Fiber Losses and Dispersion

By
Dr Neena Gupta
Asstt Prof , E&Ec Deptt
Punjab Engineering College
Chandigarh
Capacity Growth of Optical
Fiber Each Year
Year Capacity (Gb/s)
1980 0.1
1985 1
1990 3
1995 5
2000 100 (40 practically shown)
2005 1,000 (If limitations due to
Dispersion &
Nonlinearities are
overcome)
The optical world is
approaching towards

1. 50 THz Transmission Window
1000 Channel WDM
100 Gb/s TDM
1000 km Repeaterless transmission
If Nonlinearities can be controlled,
transmission window will be 300THz
Fiberoptic Communication Systems
What limits the transmission
capability?
Attenuation
Dispersion
Non- Linearities in fibers
Curve &Bending losses
Radiation & Leaky Modes
Signal Attenuation & Distortion in
Optical Fibers
What are the loss or signal attenuation mechanism in a
fiber?
Why & to what degree do optical signals get distorted as
they propagate down a fiber?
Signal attenuation (fiber loss) largely determines the
maximum repeaterless separation between optical
transmitter & receiver.
Signal distortion cause that optical pulses to broaden as
they travel along a fiber, the overlap between neighboring
pulses, creating errors in the receiver output, resulting in
the limitation of information-carrying capacity of a fiber.
Causes of Attenuation

Atomic Absorption of light photons

Scattering of light by flaws and impurities

Reflection of light by splices & Connectors

Attenuation (fiber loss)
Power loss along a fiber:








The parameter is called fiber attenuation coefficient in a units of for
example [1/km] or [nepers/km]. A more common unit is [dB/km] that is
defined by:
Z=0
P(0) mW
Z= l

l
p
e P l P
o
= ) 0 ( ) (
mw
z
p
e P z P
o
= ) 0 ( ) (
p
o
] km / 1 [ 343 . 4
) (
) 0 (
log
10
] dB/km [
p
l P
P
l
o o =
(

=
Fiber loss in dB/km




Where [dBm] or dB milliwat is 10log(P [mW]).
z=0
Z=l
] dBm )[ 0 ( P
] km [ ] dB/km [ ] dBm )[ 0 ( ] dBm )[ ( l P l P = o
Optical fiber attenuation vs. wavelength
Wavelength Windows
Attenuation
~ 200 ppb OH
OH
Peaks
First
Window
Third
Second
Rayleigh
scattering
o
1
4
(

)
db
Km
[ ]
Infra-red
Absorbtion
Attenuation
Absorption Loss


z=0 z=L
Attenuation
Absorption
Absorption is caused by three different mechanisms:

1- Impurities in fiber material: from transition metal ions (must
be in order of ppb) & particularly from OH ions with
absorption peaks at wavelengths 2700 nm, 400 nm, 950 nm &
725nm.
2- Intrinsic absorption (fundamental lower limit): electronic
absorption band (UV region) & atomic bond vibration band
(IR region) in basic SiO2.
3- Radiation defects
Light Ray Scattering
Scattering Loss
Small (compared to wavelength) variation in material density, chemical
composition, and structural inhomogeneity scatter light in other directions
and absorb energy from guided optical wave.

The essential mechanism is the Rayleigh scattering. Since the black body
radiation classically is proportional to (this is true for wavelength
typically greater than 5 micrometer), the attenuation coefficient due to
Rayleigh scattering is approximately proportional to . This seems to
me not precise, where the attenuation of fibers at 1.3 & 1.55 micrometer
can be exactly predicted with Plancks formula & can not be described
with Rayleigh-Jeans law. Therefore I believe that the more accurate
formula for scattering loss is
4

1
5
) exp(

T k
hc
B
scat

o
e Temperatur : , JK 10 3806 . 1 Js, 10 626 . 6
-1 23 34
T k h
B

= =
Absorption & scattering losses in fibers
Optical Connectors
Reflection of light by splices
Bending Loss (Macrobending &
Microbending)
Macrobending Loss: The
curvature of the bend is much
larger than fiber diameter.
Lightwave suffers sever loss
due to radiation of the
evanescent field in the
cladding region. As the radius
of the curvature decreases,
the loss increases
exponentially until it reaches
at a certain critical radius. For
any radius a bit smaller than
this point, the losses suddenly
becomes extremely large.
Higher order modes radiate
away faster than lower order
modes.





Macro- & Micro-bending Loss
Microbending Loss

Microbending Loss:
microscopic bends of the
fiber axis that can arise
when the fibers are
incorporated into cables.
The power is dissipated
through the microbended
fiber, because of the
repetitive coupling of
energy between guided
modes & the leaky or
radiation modes in the
fiber.

