Sunteți pe pagina 1din 14

CHAPTER 2 Optical Fibers and Imaging

2.1 Introduction to Optical Fiber Guides There has always been a demand for increased capacity of transmission of information, and scientists and engineers continuously pursue technological routes for achieving this goal. The technological advances ever since the invention of the laser in 1960 have indeed revolutionized the area of telecommunications and networking. The availability of the laser, which is a coherent source of light waves, presented communication engineers with a suitable carrier wave capable of carrying enormously large amounts of information compared with radio waves and microwaves. A typical light wave communication system consists of a light wave transmitter, usually a semiconductor laser diode, a transmission channel namely the optical fiber to carry the modulated light beam; and finally a receiver for retrieving the signal. The information to be transmitted is usually coded into a digital stream of light pulses by modulating the laser diode. These optical pulses then travel through the optical fiber in the form of guided waves and are received by the optical detector from which the signal is then decoded and retrieved. At the heart of a light wave communication system is the optical fiber, which acts as a transmission channel carrying the light beam loaded with information. It consists of a dielectric core (usually doped silica) of high refractive index surrounded by a lower refractive index cladding. The concept of light propagation, the transmission of light along a multimode optical fiber, can be developed using the ray theory, or geometrical optics, approach. This theory is used to present some of the fundamental parameters associated with the optical fiber (acceptance angle, numerical aperture, etc.). Ray theory describes only the direction a plane wave takes in a fiber. Ray theory eliminates any properties of the plane wave that interfere with the transmission of light along a fiber. In

reality, plane waves interfere with each other. Therefore, only certain types of rays are able to propagate in a multimode optical fiber. Such a fiber can support only a specific number of guided modes. In small core fibers, the number of modes supported is one or only a few modes. In such fibers, ray theory breaks down and the rigorous mode theory has to be invoked. The mode theory is useful in describing the optical fiber properties of absorption, attenuation, and dispersion [3]. 2.1.1 Ray Theory Two types of rays can propagate along an optical fiber. The first type is called meridional rays. Meridional rays are rays that pass through the axis of the optical fiber. Meridional rays are used to illustrate the basic transmission properties of optical fibers. The second type is called skew rays. Skew rays are rays that travel through an optical fiber without passing through its axis. Meridional Rays. - Meridional rays can be classified as bound or unbound rays. Bound rays remain in the core and propagate along the axis of the fiber. Bound rays propagate through the fiber by total internal reflection. Unbound rays are refracted out of the fiber core. Fig. 2.1 shows a possible path taken by bound and unbound rays in a step-index

Figure 2.1 - Bound and unbound rays in a step-index fiber fiber. The core of the step-index fiber has an index of refraction n1. The cladding of a step-index has an index of refraction n2 that is lower than n1. Fig. 2.1 assumes the corecladding interface is perfect. However, imperfections at the core-cladding interface will
7

cause part of the bound rays to be refracted out of the core into the cladding. The light rays refracted into the cladding will eventually escape from the fiber. It is known that bound rays propagate in fibers due to total internal reflection, but how do these light rays enter the fiber? Rays that are propagated along the fiber must intersect the core-cladding interface at an angle greater than the critical angle (c). Only those rays that enter the fiber and strike the interface at these angles will propagate along the fiber.

Fig 2.2 - How a light ray enters an optical fiber. How a light ray is launched into a fiber is shown in figure 2.2. The incident ray I1 enters the fiber at the angle a. I1 is refracted upon entering the fiber and is transmitted to the core-cladding interface. The ray then strikes the core-cladding interface at the critical angle (c). I1 is totally reflected back into the core and continues to propagate along the fiber. The incident ray I2 enters the fiber at an angle greater than a. Again; I2 is refracted upon entering the fiber and is transmitted to the core-cladding interface. I2 strikes the core-cladding interface at an angle less than the critical angle (c). I2 is refracted into the cladding and is eventually lost. The light ray incident on the fiber core must be within the acceptance cone defined by the angle a shown in figure 2.3.

