ZTE UNIVERSITY English Training Manual (V0610)

Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

Course Objectives:
To master structure and type of optical fiber

To master fundamentals of optical fiber To master features of optical fiber, such as loss, dispersion and nonlinear.

Reference:
Modern Telecommunication Base and Technology

Contents
1 Overview of Optical Fiber............................................................................................................................1 1.1 Basic Knowledge of Optical Fiber...........................................................................................................1 1.1.1 Structure of Optical Fiber.........................................................................................................1 1.1.2 Classification of Optical Fiber.................................................................................................2 1.1.3 Working Frequency of Optical Fiber........................................................................................4 1.1.4 Types and Features of Common SMFs....................................................................................5 1.1.5 New Optical Fiber Types..........................................................................................................6 1.2 Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber.........................................................................................7 1.2.1 Fiber Loss.................................................................................................................................7 1.2.2 Dispersion.................................................................................................................................9 1.2.3 Non-Linear Effect...................................................................................................................11

1 Overview of Optical Fiber

Key points Basic knowledge of optical fiber Common type and application of optical fiber Transmission characteristics of optical fiber

1.1 Basic Knowledge of Optical Fiber

1.1.1 Structure of Optical Fiber
Optical fiber is a kind of cylinder glass fiber with a good light conducting performance and a small diameter. It consists of fiber core, cladding, and coating layer, as shown in Figure 1.1-1.
Coating Cladding Fiber core

n2

n1

n1: Refractive index of fiber core n2: Refractive index of cladding

Figure 1.1-1 Structure of Optical Fiber

1.

Fiber core It is mainly made of SiO2 (quartz) and comprises few doped chemical, such as GeO2, to improve refractive index (n1) of the fiber core. The diameter of the fiber core usually ranges from 5 m to 50 m.

2.

Cladding It is made of pure SiO2, with the outer diameter of 125 m. The refractive index
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

(n2) of cladding is less than that (n1) of the fiber core. 3. Coating It is made of macromolecule materials, such as epoxide resin and silicone rubber. The outer diameter is about 250 m. The addition of coating improves the flexibility, mechanical strength, and aging-resistance features of the optical fiber.

1.1.2 Classification of Optical Fiber

This section introduces three classification methods of optical fiber, in terms of the distribution pattern of refractive index, fiber material and transmission mode. 1. Classification according to the distribution pattern of refractive index When a beam of light is transferred through a fiber, each incident ray arrives at the interface between the fiber core and the cladding by a proper angle. Since the refractive index of the fiber core (n1) is larger that that of the cladding (n2), the light will be reflected totally in the fiber core repeatedly on the interface if the reflection angle meets the total internal reflection condition. In this case, the light travels forward along a Z path, which forms the transmission wave. All the light energy is constrained within the fiber core. According to the radial distribution of refractive index on the section of fiber, optical fibers are classified into step index fiber and grade index fiber. Figure 1.1-2 illustrates the relationship between the refractive index and the fiber structure, as well as the transmission path of light in the fibers.
Light

n2 Cladding

Fiber core

n1

a. Step Index Fiber

Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

n2 Cladding Fiber core Light

n1

b. Grade Index Fiber

Figure 1.1-2 Comparison between Step Index Fiber and Grade Index Fiber

2.

Classification according to fiber material According to the materials of fibers, optical fibers are classified into silica fiber, various glass fibers containing different ingredients, plastic-clad silica fiber with a silica-based core and a plastic cladding, and all plastic optical fiber with a plastic core as well as a plastic cladding etc. Among these fiber types, the silica fibers have less loss than the other fibers. Generally, the fibers with great loss are only employed in short-distance systems in buildings or rooms.

3.

Classification according to the transmission mode of fiber Light is a kind of electromagnetic wave. Therefore, the transmission of light through fiber should meet not only the total-reflection condition between the fiber core and cladding, but also the coherence enhancement condition for electromagnetic wave during the transmission process. For a specific fiber structure, only a series of certain electromagnetic waves can be effectively transmitted in the fiber. Such specific electromagnetic wave is called optical fiber mode. In the fiber, the conductible mode quantity depends on the structure and refractive index radial distribution of the fiber. If a fiber supports only one conduction mode (base mode), it is called SingleMode Fiber (SMF). The core of a single-mode fiber can only carry one channel of light. If a fiber supports multiple conduction modes, it is called Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF). In a multi-mode fiber, each channel of light uses a transmission mode. Table 1.1-1 explains the differences between SMF and MMF.
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

