n2

Single Mode Step Index

Dispersion n1 n2

Multi mode Graded Index

dxNA N= 0.25 x ( ---------------- )2 ()

(3)

SINGLE MODE FIBRE.

Another way to reduce model dispersion is to reduce the core's diameter,

until the fibre only propagates one mode efficiently. The single mode fibre has an exceedingly small core diameter of only 5 to 10 m. Standard cladding diameter

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Introduction to OFC

is 125 m. Since this fibre carries only one mode, model dispersion does not exists. Single mode fibres easily have a potential bandwidth of 50to 100GHz-km. The core diameter is so small that the splicing technique and measuring technique are more difficult. High sources must have very narrow spectral width and they must be very small and bright in order to permit efficient coupling into the very small core dia of these fibres. One advantage of single mode fibre is that once they are installed, the system's capacity can be increased as newer, higher capacity transmission system becomes available. This capability saves the high cost of installing a new transmission medium to obtain increased performance and allows cost effective increases from low capacity system to higher capacity system. As the wavelength is increased the fibre carries fewer and fewer modes until only one remains. Single mode operation begins when the wavelength approaches the core diameter. At 1300 nm, the fibre permits only one mode, it becomes a single mode fibre. As optical energy in a single mode fibre travels in the cladding as well as in the core, therefore the cladding must be a more efficient carrier of energy. In a multimode fibre cladding modes are not desirable, a cladding with in efficient transmission characteristic can be tolerated. The diameter of the light appearing at the end of the single mode fibre is larger than the core diameter, because some of the optical energy of the mode travels in the cladding. Mode field diameter is the term used to define this diameter of optical energy.

OPTICAL FIBRE PARAMETERS

Optical fibre systems have the following parameters. (I) (II) (III) (IV) (V) (VI) Wavelength. Frequency. Window. Attenuation. Dispersion. Bandwidth.

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WAVELENGTH
It is a characterstic of light that is emitted from the light source and is measures in nanometers (nm). In the visible spectrum, wavelength can be described as the colour of the light. For example, Red Light has longer wavelength than Blue Light, Typical wavelength for fibre use are 850nm, 1300nm and 1550nm all of which are invisible.

FREQUENCY
It is number of pulse per second emitted from a light source. Frequency is measured in units of hertz (Hz). In terms of optical pulse 1Hz = 1 pulse/ sec.

WINDOW
A narrow window is defined as the range of wavelengths at which a fibre best operates. Typical windows are given below : Window 800nm - 900nm 1250nm - 1350nm 1500nm - 1600nm Operational Wavelength 850nm 1300nm 1550nm

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Introduction to OFC

1pm 1nm 1 m 1mm 1m 1Km WAVE LENGTH IN NM 1Mm

10-12 10-10 10-8 10-6 10-4 10-2 100 102 104 106

Gamma rays

Rontgen rays U.V. rays

Visible Light Infra Red

Thermal Rays

Radio Frequencies

U.H.F.

M.F.

L.F.

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ATTENUATION
Attenuation is defined as the loss of optical power over a set distance, a fibre with lower attenuation will allow more power to reach a receiver than fibre with higher attenuation. Attenuation may be categorized as intrinsic or extrinsic.

INTRINSIC ATTENUATION
It is loss due to inherent or within the fibre. Intrinsic attenuation may occur as (I) (II) Absorption - Natural Impurities in the glass absorb light energy. Scattering - Light rays travelling in the core reflect from small imperfections into a new pathway that may be lost through the cladding. (1) Absorption - Natural Impurities in the Glass Absorb Light Energy.

Light Ray

Or (2) Scattering - Light Rays Travelling in the Core Reflect from small Imperfections into a New Pathway that may be Lost through the cladding.

Light is lost

Light Ray

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EXTRINSIC ATTENUATION
It is loss due to external sources. Extrinsic attenuation may occur as (I) Macrobending - The fibre is sharply bent so that the light travelling down the fibre cannot make the turn & is lost in the cladding.

Micro bend

Micro bend

Micro bend

Fig. Loss and Bends

(II) Microbending - Microbending or small bends in the fibre caused by crushing contraction etc. These bends may not be visible with the naked eye. Attenuation is measured in decibels (dB). A dB represents the comparison between the transmitted and received power in a system.

