Optical Fiber

COMMUNICATION ENG. PROF. A.M.
ALLAM
COMM.ENG
OPTICAL FIBER
COMMUNICATION ENG. PROF. A.M.ALLAM
Objectives
To Explain the basic concept of light transmission and
reflection along an optical fiber line as one of the
guided media including
Total internal reflection
dispersion
Transmission properties
Is a dielectric channel used to guide light

by total internal reflection
Is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a

waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light
between the two ends of the fiber
1-History
Early communications
1960 : first laser for OFCS
1960-1970 : development of many laser systems for a
OFCS based on line of sight through the
atmosphere
(requires clear atmosphere & light LOS)
1970 : low loss glass fiber waveguide for OFCS
(revolution invention compared to coaxial cables)
by eyes
Advantages of optical fibers: Disadvantages of optical fibers:

-Smaller and lighter than other types of cables -High cost
-Very high tensile strength -Needs more expensive TX &
-Higher information capacity RX
often 400-500Mbps and ready to achieve 2 Gbps -More difficult and expensive to
-Lower losses splice than wire
-Greater repeater spacing
2-Optical communication system

passband
TX Channel Rx coupler
Tx coupler
Optical
carrier Transmission media OutputRECEIVER
sensor (photo-detector)
Modulator baseband
Optical fiber
baseband Destination information
Input sensor message
Input sensor: Converts
message
message into electric signal (baseband signal ), microphone
Source information Modulator: Converts baseband signal into format appropriate
for channel transmission ; impresses the signal onto the optical
carrier
Optical carrier: Generates the light-wave onto which the information is carried (laser diode (LD)
or light emitting diode (LED)). The carrier source is intensity modulated which means that as the
input current changes the output optical power changes in the same way
Coupler : Couples light from the source to the fiber channel
Channel: Glass or plastic fibers that are the transmission medium
Receiver coupler : Transfers the optical power from the fiber to the photo-detector
Photo-detector (o/p sensor): Converts optical power to electrical current, ideally the current
should be a replica of the current used to modulate the light source
Message destination : devices such as speakers, video monitors and computers
3-Construction of optical fiber line

An optical fiber (American spelling) or fibre (British spelling): is cylindrical
dielectric waveguide that transmits light along its axis, by the process of total
internal reflection
-The fiber consists of a denser core n2

Low index cladding
surrounded by a cladding layer n1
High index core
-For total internal reflection to confine the

optical signal in the core, the refractive index
of the core must be greater than that of the n1 > n2
cladding
-The boundary between the core and

cladding may either be abrupt, in step-index
fiber, or gradual, in graded index fiber
-The fiber is encased in an insulating jacket

which protects it from moisture and provide
some mechanical strength
4-Total internal reflection (TIR)

The light which is transmitted usually changes direction when it enters the second
material. This bending of light is called refraction and it depends upon the fact that
light travels at one speed in one material and at a different speed in a different
material
1 /  o o
n  c/v  n  r  r   r
1 /  r  o r  o
where
n is the refractive index
c is the speed of light in a vacuum
v is the speed of light in the material
As a result each material has its own refractive index which we use to help
us calculate the amount of bending which takes place. Refractive index is
defined as:
n  r
•Critical angle
Form Snell’s low n1sinθ1 = n2sinθ2
Since n1>n2 then
n2 θ2
sinθ2 = (n1/n2)sinθ1
θ2 > θ1 n1 θ1
when θ1 = θc ; the critical angle at which TIR occurs
then:
n1sinθc = n2sin90o=n2
hence sinθc = n2/n1
if θ1 > θc then the ray is completely reflected in n2 θ2= 90o
medium 1 so ;
Hence conditions for light ray propagating through
an optical fiber core are :
n1 θc
1-the core index is dense and greater then the -
cladding index
2-incident angle of ray with normal to the core--
cladding interface θ1 > θc
•Acceptance angle
Is the maximum angle θimax which gives just total internal reflection at the
core gladding interface
B
-When θi= θimax θ= θc
θi< θimax n2 θ< θc