Available Bandwidth with
Optical Fiber
Stimulated Inelastic Scattering
Stimulated Raman Scattering
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering
Stimulated Inelastic Scattering

Elastic scattering means no energy is
transferred from electromagnetic field to the
dielectric medium
Inelastic scattering: Optical field transfers
part of its energy to the non linear medium.
Stimulated Raman Scattering
1) Effect and consequences
SRS causes a signal wavelength to behave as a pump for longer
wavelengths, either other signal channels or spontaneously scattered
Raman-shifted light. The shorter wavelengths is attenuated by this process,
which amplifies longer wavelengths
SRS takes place in the transmission fiber
2) SRS could be exploited as an advantage
By using suitable Raman Pumps it is possible to implement a Distributed
Raman Amplifier into the transmission fiber. This helps the amplification
of the signal (in co-operation with the localized EDFA). The pumps are
depleted and the power is transferred to the signal

f f
Transmission Fiber
SRS
Interaction of photons with optical phonons
Scattering of a photon into a photon of
lower frequency (by ~15 THz) that can
propagate in the forward direction plus a
phonon.
The co-propagating downshifted photons
are amplified by the signal and can cause
crosstalks with other WDM channels

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering
It transfers a part of pump energy to a
counter propagating stokes waves
downshifted by a frequency of (10 GHz) the
BW is 10 MHz.
Stimulated Raman Scattering
It severely hits the performance of WDM systems
by transferring energy from one channel to
neighboring channels.
It converts fraction of (10
-6
) of input power to
downshifted waves (stokes waves).
The energy from a pump wave is transferred to a
Stokes wave (downshifted by 13THz) as the pump
wave propagates through the optical fiber B.W. is
40 THz. This happens when the pump power
>threshold level
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering
(SBS)
1) Effect and consequences
In an intensity modulated system using a source with
narrow linewidth, significant optical power is
transferred from the forward propagating signal to a
backward propagating signal when the SBS power
threshold (around 5 to 10 mW) is exceeded
This limits the amount of light transmitted down the
fiber
SBS takes places in the transmission fiber

Difference between SRS & SBS
Optical phonons participate in SRS
Acoustic Phonons participate in SBS
SRS dominates in Forward direction
SBS dominates in Reverse direction
SBS
Interaction of photons with acoustic phonons
Scattering of a photon into a photon of lower frequency (by ~11
GHz) that propagates in the opposite direction plus a phonon.
Brillouin bandwidth is narrow, 20 MHz
The backward propagating downshifted photons are amplified
with distance exponentially
This process reduces SNR because
Signal strength is reduced
Random SBS process introduces noise
Typical thresholds:
Proportinal to A
eff
/L
eff
, laser linewidth, modulation pattern,
etc.

4.2 mW for a narrow CW source for SMF 28
2.6 mW for dispersion shift fiber

Dispersion
Dispersion cause pulse broadening and distortion.
Fiber Dispersion
Fiber Loss
- 0.35 dB/Km at 1.3m
- 0.2 dB/Km at 1.5m
- Minimum Reduction Expected in future
is 0.01dB/Km
Fiber Dispersion
-Material dispersion
- Waveguide Dispersion
- Multimode group Delay Dispersion

atic Dispersion
(GVD)
Dispersion..
As pulses travel down the fiber, they spread
and overlap.
This produces inter symbol interference and
makes it difficult to separate the pulses, i.e., it
becomes difficult separate the data bits
increasing the bit error rate.
This will limit either the data rate (more
separation between the pulses) or the
maximum distance.
Thus, dispersion limits the data transmission
capability in terms of Gbit/s.Km. (data rate
distance product)

Pulse Spreading due to
Dispersion
z=0 z=L
Dispersion
Dispersion

The optical pulse tend to spread as it propagates down the
fiber generating Inter-Symbol-Interference (ISI) and
therefore limiting either the bit rate or the maximum
achievable distance at a specific bit rate
Physics behind the effect
The refractive index has a wavelength dependent factor,
so the different frequency-components of the optical
pulses are traveling at different speeds
Bit 1 Bit 2
Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2
Bit 1 Bit 2
Bit 1 Bit 2
Cause of Fiber Dispersion
Material
Dispersion
Types of Dispersion
Multimode
Dispersion
Waveguide
Dispersion
- Multimode group delay/dispersion is the variation in
group velocity among the propagation modes at a single
frequency

- Material Dispersion is due to variation in the refractive
index of the core material as a function of wavelength.