DISPERSION
It is defined as the spreading of light pulse as it travels down the fibre. ecause of the spreading effect, pulses tend to overlap, making them unreadable by the receiver.

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BANDWIDTH
It is defined as the amount of information that a system can carry such that each pulse of light is distinguishable by the receiver. System bandwidth is measured in MHz or GHz. In general, when we say that a system has bandwidth of 20 MHz, means that 20 million pulses of light per second will travel down the fibre and each will be distinguishable by the receiver.

NUMBERICAL APERTURE
Numerical aperture (NA) is the "light - gathering ability" of a fibre. Light injected into the fibre at angles greater than the critical angle will be propagated. The material NA relates to the refractive indices of the core and cladding. NA = n12 - n22 where n1 and n2 are refractive indices of core and cladding respectively. NA is unitless dimension. We can also define as the angles at which rays will be propagated by the fibre. These angles form a cone called the acceptance cone, which gives the maximum angle of light acceptance. The acceptance cone is related to the NA NA = = arc sing (NA) or sin

where is the half angle of acceptance The NA of a fibre is important because it gives an indication of how the fibre accepts and propagates light. A fibre with a large NA accepts light well, a fibre with a low NA requires highly directional light. In general, fibres with a high bandwidth have a lower NA. They thus allow fewer modes means less dispersion and hence greater bandwidth. A large NA promotes more modal dispersion, since more paths for the rays are provided NA, although it can be defined for a single mode fibre, is essentially meaningless as a practical

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Introduction to OFC

characteristic. NA in a multimode fibre is important to system performance and to calculate anticipated performance.

Total Internal Reflection (Summary)

* Light Ray A : Did not Enter Acceptance Cone - Lost * Light Ray B : Entered Acceptance Cone - Transmitted through the Core by Total Internal Reflection. NA = 0.275 (For 62.5 m Core Fiber)

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DISPERSION
Dispersion is the spreading of light pulse as its travels down the length of an optical fibre. Dispersion limits the bandwidth or information carrying capacity of a fibre. The bit-rates must be low enough to ensure that pulses are farther apart and therefore the greater dispersion can be tolerated. There are three main types of dispersion in a fibre (I) (II) (III) Modal Dispersion Material dispersion Waveguide dispersion

MODAL DISPERSION
Modal dispersion occurs only in Multimode fibres. It arises because rays follow different paths through the fibre and consequently arrive at the other end of the fibre at different times. Mode is a mathematical and physical concept describing the propagation of electromagnetic waves through media. In case of fibre, a mode is simply a path that a light ray can follow in travelling down a fibre. The number of modes supported by a fibre ranges from 1 to over 100,000. Thus a fibre provides a path of travels for one or thousands of light rays depending on its size and properties. Since light reflects at different angles for different paths (or modes), the path lengths of different modes are different. Thus different rays take a shorter or longer time to travel the length of the fibre. The ray that goes straight down the center of the core without reflecting, arrives at the other end first, other rays arrive later. Thus light entering the fibre at the same time exist the other end at different times. The light has spread out in time. The spreading of light is called modal dispersion. Modal dispersion is that type of dispersion that results from the varying modal path lengths in the fibre. Typical modal dispersion figures for the step index fibre are 15 to 30 ns/ km. This means that for light entering a fibre at the same time, the ray following the longest path will arrive at the other end of a 1 km long fibre 15 to 30 ns after the ray, following the shortest path. Fifteen to 30 billionths of a second may not seem like much, but dispersion is the main limiting factor on a fibre's bandwidth. Pulse spreading results in a pulse overlapping adjacent pulses as shown in figure. Eventually, the pulses will merge so that one pulse cannot be distinguished from 19

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another. The information contained in the pulse is lost Reducing dispersion increases fibre bandwidth.

Model dispersion can be reduced in three ways :

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Introduction to OFC

(I) (II)

Use a smaller core diameter, which allows fewer modes. Use a graded -index fibre so that light rays that allow longer paths also travel at a faster velocity and thereby arrive at the other end of the fibre at nearly the same time as rays that follow shorter paths.