Angle a is defined as the acceptance angle. The acceptance angle (a) is the maximum

Fig 2.3 - Fiber acceptance angle angle to the axis of the fiber, at which the light entering the fiber is propagated. The acceptance angle is related to the refractive indices of the core, cladding, and medium surrounding the fiber. Fig. 2.3 illustrates the relationship between the acceptance angle and the refractive indices. The index of refraction of the fiber core is n1. The index of refraction of the fiber cladding is n2. The index of refraction of the surrounding medium is n0. Assuming the entrance face at the fiber core to be normal to the axis, considering the refraction at the air-core interface and applying Snells law we have the definition of numerical aperture (NA) as

NA = n0 sin a = (n1 n2 )
2 2

1 2

The numerical aperture depends only on n1 and n2. The NA is a measure of the lightgathering ability of an optical fiber. It is used to measure source-to-fiber power-coupling efficiencies. A high NA indicates a high source-to-fiber coupling efficiency. Since the medium next to the fiber at the launching point is normally air, n0 is equal to 1. The NA is then simply equal to sin a [4]. Typical values of NA range from 0.20 to 0.29 for glass fibers. Plastic fibers generally have a higher NA. For plastic fibers, the NA can be higher than 0.50. In addition, the NA is commonly used to specify multimode fibers.

Skew Rays. - A possible path of propagation of skew rays is shown in Fig 2.4. Fig 2.4,

view A, provides an angled view and view B provides a front view. Skew rays propagate without passing through the axis of the fiber. The acceptance angle for skew rays is larger than the acceptance angle of meridional rays. This condition explains why skew rays outnumber meridional rays. Skew rays are often used in the calculation of light acceptance in an optical fiber. The addition of skew rays increases the amount of light capacity of a fiber. In large NA fibers, the increase may be significant.

Fig 2.4 - Skew ray propagation: A. Angled view; B. Front view.

The addition of skew rays also increases the amount of loss in a fiber. Skew rays tend to propagate in the annular region near the edge of the fiber core and do not fully utilize the core as a transmission medium. A class of skew rays, known as leaky rays, loses energy to the cladding or the surrounding medium as they travel along the fiber. Skew rays are complimentary to the meridional rays in the sense that if the light input to the fiber is non-uniform, skew rays will tend to have a smoothing effect on the distribution of the light as it is transmitted, giving a more uniform output.

10

2.1.2 Optical Fiber Types

Optical fibers are characterized by their structure and by their properties of transmission. Basically, optical fibers are classified into two types. The first type is single mode fibers. The second type is multimode fibers. As each name implies, the number of modes that propagate along the fiber classifies optical fibers. As previously explained, the structure of the fiber can permit or restrict modes from propagating in a fiber. The basic structural difference is the core size. Single mode fibers are manufactured with the same materials as multimode fibers. Single mode fibers are also manufactured by following the same fabrication process as multimode fibers.
Single Mode Fibers

The core size of single mode fibers is small. The core size (diameter) is typically around 8 to 10 micrometers. A fiber core of this size allows only the fundamental or lowest order mode to propagate. Single mode fibers propagate only one mode, because the core size approaches the operational wavelength (). The normalized frequency V is a dimensionless parameter that relates in a very useful manner the core radius a, the numerical aperture and the operating wavelength [4];
V = 2 a( NA)

In single mode fibers, V is less than or equal to 2.405. When V 2.405, single mode fibers propagate the fundamental mode down the fiber core, while high-order modes are lost in the cladding. For low V values ( 1.0), most of the power is propagated in the cladding material. Power transmitted by the cladding is easily lost at fiber bends. The value of V should remain near 2.405. The advantage of the propagation of a single mode within an optical fiber is that the signal dispersion caused by the delay differences, between different modes in a multimode fiber may be avoided. Single mode fibers currently exhibit the greatest transmission bandwidths and the lowest losses of the fiber transmission media.

11

Multimode Fibers

As their name implies, multimode fibers propagate more than one mode. Multimode fibers allow the propagation of a finite number of guided modes along a channel. The number of guided modes propagated depends upon the physical parameters (the core radius, relative refractive index difference) of the fiber and the wavelengths of the transmitted light, which are included in the normalized frequency V for the fiber. Multimode fibers have core diameters of 50m or more, which is large enough for the propagation of many modes. A large core size and a higher NA have several advantages. Light is launched into a multimode fiber with more ease. The higher NA and the larger core size make it easier to make fiber connections. During fiber splicing, core-to-core alignment becomes less critical. Another advantage is that multimode fibers permit the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Multimode fibers also have some disadvantages. As the number of modes increases, the effect of modal dispersion increases. Modal dispersion (intermodal dispersion) means that modes arrive at the fiber end at slightly different times. This time difference causes the light pulse to spread. Modal dispersion affects system bandwidth. Fiber manufacturers adjust the core diameter, NA, and index profile properties of multimode fibers to maximize system bandwidth. There are two types of multimode fibers: a) Step index multimode fibers The step index fiber is as shown below in Fig 2.5