- Waveguide dispersion depends upon the fiber design.
The propagation constant which is the function of the ratio of
fiber dimension (i.e. core radius) to the wavelength.
Dispersion in Optical Fibers
There are two main types of dispersion that cause
pulse spreading in a fiber:
- Chromatic dispersion
- Inter-modal dispersion
Dispersion is typically measured as a time spread per
distance traveled (s/km)
Single-mode fiber has only one mode, so inter-modal
dispersion is not an issue
In multimode fiber, inter-modal dispersion is the
dominant cause of dispersion, but chromatic
dispersion can be important at 850 nm

Types of Dispersion in Optical
Fiber
time
a
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
a
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
time
a
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
time
a
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
time
(a) (b)
(c)
(d)
Fiberoptic Communication Systems
Dispersion.
Dispersion from multimodes.each
mode travels with its own velocity
Dispersion in single mode fibersthe
refractive index is a function of the
wavelength and we do not have single
wave length sourcesall sources have a
finite spectral width





Slide 10 of 53

Refractive index

can be increased by adding P
2
O
5
or Germanium Oxide

can be decreased by adding flourine
Definitions:
Refractive index & Propagation constant

Relationship between frequency and wavelength
in electromagnetic radiations: c =] x

The refractive index (n) of a material is the ratio of
the speed of light in the vacuum to the speed of
light in that material: n=c/v.

The propagation speed of an electromagnetic
radiation depends on the refractive index and the
wavelength and it is determined by the propagation
constant: =2n/

Chromatic Dispersion
The speed of light is dependent on the
refractive index
c = c
0
/ n
where c
0
is the speed of light in a vacuum
The index of refraction, n, varies with the
light transmission wavelength
All light sources (LEDs and LDs) have some
coloration, or variation, in wavelength
output
The low wavelength portion of the pulse
travels slower than the high wavelength one
creating pulse spreading
Chromatic Dispersion
(continued)
Chromatic dispersion is measured in units of
time divided by distance and Tx source
spectral width (ps/nm-km)
It is zero near 1310 nm in silica optical fibers
It is zero near 1550 nm in Dispersion Shifted
optical fibers
Even at the dispersion zero, there is some
pulse spreading due to the spectral width of
the light source

Chromatic Dispersion in
Optical Fiber
A high-speed pulse contains a spectrum of l components
Chromatic Dispersion Problem
t
t
Spread, t
t
0

Spectrum,

1

2

o
Intensity
Intensity
Intensity
Cladding
Core
Emitter
Very short
light pulse
v
g
(
2
)
v
g
(
1
)
Input
Output
All excitation sources are inherently non-monochromatic and emit wit hin a
spectrum, , of wavelengths. Waves in t he guide with different free space
wavelengths t ravel at different group velocities due to the wavelengt h dependence
of n
1
. The waves arrive at the end of the fiber at different times and hence result in
a broadened output pulse.
1999 S.O. Kasap, Optoelectronics (Prentice Hall)
Material Dispersion
Chromatic Dispersion
Definitions
Fiber Attenuation and Chromatic
Dispersion
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
A
t
t
e
n
u
a
t
i
o
n

(
d
B
/
k
m
)

1600 1700 1400 1300 1200 1500 1100
Wavelength (nm)
Dispersion-
unshifted
Fiber
Dispersion-
shifted
Fiber
20

10

0

-10

-20
D
i
s
p
e
r
s
i
o
n

(
p
s
/
n
m

k
m
)

EDFA
band
TrueWave
Fiber
Attenuation
(all Fiber types)
+ Dispersion
Input Pulse
Output Pulse
Polarization Mode
Dispersion (PMD)
PMD
PMD affects fiber optics communication by
spreading the pulse over the distance.

PMD increases the bit error rate hence
limits the transmission distance and
bandwidth of the system.
It causes distortion and limits the no. of
channels transmitted.





Importance of Higher order
Dispersion
If pulse width coincides the zero dispersion
wavelength and |
2
~0, the |
3
plays
important role in GVD effects , For
ultra short pulses with width less than
0.1 ps it is necessary to include higher
order terms.
Typical value of |
3
=0.1ps
3
/Km.

Effect of higher Order
Dispersion
The effect of |
3
is to distort the pulse shape
in such a way that the pulse becomes
asymmetric with oscillations at the edges
For |
3
>0 oscillations are at the. trailing
edge
For |
3
<0 oscillations are at the leading
edge


Nonlinear Effects in WDM
Stimulated Brillouin scattering
Stimulated Raman scattering
Self-phase modulation
Cross-phase modulation
Four-wave mixing
Nonlinear Effect in the Fiber
Non Linear Effects:
SPM, XPM, FWM
Fiber nonlinearity is caused by the intensity-dependent nonlinear
change in refraction index of the fiber: n = (n
0
+ n
2
I)

In single channel systems, the signal intensity of a given channel
modulates its own refractive index, and therefore its phase. This effect
is called Self Phase Modulation (SPM)

In Multi-channel WDM systems, all the other interfering channels also
modulate the refractive index of the channel under consideration, and
therefore its phase. This effect is called Cross Phase Modulation
(XPM)

In Multi-channel WDM systems, intermodulation (or mixing) products
are generated between the WDM channels, as the nonlinearity is
quadratic with electric field. This effect is called Four Wave Mixing
(FWM)