(III)

Use a single-mode fibre, which permits no modal dispersion.

MATERIAL DISPERSION
Different wavelengths (colours) also travel at different velocities through a fibre, even in the same mode, as

n = c/v where n is index of refraction, c is the speed of light in vacuum and v is the speed of the same wavelength in the material. The value of V in the equation changes for each wavelength, Thus Index of refraction changes according to the wavelength. Dispersion from this phenomenon is called material dispersion, since it arises from material properties of the fibre. Each wave changes speed differently, each is refracted differently. White light entering the prism contains all colours. The prism refracts the light and its changes speed as it enters the prism. Red light deviates the least and travels the fastest. The violet light deviates the most and travels the slowest. The amount of material dispersion depends on two factors :

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Introduction to OFC

(I)

The range of light wavelengths injected into the fibre. A source does not normally emit a single wavelength, it emits several. This range of wavelengths, expressed in nanometer is the spectral width of the source. An LED has a much higher spectral width than a LASER about 35 nm for a LED and 2 to 3 nm for a LASER.

(II)

The centre operating wavelength of the sources

Around 850nm, longer (reddish) wavelengths travel faster than the shorter (Bluish) ones. At 1550nm however the situation is reversed. The shorter wavelengths travel faster than the longer ones. At some point, the cross over must occur where the bluish and reddish wavelengths travel at the same speed. This crossover occurs around 1300nm, the zero-dispersion wavelength. At wavelengths below 1300nm, dispersion is negative. So wavelengths travel or arrive later. Above 1300 nm, the wavelengths lead or arrive faster. This dispersion is expressed in Pico seconds per kilometer per nanometer of source spectral width (ps/km/nm).

WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION :
Waveguide dispersion, most significant in a single- mode fibre, occurs because optical energy travels in both the core and cladding, which have slightly different refractive indices. The energy travels at slightly different velocities in the core and cladding because of the slightly different refractive indices of the materials. Altering the internal structures of the fibre, allows waveguide dispersion to be substantially changed, thus changing the specified overall dispersion of the fibre.

BANDWIDTH AND DISPERSION :

A bandwidth of 400 MHz -km means that a 400 MHz-signal can be transmitted for 1 km. It means that the product of frequency and the length must be 400 or less. We can send a lower frequency for a longer distance, i.e. 200 MHz for 2 km or 100 MHz for 4 km. Multimode fibres are specified by the bandwidth-length product or simply bandwidth. Single mode fibres on the other hand are specified by dispersion, expressed in ps/km/nm. In other words for any given single mode fibre dispersion

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Introduction to OFC

is most affected by the source's spectral width. The wider the source spectral width, the greater the dispersion. Conversion of dispersion to bandwidth can be approximated roughly by the following equation. BW = 0.187 -------------------------(Disp) (SW) (L)

Disp SW L

= = =

Dispersion at the operating wavelength in seconds/ nm/ km. Spectral width of the source in nm. Fibre length in km.

So the spectral width of the source has a significant effect on the performance of a single mode fibre.

OPTICAL WINDOWS :
Attenuation of fibre for optical power varies with the wavelengths of light. Windows are low-loss regions, where fibre carry light with little attenuation. The first generation of optical fibre operated in the first window around 820 to 850 nm. The second window is the zero-dispersion region of 1300 nm and the third window is the 1550 nm region. High loss regions, where attenuation is very high occur at 730, 950, 1250 and 1380 nm. One wishes to avoid operating in these regions. Evaluation of losses in a fibre must be done with respect to the transmitted wavelength. Figure shows a typical attenuation curve for a low loss multimode fibre. Making the best use of the low loss properties of the fibre requires that the sources emit light in the low loss region of the fibre. Plastic fibres are best operated in the visible light area around 650 nm. One important feature of attenuation in an optical fibre is that the constant at all modulation frequencies within the bandwidth. Attenuation in a fibre has two main causes. (I) (II) Scattering Absorption

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Introduction to OFC

We can obtain losses less than 2.5 dB/km in the first window at 850 nm. Graded index fibres in the second window with loss below 1 dB/km and in the thrid window below 0.5 dB/km are obtained. Even lower losses are regarded as 24

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feasible for monomode fibres in all the three windows. Typically minimum loss in the three windows for the multimode fibre is 2.5 dB/km, 0.44 dB, km and 0.22 dB/km respectively. The corresponding figures for a monomode fibre are 1.9 dB/km, 0.32 dB/km and 0.048 dB/km.

