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FIBRE OPTICS

8/3/2017

Mahabahu
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Contents
1.Introduction
o 2 Optical fiber communication
3 Principle of operation
o 3.1 Multimode fiber
o 3.2 Singlemode fiber
o 3.3 Special-purpose fiber
o 3.4 Materials
o 3.5 Fiber fuse
4 Manufacturing
5 Optical fiber cables
6 Termination and splicing
7 Application
8 Conclusion
9 References
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Introduction
The light-guiding principle behind optical fibers was first demonstrated in
by Daniel Colladon and Jaques Babinet in the 1840s, with Irish inventor
John Tyndall offering public displays using water-fountains .

An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber designed to guide light
along its length by confining as much light as possible in a propagating
form.

Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communication, which permits

transmission over longer distances and at higher data rates than other
forms of wired and wireless communications.

FOR MORE INFO...

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Optical fibrecommunication

Optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and

networking because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables.

It is especially advantageous for long-distance communications, because

light propagates through the fiber with little attenuation compared to
electrical cables.
This allows long distances to be spanned with few repeaters.
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Principle of operation
8/3/2017

Fiber-optic transmission of light depends on

preventing light from escaping from the fiber.

When a beam of light encounters a boundary

between two transparent substances, some of
the light is normally reflected, while the rest
passes into the new substance.

A principle called total internal reflection

allows optical fibers to retain the light they
carry.

When light passes from a dense substance into

a less dense substance, there is an angle,
called the critical angle, beyond which 100
percent of the light is reflected from the
surface between substances.
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Principle of operation
Total internal reflection occurs when light strikes
the boundary between substances at an angle
greater than the critical angle.
An optical-fiber core is clad (coated) by a lower
density glass layer. Light traveling inside the core
of an optical fiber strikes the outside surface at an
angle of incidence greater than the critical angle
so that all the light is reflected toward the inside
of the fiber without loss.
As long as the fiber is not curved too sharply, light
traveling inside cannot strike the outer surface at
less than the critical angle. Thus, light can be
transmitted over long distances by being reflected
inward thousands of times with no loss
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Multimode fiber 8/3/2017

Fiber with large (greater than 10 m) core

diameter may be analyzed by geometric optics

Such fiber is called multimode fiber,

In a step-index multimode fiber, rays of light

are guided along the fiber core by total
internal reflection.

Rays that meet the core-cladding boundary at

a high angle boundary, are completely
reflected.

Rays that meet the boundary at a low angle

are refracted from the core into the cladding,
The propagation of light
through a multi-mode optical information
and do not convey light and hence
along the fiber.
fiber.
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Singlemode fiber
Fiber with a core diameter less than about
ten times the wavelength of the
propagating light cannot be modeled
using geometric optics.

Instead, it must be analyzed as an

electromagnetic structure, by solution of
Maxwell's equations as reduced to the
electromagnetic wave equation.

As an optical waveguide, the fiber

supports one or more confined transverse
modes by which light can propagate along
the fiber.

A typical single-mode Fiber supporting only one mode is called

single-mode or mono-mode fiber.
optical fiber, showing
diameters of the
component layers
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Special-purpose fiber 8/3/2017

Some special-purpose optical fiber is constructed with a non-cylindrical

core and/or cladding layer, usually with an elliptical or rectangular
cross-section.

These include polarization-maintaining fiber and fiber designed to

suppress whispering gallery mode propagation.

Materials

Glass optical fibers are almost always made from silica

Plastic optical fiber (POF) is commonly step-index multimode fiber

POF typically has much higher attenuation than glass fiber 1 dB/m or
higher, and this high attenuation limits the range of POF-based systems.
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Fiber fuse
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At high optical intensities, above 2 megawatts per square centimetre

when a fiber is subjected to a shock or is otherwise suddenly damaged,

a fiber fuse can occur

The open fiber control system, which ensures laser eye safety in the
event of a broken fiber

can also effectively halt propagation of the fiber fuse

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Fiber fuse

undersea cables

where high power levels might be used without

the need for open fiber control

A "fiber fuse" protection device at the

transmitter can break the circuit to prevent any
damage
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Manufacturing
Standard optical fibers are made by first constructing
a large-diameter preform
with a carefully controlled refractive index profile
and then pulling the preform to form the long, thin
optical fiber