-When θ> θc no
Cladding
The ray propagate through TIR n1 θ> θc A

Propagating
θi< θimax
A Core
θi> θimax
B
-When θi>θimax θ< θc
The ray penetrates the cladding and lost
i.e., the maximum angle at which it may

enter the guide and travel by total internal
reflection (TIR) is termed acceptance angle
nasinθi = n1sinθt
sinθi = n1sinθt
The minimum value of θ gives reflection is n2
θc which gives maximum value of θi na=1
θθ n1
sinθimax = n1cosθc=n1√1-sin2θc θt
θi
=n1√1-(n2/n1)2
=n1√(n1-n2)(n1+n2)/n12
=n1√(n1-n2)2n1/n12
=n1√2(n1-n2) /n1
sinθimax = n1√2∆ , ∆ = (n1-n2) /n1 ∆ is the refractive index fractional

difference
•Numerical aperture
NA= nasinθimax
NA =sinθimax= n1√2∆ = √(n12-n22)
It measure the light collecting ability of the fiber
Example
Derive an expression for the maximum value of n2 as a function of n1 that permits all
light incident on the end face of a fiber to be propagated. Assume na = 1 and that the
end face is perpendicular to the fiber axis. Calculate this limiting value of n2 when
n1 = 1.46
Solution
NA= nasinθimax = √(n12-n22)
Under this condition θimax = 90o √(n12-n22)=1
n2 = √(n12-1)
If n1 = 1.46 then n2 = 1.0638
Example
A silica optical fiber with a core diameter large enough to be considered by ray theory
analysis has a core refractive index of 1.5 and cladding refractive index of
1.47.Determine the critical angle at the core cladding interface
Solution
sinθc = n2/n1 = 1.47/1.5=0.98 θc = 78.52o

5-Types of cylindrical optical fiber
n r  a
n( r )   1
n2 r  a
n r  a
n( r )   1
n2 r  a

n (1  2(r / a) αp ) r  a
n( r )   1

n2 ra
α is the profile parameter which gives the characteristic refractive index profile of the core.
It is a general expression for any refractive index profile inside the core for
α=∞ is step index
α=2 is parabolic profile
α=1 is triangular profile
Monomode step index Multimode step index Multimode graded index
-The refractive index of the -The refractive index of the -The refraction index is -higher
fiber “steps” up as we move fiber “steps” up as we move at the centre and decreases
from the cladding to the core of from the cladding to the core outwards in a specified non-
the fiber of the fiber linear fashion toward the lower
refractive index of the cladding
-The diameter of the core is -The diameter of the core is
about 5-10 µm about 50-100 µm and this is -The best results for
wide enough to allow several multimode optical propagation
-This narrow core limits the different waveguide modes to are obtained when we have a
propagation of waveguide propagate down the fiber near parabolic refractive index
modes to a single one as the profile (α=2)
angle required for the higher
modes would not be achievable
in this configuration
Monomode step index Multimode step index Multimode graded index
Advantages
1-Inexpensive and simple to
have far less intermodal dispersion
Minimum dispersion because manufacture than multimode SI and also have
all rays propagating down the 2- Easy to couple light into and out transmission bandwidths capacity
fiber take approximately the because of larger numerical aperture much more than equivalent SI
and core diameter multimode fibres. Why?
same path, consequently, 3-Allow the use of incoherent optical
1-a pulse of light entering the sources (most LEDs) which are
cable can be reproduced at the difficult to couple to single mode
fibers Rays travelling near the axis
receiving end very accurately 4-Tolerance requirement on have a shorter path than rays
2- larger bandwidths connectors between fibers is travelling into the outer
3- higher bit rates much less stringent than the
case with single mode fibers region of the core. However,
near axial rays are
transmitted through a region
Disadvantages with higher refractive index
1-Difficult to couple the light 1-Different passes for the rays and so travel with a slower
source which distort the pulse speed than the outer rays, this
2- Needs leaser source 2-Lower bandwidth and bit rates compensate for the path
3-Difficult to manufacturing difference and reduces
dispersion in the fibre
•More about GI fiber

The gradual decrease in refractive index can be imagined as many layers with
slightly different refractive indices
n3 n
n2
n1
Beam path
The main disadvantages of GI index fibre is that its numerical aperture will be a
function of the radial distance from the fibre axis and will be less than its
corresponding size in SI fibres
6-Number of modes propagation in optical fiber
Mode: the allowed rays that can incident on the core-cladding interface that
can propagate constructively. There are discrete incident angles on that
interface which satisfy these conditions ( these modes are derived using
Maxwell’ equations like any waveguide)
•Condition of single mode
SI fiber: 0 ≤ V < 2.405 , V= 2π a NA / λ is the normalized frequency
GI fiber: 0 ≤ V < 2.405(1+2/α)1/2