1. OPTICAL TRANSMITTERS
In optical line systems we need light sources in the infrared spectrum part. The wavelengths used are in one of the following windows of optical fibres, i.e. 850 nm, 1300 nm or 1550 nm. The features of an ideal source for fibre optic communication systems are as follows High brightness Small emission area (< Fibre Core). small emission cone angle (< Fibre NA). Fast response to electrical modulation. Long life Emission wavelength compatible with fibre.

Only 2 semiconductor devices approach these ideals : (1) (2) Light emitting diode (L.E.D.). Semiconductor LASER (Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).

1.1 LED'S (Light Emitting Diode)

Led's are generally manufactured from crystalline materials such as galliumarsenide. The LED has a relatively wide lobe of radiation. The transfer characteristic of the LED is linear. The LED has a bandwidth of approximately 10.000 GHz nm). The LED represents in most respects a good compromise between performance and cost. (= 20

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Introduction to OFC Light emitting diodes are composed of a PN junction with "doped" semiconductor layers. Injected electrons will recombine with "holes" in the Player where this phenomenon results in the emission of photons.

There are two types of LEDs : (1) (2) Surface emitting LED's Edge emitting LED's.

The edge emitting LED has more or less a similar composition as a LASER. The beam is relatively directed and thus the efficiency of the coupled light into the fibre is higher than the surface LED. The light generated by LED's is incoherent. The photons are neither in phase with each other nor do they possess the same frequency. This fact limits the application possibilities of LEDs. In optical line systems not using monomode fibres, the transmitted pulses from LED sources suffer from pulse broadening, caused by chromatic dispersion. The bandwidth of LEDlight pulses depends on the DC current supply.The optical power of a LED can be controlled by an external current producing the injection electrons. The relation between optical power P and controlling current is given in figure.

Fig. : Power Characteristic of a LED The linearity of LEDs is fairly good. There is no threshold. The temperature range is rather wide and the curves show little influence of temperature variations (0 ...... 80 ).
o

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Introduction to OFC The modulation frequencies are limited to about 100 MHz due to the delay in recombination time of the carriers in the active area. The lifetime of LEDs is rather long = 10 working hours (110 years), but their output power is low as compared to LASER.
6

1.2

LASERS

In LASERS, spontaneous photon emission is generated between 2 parallel reflecting surfaces. Since the dimensions of this device are very small, the beam is not so well collimated as in a HENE gas LASER. However, the external beam is quite narrow and is generated within such a small area that very high power levels can be launched into even the smallest optical fibre. The LASER has a bandwidth of approximately 1000 GHz ( = 2 nM). The transfer characteristic of a LASER is non linear (see figure), so a LASER needs a more complicated stabilizing of the working point, which changes with temperature and aging, etc. LASERS working in the windows 850 nM and 1.3 M are usually made from Al Ga AS material. LASER for 1.55 M are made of quaternary compound in Ga AS P. A LASER has a threshold phenomenon in its light/current response. For that reason a bias current must be supplied to make the LASER work, in the linear slope region. Also, feedback must be adopted to keep both output power and variations in temperature between certain limits. In a LASER's life time the optical power and the light/current characteristic shows a gradual degradation of the performance (see figure). In practical systems the bias current is controlled automatically to obtain an optical output power. By observing the value of the bias current and comparing this value with a chosen alarm threshold value, a laser can be replaced in. Whenever there is an increase in the biasing current by more than 50% of the initial value, the laser is said to have lived its life. An alarm is initiated to indicate end of laser's lifetime in system.

1.2.1

LASER SAFETY

The high degree of collimation and brightness of some LASER beams makes them a serious hazard to the human eye and, therefore, suitable safety precautions have to be taken in their operation.