Table 1.1-1 Differences Between SMF and MMF Fiber Item Transmission mode Fiber core mode Small (about 5 m - 10 m) The dispersion of SMF is mainly caused by the transmission rates of Dispersion different frequency elements in optical signal, which increases along with the spectral width of the optical signal. Ordinary SMF, Dispersion Shifted Type Working window Applications Fiber (DSF) and Dispersion Compensation Fiber (DCF) 1310 nm and 1550 nm Long-distance fiber communication systems with large capacity 850 nm and 1310 nm Short-distance fiber communication systems at low rate Ordinary MMF SMF Only supports the transmission in base MMF Supports multiple conduction modes Large (about 50 m) MMF has great mode dispersion due to different transmission rates of different modes, which directly affects the transmission bandwidth and transmission distance.

1.1.3 Working Frequency of Optical Fiber

With the improvement of fiber manufacturing techniques, the fiber transmission loss keeps decreasing. At present, there are five low-loss windows, as shown in Figure 1.13.
3.0 ~140 THz 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 O 0 800 1000 1200 E 1400 S C L 1600 Wavelength (nm) OH-Absorption peak ~50 THz OHAbsorption peak OH- II Absorption peak V III IV

Loss (dB/km)

O: Original Band

E: Extended Band

S: Short Band

C: Conventional Band

L: Long Band

Figure 1.1-3 Division of Low-Loss Windows

Table 1.1-2 lists the optical signal mark, wavelength range, applied fiber types and
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Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

application occasions of the five low-loss windows: I, II, III, IV and V.

Table 1.1-2 Comparison between Low-Loss Windows Item Window I II III IV V Mark (nm) 850 1310 (O band) 1550 (C band) 1600 (L band) 1360-1530 (E+S band) Wavelength Range (nm) 600-900 1260-1360 1530-1565 1565-1625 1360-1530 Fiber Type MMF MMF/G.652/G.653 G.652/G.653/G.655 G.652/G.653/G.655 Full-wave fiber Long distance and high rate Application Scope Short distance and low rate

1.1.4 Types and Features of Common SMFs

This section briefly introduces the features and functions of three kinds of SMFs, G.652 and G.655. The fiber types applied in the DWDM systems are also involved. 1. G.652 (ordinary SMF) It is also called dispersion non-shifted SMF, applied in 1310 nm and 1550 nm windows. In the 1310 nm window, it has dispersion close to zero. In the 1550nm window, its loss is the smallest with the dispersion of 17 ps/kmnm. When the G.652 fiber is used in the 1310 nm window, it is only applicable to SDH systems; while it is applicable to both SDH systems and DWDM systems when it is used in the 1550 nm window. The dispersion compensation is needed when the single channel rate is over 2.5 Gbit/s. 2. G.655 (non-zero dispersion shifted SMF) In the 1550 nm window, the absolute dispersion of G.655 fiber is within a certain range instead of zero. It ensures the smallest loss and small dispersion in this window. It is applicable to high-rate and long-distance optical communication systems. In addition, because the non-zero dispersion suppresses the influence of non-linear FWM over DWDM system, this kind of fiber is usually used in DWDM systems.

Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

1.1.5 New Optical Fiber Types

The features and applications of some new-type fibers are introduced below. 1. G.653 (dispersion shifted SMF) The G.653 fiber has the smallest loss and the smallest dispersion in the 1550 nm window. Therefore, it mainly works in the 1550 nm window. It is applicable to high-rate and long-distance single-wavelength communication systems. When the DWDM technology is used, the serious non-linear Four Wave Mixing (FWM) problem will occur in the zero-dispersion wavelength area, which leads to signal attenuation in multiplexing channels and channel crosstalk. 2. G.654 (lowest attenuation SMF) The G.654 fiber works in the 1550 nm window with the average loss of 0.15dB/km-0.19dB/km, which is less than that of other fibers. Its zerodispersion point is also in the 1310 nm window. It is mainly applicable to optical transmission systems with long regeneration distance. 3. Full-wave fiber The full-wave fiber, water peak free fiber, eliminates the appended water peak attenuation caused by the OH- ions by eliminating OH- ions near the 1385 nm wavelength. In this way, the fiber attenuation is only determined by the internal scattering loss of the silicon glass. Full-wave fiber is numbered as G.652 C&D in ITU-T Recommendations. It is one kind of G.652 fiber. Its full name is wavelength-expanded dispersion nonshifted single-mode fiber.