Figure 2.5 Step index multimode fiber

12

The refractive index profile of the step index is completely described by the equations
n(r ) = n1 for 0 r a
n(r ) = n 2 for r a

Fig 2.6 Refractive index profile of step index fiber The Refractive index profile of the step index fiber is as shown in the above Fig 2.6 b) Graded Index fiber A multimode graded-index fiber has a core of radius (a). Unlike step-index fibers, the value of the refractive index of the core (n1) varies according to the radial distance (r). The value of n1 decreases as the distance (r) from the center of the fiber increases. The value of n1 decreases until it approaches the value of the refractive index of the cladding (n2). The value of n1 must be higher than the value of n2 to allow for proper mode propagation. Like the step-index fiber, the value of n2 is constant and has a slightly lower value than the maximum value of n1. The relative refractive index difference () is determined using the maximum value of n1 and the value of n2. Fig. 2.7 shows a possible refractive index profile n(r) for a multimode graded-index fiber. Notice the parabolic refractive index profile of the core. The profile parameter () determines the shape of the core's profile. Most multimode graded-index fibers have a

13

parabolic refractive index profile. Multimode fibers with near parabolic graded-index profiles provide the best performance.

Fig 2.7 - The refractive index profile for multimode graded-index fibers The index variation may be represented as:
1/ 2 n1 [1 2(r / a ) ] r < a(core) n( r ) = n1 (1 2)1 / 2 = n2 r a(cladding )

where is the relative refractive index difference and is the profile parameter, which gives the characteristic refractive index profile of the fiber core. The above equation is a convenient method of expressing the refractive index profile of the fiber core as a variation of allows representation of the step index fiber when = , a parabolic profile when =2 and a triangular profile when =1. This range of refractive index profiles is as shown in Fig.2.8.

Fig 2.8 - The refractive index profiles for different values of

14

Light propagates in multimode graded-index fibers according to refraction and total internal reflection. The gradual decrease in the core's refractive index from the center of the fiber causes the light rays to be refracted continuously. The light rays become refracted or curved, which increases the angle of incidence at the next point of refraction. Total internal reflection occurs when the angle of incidence becomes larger than the critical angle of incidence. Fig 2.9 shows the process of refraction and total internal reflection of light in multimode graded-index fibers. Fig 2.9 also illustrates the boundaries of different values of core refractive index at discrete intervals. Light rays may be reflected to the axis of the fiber before reaching the core-cladding interface.

Fig 2.9 - Refractive index grading and light propagation in multimode graded-index fibers.
2.2 Fiber Optic Imaging

Many non-communication fiber optic applications such as imaging use fibers that are assembled so that the relative positions of the ends of any fiber within the bundle are related. These bundles are called as coherent bundles and are used when information is required about the spatial variations of intensity of the light distribution on the input face. In the non-coherent fiber bundles, the individual fibers are fused together in no particular order. These bundles are useful in the delivery of light but not image. A coherent fiber bundle is a collection of single fiber optic strands assembled together so that the relative orientation of the individual fibers is maintained throughout the length of the bundle. The result is that any pattern of illumination incident at the input end of the bundle emerges from the output end with the image preserved. Imaging fiber bundles can

15

be made in a variety of shapes and sizes, with the most common having a circular cross section. Magnification can be achieved by the use of tapered fibers in the bundle. The amount of image detail (resolving power) depends on the diameter of each fiber core.
2.2.1 Manufacturing of Fiber Bundles

Fiber bundles are manufactured in a series of processes. The first stage includes the assembly of the core bar and cladding tube into a preform and the mono fiber draw, where the fiber can be drawn from the melting preform. The fiber is larger- about 2.5 millimeters in diameter and easier to handle. A group of these fibers- typically 37 to169- are bundled together, heated and drawn again, to make a rigid multifiber about 2mm in diameter, as shown in the fig 2.10. Then a number of multifibers (typically 61 to 227) are packed together, heated, and drawn again to produce a rigid fiber bundle, containing many thousands of fibers. Each of these fibers is about 3-20 micrometers in diameter. A careful look at the figure shows the large core surrounded by two claddings. One is the conventional cladding used with the fiber and the other depends on the type of bundle being made.