•Number of modes :
The number of modes that can be propagated in
SI fiber GI fiber
MSI = V2/2 MGI = MSI(α/(α+2))
α is the profile parameter
Therefore for a parabolic index profile number of modes supported
are half that of a step index with the same V
•The fraction of power that can travel in the cladding :
Pclad / Ptot = 4/(3√M)

Example
A step index fiber of core radius and index 5um and 1.46 respectively. If the
refractive index fractional difference is 0.01 , then find the numerical aperture and
the maximum operating frequency for single mode propagation
Example
A step index fiber of core diameter 50um and numerical aperture 0.25 carries light
of wavelength 850 nm. Determine the number of modes and the fractional power
travels to the cladding. Then determine the number of modes if its GI fiber with
parabolic profile
7-Single modes fiber

-The advantage of the propagation of single mode in optical fiber is the
avoiding the dispersion due to the delay difference between different modes
in multimode fiber
-Single mode optical fiber has many parameters such as:
(1) Cut off normalized frequency Vc
Vc =2.405
(2) Cut off wavelength λc
Is the wavelength above which the fiber becomes single mode

λc = 2π a NA / Vc
Hence, λc/λ=V/Vc
and for a SI fiber λc=λV/2.405

Example
Determine the maximum core diameter of a step index fiber of relative
refractive index difference 1.5% and core refractive index 1.48 carries light
of wavelength 0.85 um to be suitable for single mode operation. Determine
the new maximum core diameter if the relative refractive index difference
is reduced by a factor of 10
(3)- Modal field diameter (MFD) and spot size

E(r)
-In SI & GI fibers near cut off wavelength λc, the field E(0)
is well approximated by Gaussian distribution
MFD : is the distance between 1/e=0.37 field

amplitude points( 1/e2=0.135 for the power) of E(0)/e
the corresponding values at the fiber axis
ωo
Spot size ωo: is the mode field radius, the -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

MFD = 2ωo Radius r [um]
nominal half width of the input excitation field
i.e., MFD =2 ωo
The optimum values of the spot size related to the core radius a and the normalized
frequency V as:
ωo /a = 0.65 + 1.619V -3/2 + 2.879V -6 for SI fiber
ωo2 /a = (1/n1k)(2/Δ)1/2 for GI near parabolic profile

Example
Estimate the fiber core diameter for a single mode SI fiber which has a
MFD of 11.6um when the normalized frequency is 2.2
Solution
a = ωo/(0.65 + 1.619V -3/2 + 2.879V -6 )
=5.8x10-6/( 0.65 + 1.619(2.2) -3/2 + 2.879(2.2) -6
= 4.95um
8-Mode coupling
It is coupling (transfer) of the energy Irregularity

traveling in one mode to another due
a specific perturbation
This perturbation might be due to

deviation of the fiber axis, variation of
the core diameter, straightness,
irregularities of the core cladding
interface, bending, refractive index
variation,…
Bending
9-Optical fiber cable installations
11/22/2014 LECTURES 24
10-Transmission characteristics of fiber optic

Like any communication system there are some important factors affecting
performance of optical fibers as a transmission medium. The most interest
are those attenuation and bandwidth
1. Attenuation
Is the ratio of the input (transmitted) optical power into the fiber to output
(received) optical power from the fiber
Po=Pi 10 -αL/10 [w]
Po=Pi -αL [dB]

Example
A fiber has a coupled power -8dBm and attenuation of 6 dBm/km, and a
length 2 km. Calculate the output power
dBm/km
dBm/km
Example
A fiber coupled power -8dBm and attenuation of 6 dBm/km. Find the
fiber length if the output power is -30dBm.
6dBm/km
A number of mechanisms are responsible for the signal attenuation within

optical fibers:
1-Material absorption 2-Scattering 3-Fiber bend losses
4-losses due coupling the source to the fibers
5–losses due to mismatching between the fibers (Fresnel)
6–losses due to splices and connectors
7- Losses due to deviation of geometrical and optical parameters
8- losses due to misalignments
9-Modal coupling radiation losses 10- Leaky mode losses
(1) Material absorption:

•Due to photon absorption in interaction with atoms or molecules of the
material. It happens due to material composition and fabrication process
impurities which causes attenuation in the transmitted optical power in the
form of heat due to absorption
•It is divided into two types:

-Intrinsic due to interaction with the main components of the glass
-Extrinsic due to interaction with the impurities in the glass
100
Attenuation (db/km)
Glass Absorption in UV
10
Glass Absorption in IR
1
0.1
Intrinsic absorption
0.01
0.5 0.6 0.7 1 1.2 1.5 2 3 5 10
Wavelength (m)
-Intrinsic absorption occurs in the UV region and have peaks also in the IR
in the 7 to 12 m region. This type of absorption is insignificant because it is
out of operation band of optical fiber
-Extrinsic absorption is a major source of loss in practical fiber. There are

two types are the main sources of impurity absorption :
-Transition metal ions -OH ions
•Transition metals (e.g : copper, iron, etc…) absorbs strongly in the region
of interest and so must not exceed a few parts per billion to ensure losses are
kept below 20dB/km
•OH absorption occurs because of excess water content and peak absorption
occurs at 2.73mm (resonant wavelength for absorption) .Other wavelength
causes large absorptions at 1.37, 1.23 and 0.95mm. Therefore for efficient
propagation those wavelength must be avoided
11/22/2014 LECTURES 29
(2) Scattering:
-Linear scattering due to random refractive index through the material causes some
optical power transfer from one propagating mode to another, this tends to
attenuation of the transmitted light as the transfer may be to a leaky or radiated
mode which does not continue to propagate within the fiber core, but is radiated
from the fiber
- Raleigh scattering:
Is the scattering of the photons at the random boundaries due to inhomogenities or
the randomness of the refractive index fluctuations
-The glass was formed using heat, which caused a random movement of the molecules
and when solidified the molecules were frozen in their random locations. This yields a
random refractive index through the material
-This applies when a wave travel through a medium having scattering objects much
smaller than the wavelength (molecular level)
-Thus, Raleigh scattering increases with the decrease in wavelength and was found to
be proportional to λ-4 and can be approximated by the following expression :
L=1.7(0.85/λ)4 dB/km
11/22/2014 LECTURES 30
- Mie scattering:
Is the scattering of the photons at the inhomogenities due to nonperfect cylindrical

structure such as irregularities in the core cladding interface, core cladding
refractive index difference, diameter fluctuations, strain and bubbles
-This applies when a wave travel through a medium having a wavelength

comparable to the size of inhomogenities
-It depends on the fiber material, design and manufacture

-It can be reduced by:
1-Removing imperfections due to glass manufacturing process;
2-Carefully control the fiber coating
3-Increasing the fiber guidance by increasing the relative refractive index
difference
11/22/2014 LECTURES 31
(3) Bend losses

-Optical fibers suffer radiation losses at bends or
curves. At that curvature most of the lower and higher θcθc
order modes will incident at an angle less the
critical, which let them out in the cladding, providing
more power loss in the fiber
R
-The loss can be represented by a radiation attenuation
coefficient which is given by :
αb=c1exp(-c2R)
where R is the radius of curvature of the fiber bend and c1, c2 are constants which are
independent of R
-There is also a critical radius of curvature Rc where large bending losses can occur
given by :
For single mode fibers the critical radius of curvature RCS can be
approximately by :
λc is the cutoff wavelength of theLECTURES

11/22/2014
where single mode fiber 32
Based on these relations the criteria to reduce macro bending losses is by :

-Designing fibers with large relative refractive index difference
-Operating at the possible shortest wavelength
•The losses due to bending can be determined as :

P2 / P1 = 1- ((α+2)/2α∆)[2a/R +(3λ/4πn2R)2/3]
where P1 and P2 are the power before and after bending respectively
dB/km λ Type Size,μm dB/km

800 SI 62.5/125 5.0
SI 62.5/125 4.0
850 62.5/125 3.3
GI
6 The overall attenuation GI 50/125 2.7
GI 62.5/125 0.9
4 1300
GI 50/125 0.7
2 SM X/125 0.5
λ [nm] 1550 SM X/125 0.2
800 1000 1200 1400 1600
11/22/2014 1330 1550 LECTURES 33
Example
A62.5/125GI parabolic fiber of core and cladding index 1.448 and 1.443 respectively
operating at 1.3um . If the radius of curvature of the turn is 2cm, find the power lost
in that turn
11/22/2014 LECTURES 34
(4) Losses due coupling the source to the fibers