The attenuation of the full-wave fiber becomes flat at the band of 1310 nm1600 nm. As internal OH- ions are already eliminated, no water peak attenuation will occur even when the fiber is exposed to hydrogen gas. It has the long-term attenuation reliability. The full-wave optical fiber can provide a complete transmission band from 1280 nm to 1625 nm. The available wavelength range is about 1.5 times of the wavelength range of ordinary fibers.

Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

4.

Real-wave fiber The real-wave fiber is a kind of non-zero dispersion shifted single-mode fiber (G.655 fiber) widely used at present. Its fiber characteristics are similar to those of G.655 fiber. The zero dispersion point is in short-wavelength area below 1530 nm. In 1549 nm - 1561 nm band, the dispersion coefficient is 2.0ps/nmkm 3.0ps/nmkm. The real-wave fiber has small dispersion slope and dispersion coefficient with the capability of tolerating higher non-linear effect. It is applicable to largecapacity optical transmission systems, and thus reducing the network construction cost.

5.

Fiber with large effective fiber core area It also belongs to non-zero dispersion shifted single-mode fiber (G.655 fiber). Essentially, it improves non-linear resistance capability of the system. The main performance of super-speed system is limited by dispersion and nonlinear effect. Usually, dispersion can be eliminated through dispersion compensation. But the non-linear effect cannot be eliminated through linear compensation. The effective area of the fiber determines the fiber non-linear effect. Larger effective area means higher optical power affordable, that is, better resistance to non-linear effect.

1.2 Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber

1.2.1 Fiber Loss
The loss of power during transmission is one of the basic and important parameters of optical fibers. Due to the existence of loss, the optical power transmitted in fibers attenuates by index with the increase of transmission distance. 1. Cause of optical fiber loss and low-loss window The loss of optical fiber mainly comes from the following two causes: 1) Loss coming from the optical fiber itself, including the inherent absorption loss of fiber materials, absorption loss of material impurity (especially the loss caused by the remained OH- component in the optical fiber), Rayleigh scattering loss, as well as the scattering loss caused by inperfect fiber structure.
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

2)

Since optical cables are made of a bundle of clustered optical fibers, the layout of optical cables, connection of optical fibers, and coupling and connection of the transmission system may all cause the additional loss of fibers, including bending loss, microbending loss, coupling loss in the optical fiber line, and coupling loss between optical components. The fiber attenuation spectrum is shown in Figure 1.1-3. As shown in the figure, the average loss of window I is 2 dB/km, that of window II is 0.3dB/km to 0.4dB/km, and that of window III is 0.19dB/km to 0.25dB/km. The 1380 nm point in window V is an OH- absorption peak.

2.

The line losses of common SMFs are listed in Table 1.2-3.

Table 1.2-3 Loss of Common SMFs Fiber Type G.652 0.3dB/km-0.4dB/km 0.15dB/km-0.25dB/km 1310 nm and1550 nm 0.19dB/km-0.25dB/km 1550 nm G.653 0.19dB/km-0.25dB/km 1550 nm G.655

Typical loss (1310 nm) Typical loss (1550 nm) Working window

3.

Relationship between loss and Optical Signal-to-Noise Ratio (OSNR) OSNR is the ratio between optical signal power and noise power. It is a very important parameter for estimating and measuring the system bit error performance, engineering design and maintenance. Take the OSNR at the receiving end of a DWDM system for example. The calculation formula is: OSNR= Pout - 10 log M - L + 58 - NF - 10 log N Where, Pout: the input optical power (dBm) M: Number of multiplexing channels of the DWDM system L: Loss between any two optical amplifiers, that is, section loss (dB) NF: Noise figure of EDFA (dB) N: Number of optical amplifiers between optical multiplexer and optical demultiplexer of the DWDM system.
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Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

The formula shows that when the other parameters keep unchanged, greater line loss leads to lower OSNR, which means decreased transmission quality of the optical line.