Fig 2.10 Manufacturing process of a fused optical fiber

16

Sometimes in addition to the mono fiber elements, a second fiber is used in the construction of the multifiber. A special black absorbing fiber, inserted between (or in place of a few) mono fibers, absorbs stray or scattered light in the fiber optic bundle. These fibers are called as Extra Mural Absorption Fibers (EMA). There are two common types of EMA Fibers a) Interstitial EMA: In order to absorb the stray light in the fiber optic bundle, small black fibers are placed interstitially between the fibers. The uniform interstitial distribution of the EMA material ensures that most of the stray light will be absorbed before reaching the output surface of the fiber optic face. The standard EMA packing structure of Edmund Optics is interstitial for both round and square stacking. b) Statistical EMA: Statistical EMA has been used as a standard throughout most of the fused fiber optic industry. Statistical EMA refers to the substitution of a black EMA fiber for a mono fiber in the multi-assembly. Although the resolution performance of statistical EMA is not as good as interstitial EMA, the ease of assembly makes it an attractive alternative for many fiber optic manufacturers. The same basic process can be used to make both rigid and flexible bundles, with a few important differences. Individual fibers in a flexible coherent bundle can be small, but not quite as small as in a rigid bundle. Some performance limits of flexible bundles are comparable to that of rigid bundles (e.g. packing fraction and resolution). When flexible bundles are used, an added concern is breakage of individual fibers, which does not occur in rigid bundles. Each fiber break prevents light transmission from one spot on the input face. The loss of a single fiber is not critical, but as more fibers break, the transmitted light level drops and resolution can decline as well. Eventually breakage reaches a point where the image transmitting fiber bundle is no longer usable.
2.2.2 Imaging and Resolution

Fig. 2.11 shows how an image is carried from one end of the bundle to the other. Each fiber core carries its own segment of the image to the other end, maintaining their alignment. This process averages out any details that fall within a single core. For

17

example if the input to a single core is half black and half white, the output will be gray. Thus, the fiber cores must be small to see much detail. For a static fiber bundle, the resolution is about half a line pair per fiber core, meaning two fiber core widths are needed to measure a line pair. Numerically, that means 10m fiber cores could resolve 50 line pairs per millimeter. (I line pair per 20 m). Imaging bundles have fiber cores as small as 3m.

Fig 2.11 Working of an optical fiber bundle

2.2.3 Cladding Effects

The cores conduct light in fiber bundles, but they are surrounded by cladding layers. Bundles are made with thin cladding layers, but some light must fall onto the cladding rather than the core. The fate of that light depends upon the bundle design. Rigid bundles have an outer cladding layer that absorbs light so that little can pass between fiber cores. Light that leaks out of these cores of individual fibers in flexible bundles cannot easily enter other fibers. However neither type can completely prevent any light from leaking between fibers. Most light entering the cladding is lost, which can limit transmission efficiency. This makes the fraction of the surface made up by fiber cores an important factor in a bundles light collection efficiency. That is, the collection efficiency (in part) depends on the packing fraction, defined as

18

Packing fraction = (Total core area)/ (Total surface area) A typical value is around 90%.
2.2.4 Transmission Characteristics

Short-distance fibers, particularly those used in fiber bundles, do not have as low attenuation as communication fibers, because bundles carry light no more than a few meters. Typical attenuation of bundled fibers is around 1dB/m, over a thousand times higher than that of communication fibers at 1300nm. Likewise, operating wavelengths differ. Visible light is needed for imaging and illumination, and even for other applications the short distances make it unnecessary to operate at wavelengths where fibers are most transparent. Glass fiber bundles are typically usable at wavelengths of 400-2200nm, and special types made from glass with good ultraviolet transmission are usable at somewhat shorter wavelengths. Plastic fibers are usable at visible wavelengths, 400-700nm.Some special purpose bundles are made of other materials, but are not widely used. Also different considerations affect numerical aperture in bundled and communication fibers. Transmission distances are short and pulse dispersions are irrelevant in bundled fibers, but light collection efficiency is important. To give large acceptance angles, bundled fibers tend to have higher NAs than communication fibers (from 0.35 1.1). The next chapter describes the essential components required in an imaging system and the experimental set-up.

19

S-ar putea să vă placă și