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Introduction to OFC Semiconductor LASERS for optical transmission generally have a lower brightness and poor collimation, can also be a hazard if viewed under particularly unfavourable conditions. With certain exceptions the radiation from LEDs is quite safe to the naked eye. Optical line equipments have a laser safety switch off function, to switch off the LASER during break in fibre somewhere on route. However, no energised optical source or illuminated fibre should be viewed through a naked eye or microscope.

1.3 TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT SOURCE

PROPERTY Spectral width (nm) Rise time (ns) Modulation B.W (MHz) Coupling efficiency Compatible fibre mode Temperature sensitivity Circuit Complexity Lifetime (hours) Costs Path length Data rate LED 200100 2250 < 300 Very low M.M. (Si and GI) Low Simple 10
5

LASER 15 0.11 < 2000 Moderate M.M. GI & SM High Complex 10 10 High Long High
4 5

SINGLE LASER 02 0.11 ~ 2000 Moderate Single High Complex 10 10

4 5

Low Moderate Moderate

Highest Very long Very high

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Fig. : Laser Light/Current Characteristic

Fig. : Laser Transmitter

1.4

LASING SPECTRUM

When the drive current is near threshold, lasers produce multimode spectra. As the current increases, total line width decreases and number of longitudinal modes decreases. At sufficiently high currents, the spectrum contains just one mode. The light from LASER beam is confined to a narrow angular region.

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Introduction to OFC Spectral width : laser produce range of wavelengths called spectral width, usually quoted as FWHM (Full width at half maximum power ) or 3 db point. Wider the spectral width more is the dispersion. Line width : semiconductor laser produces a series of lines at a number of discrete wavelengths. Width of these lines is called line width.

1.5

APPLICATIONS OF LED AND LASER

For low data rates and for shorter routes, LEDs are a good choice for the transmitter because the driving circuitry needed is very simple. On the other hand, for high speed data and long haul systems, LASERS are selected for transmitters. The driving circuitry is quite complex, but LASER sources have the following advantages. Larger output power. Narrow spectral width Suitable emission geometry.

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Introduction to OFC The disadvantage with laser is that they require large driving and modulating currents. Their lifetime is shorter as compared to LEDs. The output power varies with time and temperature. This necessitates the use of feed back and regulation circuitries for maintaining output power constant. Laser Types: 1. Fabry-Perot (FP) :- Generates many wavelengths (MLM = multi

ongitudinal mode ). Linewidth 2 nm. Spectral width 5-8 nm used in PDH. 2. Distributed Feed Back (DFB):All Other wavelengths are

reduced (more than 30 db except one (SLM = single longitudinal mode). Linewidth is 5x10-6 nm. Spectral width 0.4 nm. They are used in SDH. 3. Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) :- Mostly used as Tunable

Laser for WDM working.

CHIRP: Chirp is a gradual shift in frequency as shown in figure.

When input power is applied , there is an abrupt change in carriers (electronholes) flux density in the cavity resulting change in Refractive Index of cavity, causing change in central wavelength . Central wavelength shifts towards longer wavelength. DFB lasers have less chirp problem than FP lasers. Modulating signal also spreads the spectral width of laser by twice the frequency of modulating signal. Laser chirp can be reduced by using external modulator.

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2.0

OPTICAL DETECTORS

A photodetector converts light into an electric current. In a fibre optic communication system, detectors received the transmitted pulses and convert them, with as little loss as possible into electronic pulses that can be used by a telephone, computer, other terminal at the receiving end or at an intermediate repeater. In this role the detector must have High efficiency. Fast response. Low noise. Small size and light weight. Long life and reliability. Low cost.

Important detector properties: 1. RESPONSIVITY It is the ratio of the output current of the detector to the optic input power. Responsivity p = i/P 2. i.e. A/W

SPECTRAL RESPONSE This refers to the curve of the detector responsivity as a function of wavelength. Different detectors must be used in different optical windows.

3.