The power coupled to a fiber depends on many factors: the source diameter, variations of
refractive index due to fabrications, variation in core diameter irregularities at interface
, variation of the index profile and variation of the numerical aperture
Source radiation pattern

Due to spatial distribution of the source
source
The power coupled to the fiber Pc is a
related to the power emitted from the rs
source Ps by what is called the
coupling efficiency and is defined as : lost power
Pc / Ps = (NA)2 min[1,(a /rs )2 ]= ηSI rs is the LED radius
=2n12 ∆[1-(2/(α+2))(rs /a)α]= ηGI
In SM fiber a is small, and since NA is also small, hence η is very small, so its very
important to use LASER DIODE in SI and also in MM because its spread is narrow
and most of the power is inside the acceptable angle of the fiber
ηlaser = 30-50%
11/22/2014 LECTURES 35
(5) Fresnel reflection at fiber to fiber joint

When the two jointed fiber ends are smooth and perpendicular to the fiber
axes, and the two fiber axes are perfectly aligned, there is a reflection causes
loss or attenuation due to mismatching of the refractive index of the medium
between the two jointed fibers. The fraction of the light power reflected at a
single interface is:
R=[(n1-n)/(n1+n)]2
n is the refractive index of the medium between the two fibers and the
transmission ratio is defined as :
ηt = Pc / Pemitted = 1-R
or in dB is ηt =10log(1-R)
or the optical loss due to Fresnel reflection at a single interface is
Loss Fres = -10log(1-R)
This loss should be taken into consideration at both fiber interface

Example
Two identical optical fibers of core index 1.5. If the end faces of two fibers are
butted together and their axes are perfectly aligned, then calculate the optical loss
due Fresnel reflection when there is an air gap between the fiber end faces
Solution
R= [(1.5-1)/(1.5+1)]2
= 0.04
Loss Fres = -10log(1-R)
= 0.18 dB
Then the total losses due to Fresnel reflection at the two faces = 0.18+0.18 = 0.36
Matching transformer
When two junctions( fiber and fiber , fiber and source,…) are different in index of
refraction we insert a matching material between them to achieve minimum reflection
as:
nm  n1n1
'
Example
(6) Losses due to splices and connectors
Any communication systems have requirements for joining and terminations

of the transmission medium. The number of intermediate connections or
joints is dependent upon the link length between repeaters. In optical fiber
the joints are:
-Fiber splices (like the soldered joints in other systems)
-Fiber demountable connectors (like plugs and sockets in other systems)
These types are used to couple the light from one fiber to the adjoint one.
-Fiber coupler: splits all the light ( or proportion) from the main fiber into
two or more fibers. Also it combines the light from branch fibers into
the main fiber
The joint losses is critically dependent on the alignment of the two fibers
(7)Losses due to deviation of geometrical and optical parameters

There are inherent connection problems when jointing fiber with :
-different core and /or cladding diameter;
-different NA and/or relative refractive index difference Δ;
-different refractive index profile α;
-different spot size ωo ;
-fiber faults like core ellipticity, core concentricity, …
The losses caused by these factors and Fresnel reflection loss are usually
referred to what is called INTRINSIC joint losses
•The best results are achieved with compatible (same) fibers which are
manufactured to the lowest tolerance, but still the problem of the quality of
alignment provided by jointing mechanisms (EXTRINSIC joint loss)
•Intrinsic losses
In addition to the reflection loss the losses due to different geometry and properties of
the fiber can be formulated as:
-In multimode fiber joints
Considering all the modes are equally excited in
multimode (SI or GI) fibers, the loss from core
diameter mismatch can be represented as: dR
dT
Losscd= -10log(dR/dT )2 for dR< dT otherwise =0dB
and the loss from refractive index profile mismatch can be represented as:
Lossα = -10log (αR(αT+2))/ (αT (αR+2))] for αR< αT otherwise =0 dB
and the loss from NA mismatch can be represented as: NAT