Self phase modulation
Effect and consequences
The refractive index of the fiber is not constant, but has
an Intensity ( I ) dependent factor

The temporal variation of the intensity
of the signal induces a modulation of its
phase. SPM will gradually broaden the
signal spectrum. Once spectrum
broadening is introduced, the signal
experiences a greater temporal
broadening due to chromatic dispersion

Non Linear Effects:
Self Phase Modulation (SPM)
SPM acts as a negative chirp, which increases with
increasing channel power level and system length
SPM causes a spectral broadening of the optical pulses and
thus reduces the dispersion tolerance of the system
At 10 Gbps, its penalty is minimized by distributing
dispersion compensation at each line amplifier site
If dispersion is compensated only at the terminal ends,
there will be a residual penalty due to SPM
SPM
Refractive index is intensity dependent
High pulse intensity
Short pulses
Impairment comes from dispersion
Need to use dispersion-shifted fiber or
dispersion compesation at the receiver
Probable spectral crosstalks for WDM
adjacent channels
Self Phase Modulation
Due to intensity dependent of Refractive
Index in Nonlinear media and leads to
spectral broadening of optical pulses.
XPM
Same physical origin as SPM
Particular for WDM systems
Intensity variations of one pulse alter the phase of
another channel via nonlinear refractive index of
glass spectral broadening
As two pulses (different channels) traverse each
other, one pulses time varying intensity profile
will cause a frequency shift in the other

Cross Phase Modulation
XPM is always accompanied by self phase
modulation and occurs because of the
refractive index of a wave depends not only
on the intensity of that wave but also on the
intensity of the co-propagating waves.
XPM is responsible for asymmetric
spectrum broadening of co propagating
optical pulses
Non Linear Effects:
Cross Phase Modulation
XPM acts as a crosstalk penalty, which increases with
increasing channel power level and system length and with
decreasing channel spacing
XPM causes a spectral broadening of the optical pulses and
thus reduces the dispersion tolerance of the system
At 10 Gbps, its penalty is minimized by distributing
dispersion compensation at each line amplifier site
If dispersion is compensated only at the terminal ends,
there will be a residual penalty due to XPM
FWM
Nonlinear interaction between several
different channels in a WDM system
When two waves are interacted, two other
EM waves are generated that is
proportional to the cube of the vector sum
of the E fields.
Dispersion-shifted fiber for 1.55 micron
signals 25km
N channels N
2
(N-1)/2 side bands are
created, causing
Reduction of signals
Interference
Cross talk
Typical transmission today uses non-zero
dispersion shifted fiber at 1-2ps/nm/km.
2f
1
-f
2
f
1
f
2
2f
1
+f
2
Frequency
800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600
UV Absorption
OH
-
Absorption Peaks in
Actual Fiber Attenuation Curve
Rayleigh
Scattering
IR Absorption
Wavelength in Nanometers (nm)
0.2 dB/Km
0.5 dB/Km
2.0 dB/Km
Loss (dB)/km vs. Wavelength
S-Band:14601530nm
L-Band:15651625nm
C-Band:15301565nm
Loss Management: Problem
Fiber Attenuation
Dispersion Management: Problem
Increasing the Bit Rate
Higher Bit Rates experience higher signal
degradation due to Chromatic Dispersion:
OA
10Gb/s
Dispersion
16 Times Greater
Dispersion Scales as (Bit Rate)
2
Time Slot
OA
2.5Gb/s
Dispersion
1)
Dispersion Management: Solution
Dispersion Compensation
In the Normal
(1)
Dispersion Regime
Shorter Wavelengths Travel Slower
(BLUE Is Slower Than RED)
(1) In the Normal Dispersion Regime the
Dispersion Coefficient Is D > 0
While in the Anomalous Regime It Is D < 0
= c/
Dispersion Management: Solution
Dispersion Compensation (Cont.)
Dispersion
Compensating Fiber:
By joining fibers with CD of
opposite signs and suitable
lengths an average dispersion
close to zero can be obtained;
the compensating fiber can be
several kilometers and the reel
can be inserted at any point in
the link, at the receiver or at the
transmitter
Note: Although the Total Dispersion Is Close to Zero, This Technique
Can Also Be Employed to Manage FWM and CPM Since at Every
Point We Have Dispersion Which Translates in Decoupling the
Different Channels Limiting the Mutual Interaction
Why Require Dispersion
Compensation ?
Dispersion Compensating
Fiber (DCF)
Dispersion Compensation
The Problem
Standard single-mode fiber has zero dispersion at the 1310nm
transmission band. It is not corrected at the 1550nm band.
Dispersion broadens optical pulses as they travel in single-mode
fiber, limiting the ultimate data rate supported by fiber.
A Solution
Recompress the optical pulses using chirped gratings
THANK YOU