1.2.2 Dispersion
After the incidence optical pulse signal has been transmitted through a long distance, time spreading occurs on the optical pulse waveform at the output end of the fiber. This phenomenon is called dispersion. Figure 1.2-4 illustrates the dispersion in a SingleMode Fiber (SMF) for example.
Optical power Optical power

SMF

Time Incident optical pulse waveform

Time Emergent optical pulse waveform

Figure 1.2-4 Dispersion in SMF

Dispersion will cause inter-symbol interference, affect the correct judgment of optical pulse signal at the receiving end, deteriorate the BER performance and severely affect the information transmission. Dispersion in the SMF is mainly caused by different transmission rates of different frequency components in the optical signal. This kind of dispersion is called chromatic dispersion. In the area where the chromatic dispersion is negligible, the polarization mode dispersion is the major part of SMF dispersion. 1.2.2.1 Chromatic Dispersion 1. Brief introduction to chromatic dispersion Chromatic dispersion includes material dispersion and wave-guide dispersion. 1) Material dispersion: The fiber material of quartz glass has different refractive indexes for different optical wavelengths; while light source has certain spectral width, and different wavelengths result in different group rates. Therefore, the optical pulse spreading occurs. 2) Wave-guide dispersion: For a transmission mode of the fiber, it is the pulse spreading caused by different group rates in different optical wavelengths. This dispersion is related to the wave-guide effect of fiber structure, so it is also
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

called structure dispersion. Material dispersion is greater than wave-guide dispersion. According to the dispersion calculation formula, the material dispersion at a specific wavelength may be zero, and this wavelength is called the zero dispersion wavelength of the material. Fortunately, this wavelength is in the low-loss window near 1310 nm. For example, G.652 fiber is the zero dispersion fiber. Although the optical components are much affected by dispersion, there is a tolerable maximum dispersion value (dispersion tolerance). As long as the generated dispersion is within the tolerance, normal transmission can be ensured. 2. Influence of chromatic dispersion Chromatic dispersion will result in pulse spreading and chirp effect. 1) Pulse spreading: It is the major influence of fiber dispersion on the system performance. When the transmission distance is longer than the fiber dispersion length, the pulse spreading is too large. At this time, the system will generate serious inter-symbol interference and bit errors. 2) Chirp effect: Dispersion not only results in pulse spreading but also makes pulse to generate phase modulation. Such phase modulation makes different parts of the pulse to generate different offsets from the central frequency, so that different parts have different frequencies, which is called Chirp effect of pulse. Due to chirp effect, the fiber is divided into normal dispersion fiber and abnormal dispersion fiber. In the normal dispersion fiber, the high-frequency component of the pulse is located at the rear edge of the pulse, and the lowfrequency component is located at the front edge of the pulse. In the abnormal dispersion fiber, the low-frequency component of the pulse is located at the rear edge of the pulse, and the high-frequency component is located at the front edge of the pulse. In the transmission line, proper usage of these two fibers can offset the chirp effect and remove the pulse dispersion spreading. 3) Since the DWDM system mostly works in the 1550 nm window, if G.652 fiber is used, it is required to use the DCF fiber with negative wavelength dispersion to compensate the dispersion and reduce the total dispersion value of the whole transmission line.

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Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

1.2.2.2 Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) PMD is a kind of physical phenomenon existing in the fields of optical fiber and optical component. The basic mode in SMF has two polarization modes that are orthogonal. In ideal cases, two polarization modes should have the same feature curve and transmission characteristics. However, due to geometrical and pressure asymmetry, two polarization modes have different transmission rates, resulting in delay and PMD, as shown in Figure 1.2-5. Usually, the unit of PMD is ps/km1/2.
Optical fiber Incident light Emergent light

Delay

Figure 1.2-5 PMD in SMF

In the digital transmission system, PMD results in pulse separation and pulse spreading, degrades transmission signal, and limits the transmission rate of carriers. Compared with other dispersions, PMD can almost be omitted but cannot be totally eliminated. Instead, it can only be minimized through optical components. The narrower the pulse in the ultra-high speed system is, the greater the PMD influence is.

1.2.3 Non-Linear Effect

In common fiber communication systems, the transmitting optical power is low and the fiber exhibits a linear transmission feature. For the DWDM system, however, the fiber exhibits the non-linear effect after EDFA is used. The non-linear effect of the fiber results in a serious cross-talk between multiwavelength channels in DWDM system; leads to additional attenuation of the fiber optic transmission system; restricts the light-emitting power, EDFA amplification performance, and current-free regenerative relay distance. Five non-linear effects are introduced in this section, including Self-Phase Modulation (SPM), Cross-Phase Modulation (XPM), Four Wave Mixing (FWM), Stimulated
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