NAR
LossNA= -10log(NAR/NAT )2 for NAR< NAT otherwise =0 dB

-In single mode fiber joints

The intrinsic coupling loss due to spot size mismatch can be represented as:
Losssz= -10log[4(ωoR /ωoT+ ωoT /ωoR ) -2 ] dB
where ωoR and ωoT are the spot sizes of the receiving and transmitting
fibers respectively
Example
Two single mode fibers with mode field diameter of 11.2um and 8.4um are to be
connected together. Assuming no extrinsic losses, determine the intrinsic loss due
to the modal field diameter mismatch
Solution
Losssz= -10log[4(4.2 /5.6+ 5.6 /4.2 ) -2 ]
=-10log 0.922 = 0.35 dB
Example
When the mean optical power launched into an 8km length of fiber is 120uW, the
mean optical power at the fiber output is 3 uW. Determine:
-the overall signal attenuation or loss in dB through the fiber without connectors or
splices;
-the signal attenuation per kilometer of the fiber;
-the overall signal attenuation for 10 km optical link using the same fiber with splices
at 1km intervals, each giving an attenuation of 1dB;
-the numerical input/output power ratio in the previous link
Solution
=
=
=
=
2. Bandwidth of the fiber

The other characteristic of primary interest is the bandwidth of the fiber which is
limited by the signal dispersion within the fiber. Once the attenuation is reduced to
acceptable levels , attention is directed towards the dispersive properties of the fiber
•Dispersion
Dispersion with the fiber cause broadening of the transmitted

light pulses as they travel along the channel
-During an optical transmission of a digitally modulated signal, dispersion with the fiber
cause broadening of the transmitted light pulses as they travel along the channel. As a
result if we have a stream if digital pulses , each pulse broadens and overlapped with its
neighbors and becomes indistinguishable at the receiver input
-Since the broadening increases with the distance traveled along the fiber, we define
the parameter BW x length of the fiber
-This phenomena is clear in the following example:

Consider the input digital pattern to the fiber shown and notice the output at
a distance d1 and further distance d2
Amplitude
Input digital bit pattern
Time
Distinguishable pulses
Amplitude
Composite pattern
output at d1
Time
Indistinguishable pulses
Amplitude
no zero level
output at d2
Intersymbol interference Time
Thus, pulse broadening causes overlapping between pulses and eventually

the pulses can become indistinguishable
This limits the maximum bit rate βT to be carried by the optical fiber
A conservative estimate of which assumes a pulse duration of τ and that pulse
spreading can be up to τ (broadening) is given by (no overlap at all):
1
T 
2
A more accurate estimation of the maximum bit rate for an optical channel with
dispersion can be obtained by taking into consideration that the light pulses at the
output are Gaussian in shape with rms width σ . This allows a slight overlap while
still avoiding any penalties and errors due to inter-symbol interference and low
SNR. The maximum bit rate in this case is
0.2
T (max)  bits / s

It is very important to point out that this formula gives a reasonable good
approximation for other pulse shapes which may occur on the channel
resulting from various dispersive mechanisms within the fiber and may be
assumed to represent the rms impulse response for the channel
Example
A multimode graded index fiber exhibits total pulse broadening of 0.1us over a
distance of 15km. Estimate:
a) The max. possible BW assuming no inter symbol interference;
b) The pulse dispersion per unit length;
c) The BW-length product of the fiber
Solution
a) 1
T 
2
= 1/(0.2x10-6)=5 MHz
b) Dispersion = dispersion /total length
= 0.1 x 10-6/15= 6.67 ns km-1
c) BW x length = 5 MHz x 15km=75 MHz km
•Types of dispersion
Dispersion
Intramodal Intermodal
(Chromatic) (mode)
Material waveguide
Intramodal: due to finite spectral line Intermodal: due to the propagation delay
width of the optical source. The optical differences between the modes within a
source emits a band of frequencies (LD multimode fiber. (MMSI fiber exhibits a
emits fraction percent of the central large amount of mode dispersion which
frequency while LED emits significant gives the greatest pulse broadening). The
percentage). There will be a propagation single mode operation does not give
delay differences between the different intermodal dispersion and therefore
spectral components of the transmitted pulse broadening is solely due to the
signal which in turn causes broadening of intramodal dispersion
each transmitted mode and hence
intramodal dispersion
Example Intramodal dispersion
Consider the source have a certain spectral width, the pulse generated will
consist of a sum of identical pulses which are only different in their
wavelengths. For simplicity consider we have only three wavelength
components coming out of the source which constitute the pulse
Components of input pulse Components of input pulse
λ1 λ1
Input pulse output pulse
λ2  λ2
  