RISE

TIME the rise time (Tr) is the time for the detector output current to

change from 10 % to 90 % of its final value when the optic input power variation is a step. The 3 db modulation bandwidth of the detector is : F3 db = o.35/Tr 4. QUANTUM EFFICIENCY Efficiency n is defined as the ratio of number of emitted electron to the number of incident photons. Two types of Photodiodes most nearly meet the above requirements: (1) (2) Pin photodiode. Avalanche photodiode

2.1

PIN PHOTODIODES

Pin photodiode is relatively easy to fabricate, highly reliable, has low noise and is compatible with low voltage amplifier circuits. In addition, it is sensitive over an extremely large bandwidth because there is no gain mechanism. PIN photodiodes have resistance intrinsic layer, sandwiched between P and N layers, the depletion layer spread over intrinsic layer under influence of high field due to reverse bias. The device operates under reverse bias, meaning that in the absence of light, only a small leakage

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current will flow. Under reverse bias, a moderate electric field of about 10 volts per cm exists in the vicinity of the junction, that depletes the region of all free carriers. When a photon enters the depletion region, it is absorbed and generates an electron and a hole, both of which are rapidly drawn to the opposite electrodes. Then they are collected and appear as a current in the external circuit. Because there is no gain mechanism in a PIN photodiode, the maximum efficiency of the device is unity and the gain bandwidth product is equal to the bandwidth itself. The ultimate bandwidth of a PIN photodiode is limited by the time, it takes to collect the charge. This time is inversely proportional to the width of the depletion region and directly proportional to the velocity of the charge carriers in the region of high electric field. PIN photodiodes have lower capacitance, high quantum efficiency and high speed of response.

2.2 AVALANCHE PHOTODIODES (APD)

APDs are operated at reverse voltage high enough so that when the carriers are separated in the electric field, they collide with the atoms in the semiconductor crystal lattice. The collisions ionize the lattice atoms, generating a second electronhole pair. Each of the secondary carriers, alongwith the initial carrier, also collides with the lattice and large numbers of carriers are eventually collected at the electrodes. This gives the device internal gain. The principal source of noise in APDs is the avalanche process that gives the APD gain. An existing transmission system can often be upgraded simply by a change in optical detectors (receivers), i.e. from PIN to APD. The detectors, in general, must have a good sensitivity, which is limited by noise and is influenced by : (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Thermal noise from the input resistance to the pre amplifier. Short noise from the photo diode. Noise from the first stage of the amplifier. Dark current noise.

The actual output of a detector depends on the quantum efficiency. For the same quantum efficiency, an APD has better sensitivity than PIN diode. Silicon detectors are useful only up to 1.1 M. For longer wavelength, germanium based devices are used. The GeAPD is useful in the 1.01.5 M range. In GaAS PIN diodes in conjunction with a low noise FET amplifier offer sensitivity of the order of 65 dBM. In contrast to APDs, PIN diodes offer inferior sensitivities.They are mainly useful for low bitrate and of short route length.

2.3

COMPARISON OF DETECTORS (Optical)

Characteristic PIN(Si) APD (Si) APD (Ge)

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Detection range (m) Wavelength of peak sensitivity Quantum efficiency (%) Dark current (nA) Rise time (ns) Detecting area

0.41.1 0.80.9 6.08.0 0.82 (m) 0.15.0 0.53.0 46

0.41.1 0.50.9 4.08.0 0.82 (m) 0.0215 0.10.5 115

0.41.6 1.11.4 4.05.0 1.15 (m) 10200 0.10.2 5070

2.4

MATERIAL FOR SOURCES AND DETECTORS

High capacity communication system operate at 1.3 and 1.55 micrometers. Such systems employ Indium gallium arsenide (In Ga As) or germanium as the detecting semiconductor.

2.5 BIT ERROR RATE (BER)

In a digital optical communication system, the sensitivity can be determined by calculating how often a transmitted digital 1 will be mistakenly identified by the receiver as a zero or vice versa. This is known as Bit Error Rate. For most signal applications a bit error rate of 10 , i.e., one mistake per 10 transmitted bit is sufficiently low. The sensitivity of all optical detectors decreases, however, with increasing bit rate, because the total noise also depends increasingly on bandwidth a characteristic of white noise source that is intrinsic to these detectors.
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