Raman Scattering (SRS), and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBC). 1. Self-Phase Modulation (SPM) Due to the dependency between refractive index and light intensity, the refractive index changes during optical pulse continuance, and the pulse peak phase is delayed for both front and rear edges. With the transmission distance increasing, the phase shift keeps accumulating and represents a large phase modulation upon reaching a certain distance, resulting in the spectrum spreading which causes pulse spreading. This process is called SPM, as shown in Figure 1.2-6.
Strength

Spectrum before transmission Pulse width before transmission Strength

Spectrum after transmission

Pulse width after transmission

Figure 1.2-6 Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)

When the system works in the fiber working area with negative dispersion index (such as the short wavelength area of G.653 fiber, or working area with negative dispersion of G.655 fiber), SPM will result in smaller dispersion limit distance. When the system works in the fiber working area with positive dispersion index (such as the long wavelength area of G.652 or G.653 fiber, or working area with positive dispersion of G.655 fiber), SPM will result in greater dispersion limit distance. The SPM effect mainly occurs within a certain distance from the transmitter. In addition, the low-dispersion fiber can also reduce such SPM effect on system performance. 2. Cross Phase Modulation (XPM) When two or more light waves with different frequencies are simultaneously
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Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

transmitted in non-linear media, the amplitude modulation of each frequency light wave will result in the corresponding changes of the fiber refractive index, resulting in non-linear phase modulation of the light wave with other frequency. This is called XPM. XPM often occurs along with SPM. XPM may cause a series of non-linear effects, such as signal interference between DWDM system paths, and nonlinear dual-refraction of fiber, leading to unstable polarization of the fiber transmission. Meanwhile, XPM also affects waveform and spectrum of pulse. Increasing the dispersion properly can reduce the XPM influence. 3. Four Wave Mixing (FWM) FWM refers to a physical process of energy exchange between multiple optical carriers caused by non-linear effect of the fiber, when multiple optical carriers of different frequencies with high power are simultaneously transmitted in one fiber. FWM results in optical signal energy attenuation in multiplexing channels and channel cross-talk. As shown in Figure 1.2-7, a new optical wave is generated at another wavelength due to FWM effect.

Incident light

Emergent light

New light

Figure 1.2-7 Four Wave Mixing (FWM)

The generation of FWM is related to fiber dispersion. The mixing efficiency is the highest when the dispersion is zero. With the increase of dispersion, the mixing efficiency reduces rapidly. The DWDM system uses the G.655 optical fiber to avoid the FWM effect in the 1550 nm zero-dispersion wavelength area. 4. Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) The detailed process of SRS: 1) When the mutual action occurs between medium and the incident photon with the frequency of vin, a Stokes photon with the frequency of vs=vin-vv and an optical photon with the frequency of vv are launched. The whole process
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Transmission_I_02_200909 Work Principle of Optical Fiber Telecommunication

is in compliance the conservation law of energy, and frequency up-shift occurs. 2) When the mutual action occurs between medium and the incident photon with the frequency of vin, a photon with the frequency of vv might be absorbed to generate an anti-Stokes photon with the frequency of va=vin-vv. The whole process is in compliance the conservation law of energy, and frequency down-shift occurs. SRS belongs to the stimulated non-elastic scattering process caused by the nonlinear effect. It originates from the mutual action and energy exchange between photon and optical phonon (molecular vibration status). The SRS effect results in the attenuation of the short-wavelength signals and reinforcement of the long-wavelength signals, as shown in Figure 1.2-8.
Incident light Power
...

Emergent light Power

...

2 3

2 3

Figure 1.2-8 SRS phenomenon

SRS effect is widely applied in the fiber optic transmission, for example, distributed Raman amplifier can be made based on the Raman gain to provide distributed broadband amplification for optical signals, the DRA board of ZTE DWDM equipment implements the optical amplification function through the SRS effect. On the other hand, SRS exerts certain negative influence on the transmission system. In the DWDM system, lights in the short-wavelength channel serve as the pump light to transfer energy to the long-wavelength channel, resulting in Raman crosstalk between channels. 5. Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) SBS belongs to the stimulated non-elastic scattering process caused by the nonlinear effect. It originates from the mutual action and energy exchange between photon and acoustical phonon (crystal vibration status). The SBS effect can be used to make the fiber Brillouin laser and amplifier. On the other hand, SBS results in unstable signal light source and crosstalk between reverse transmission channels. However, along with the increase of system
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Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber

transmission rate, the SBS peak gain obviously reduces. Therefore SBS will not greatly affect the high-speed fiber transmission system.

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