λ3 λ3
Source signal
Example Intermodal dispersion

-Material dispersion
-Is the broadening due to different group velocities of the various spectral
components launched from the source into the fiber
-It occurs when the phase velocity of the plane wave propagating in the
dielectric medium varies nonlinearly with the wavelength (d2n/dλ2≠0)
-Exists in all fibers and is a function of the source line width
Spectrum of I/P pulse I/P pulse O/P pulse

-Waveguide dispersion
-Is the broadening due to variation in the group velocity with wavelength
for a particular mode
-It occurs when (d2β/dλ2≠0)
-Exists in multimode fibers but can be significant in single mode

fibers and is a function of the source line width
-Modal dispersion
Due to propagation delay differences between modes within the fiber. It has
a greatest effect of pulse broadening in step index multimode fibers
Hig h order mod e Lo w order mo de
Broadene d
Cla dding light pulse
Light pulse
Intensity Core
Intensity
Axial
Spread, 
t t
0
Schematic illustration of light propagation in a slab dielectric waveguide. Light pulse

entering the waveguide breaks up into various modes which then propagate at different
group velocities down the guide. At the end of the guide, the modes combine to
constitute the output light pulse which is broader than the input light pulse.
© 1999 S.O. K asap,Optoelectronics(P rentice H all)

Optical Fiber

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Optical Fiber

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COMMUNICATION ENG. PROF. A.M.

Total internal reflection

Is a dielectric channel used to guide light

Is a thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a

Advantages of optical fibers: Disadvantages of optical fibers:

2-Optical communication system

3-Construction of optical fiber line

-The fiber consists of a denser core n2

-For total internal reflection to confine the

-The boundary between the core and

-The fiber is encased in an insulating jacket

4-Total internal reflection (TIR)

θi< θimax n2 θ< θc

The ray propagate through TIR n1 θ> θc A

i.e., the maximum angle at which it may

sinθimax = n1√2∆ , ∆ = (n1-n2) /n1 ∆ is the refractive index fractional

sinθc = n2/n1 = 1.47/1.5=0.98 θc = 78.52o

5-Types of cylindrical optical fiber

Monomode step index Multimode step index Multimode graded index

Monomode step index Multimode step index Multimode graded index

•More about GI fiber

6-Number of modes propagation in optical fiber

•Condition of single mode

SI fiber: 0 ≤ V < 2.405 , V= 2π a NA / λ is the normalized frequency

GI fiber: 0 ≤ V < 2.405(1+2/α)1/2

•The fraction of power that can travel in the cladding :

Pclad / Ptot = 4/(3√M)

7-Single modes fiber

(2) Cut off wavelength λc

Is the wavelength above which the fiber becomes single mode

and for a SI fiber λc=λV/2.405

(3)- Modal field diameter (MFD) and spot size

MFD : is the distance between 1/e=0.37 field

Spot size ωo: is the mode field radius, the -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

ωo2 /a = (1/n1k)(2/Δ)1/2 for GI near parabolic profile

It is coupling (transfer) of the energy Irregularity

This perturbation might be due to

9-Optical fiber cable installations

10-Transmission characteristics of fiber optic

Po=Pi 10 -αL/10 [w]

Po=Pi -αL [dB]

A number of mechanisms are responsible for the signal attenuation within

(1) Material absorption:

•It is divided into two types:

-Extrinsic absorption is a major source of loss in practical fiber. There are

Is the scattering of the photons at the inhomogenities due to nonperfect cylindrical

-This applies when a wave travel through a medium having a wavelength

-It depends on the fiber material, design and manufacture

(3) Bend losses

λc is the cutoff wavelength of theLECTURES

Based on these relations the criteria to reduce macro bending losses is by :

•The losses due to bending can be determined as :

dB/km λ Type Size,μm dB/km

(4) Losses due coupling the source to the fibers

Source radiation pattern

=2n12 ∆[1-(2/(α+2))(rs /a)α]= ηGI

(5) Fresnel reflection at fiber to fiber joint

or the optical loss due to Fresnel reflection at a single interface is

Loss Fres = -10log(1-R)

This loss should be taken into consideration at both fiber interface

(6) Losses due to splices and connectors

Any communication systems have requirements for joining and terminations

(7)Losses due to deviation of geometrical and optical parameters

Lossα = -10log (αR(αT+2))/ (αT (αR+2))] for αR< αT otherwise =0 dB