The preform is commonly made by three chemical

vapor deposition methods: inside vapor deposition,
outside vapor deposition, and vapor axial
deposition.
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Manufacturing
With inside vapor deposition
a hollow glass tube approximately 40 cm in length
known as a "preform" is placed horizontally and
rotated slowly on a lathe

and gases such as silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) or

germanium tetrachloride (GeCl4) are injected with
oxygen in the end of the tube
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Manufacturing
The gases are then heated by means of an external hydrogen burner

bringing the temperature of the gas up to 1900 Kelvin

where the tetrachlorides react with oxygen to produce silica or

germania (germanium oxide) particles

When the reaction conditions are chosen to allow this reaction to occur
in the gas phase throughout the tube volume

in contrast to earlier techniques where the reaction occurred only on

the glass surface, this technique is called modified chemical vapor
deposition.
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Manufacturing

The oxide particles then agglomerate to form large particle

chains

which subsequently deposit on the walls of the tube as soot.

The deposition is due to the large difference in temperature

between the gas core and the wall causing the gas to push the
particles outwards (this is known as thermophoresis
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Optical fiber cables

In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a tough resin buffer
layer

Which may be further surrounded by a jacket layer, usually plastic

These layers add strength to the fiber but do not contribute to its optical
wave guide properties.

Rigid fiber assemblies sometimes put light-absorbing ("dark") glass

between the fibers,

To prevent light that leaks out of one fiber from entering another.

This reduces cross-talk between the fibers

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Optical fiber cables

For indoor applications
The jacketed fiber enclosed, with a bundle of flexible
fibrous polymer strength members like Aramid or
(Kevlar)

In a lightweight plastic cover to form a simple cable.

Cable terminated with a specialized optical fiber

connector to allow it to be easily connected and
disconnected from transmitting and receiving
equipment.
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Optical fiber cables

For use in more strenuous environments

A much more robust cable construction is required

In loose-tube construction the fiber is laid helically into semi-rigid tubes

Allowing the cable to stretch without stretching the fiber itself

This protects the fiber from tension during laying and due to temperature
changes

Alternatively the fiber may be embedded in a heavy polymer jacket, commonly

called "tight buffer" construction
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Termination and splicing

Optical fibers are connected to terminal
equipment by optical fiber connectors

Optical fibers may be connected to each other

by connectors or by splicing

that is, joining two fibers together to form a

continuous optical waveguide

For quicker fastening jobs, a "mechanical

splice" is used
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Applications 8/3/2017

Optical fiber communication

Optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and

networking

because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables.

It is especially advantageous for long-distance communications,

because light propagates through the fiber with little attenuation

compared to electrical cables.

This allows long distances to be spanned with few repeaters.

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Applications
Fiber optic sensors

Optical fibers can be used as sensors to measure strain,

temperature, pressure and other parameters.

The small size and the fact that no electrical power is

needed at the remote location gives the fiber optic sensor
advantages to conventional electrical sensor in certain
applications.
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Applications
Fiber optic sensors

Optical fibers are used as hydrophones for seismic or SONAR applications.

Hydrophone systems with more than 100 sensors per fiber cable have been
developed.

Hydrophone sensor systems are used by the oil industry as well as a few countries'
navies.

Both bottom mounted hydrophone arrays and towed streamer systems are in use.

The German company Sennheiser developed a microphone working with a laser and
optical fibers
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Applications Other uses of optical fibers

Fibers are widely used in

illumination applications.

They are used as light guides in

medical and other applications In
some buildings

optical fibers are used to route

sunlight from the roof to other parts
of the building

A frisbee illuminated by fiber optics

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Applications
Optical fiber illumination is
also used for decorative
applications, including signs,
art, and artificial Christmas
trees.

Swarovski boutiques use

optical fibers to illuminate
A fiber-optic Christmas Tree their crystal showcases
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conclusion
Fiberoptics, a branch of optics dealing with the transmission of light
through hair-thin, transparent fibers.

A principle called total internal reflection allows optical fibers to retain the
light they carry.

The development of new optical techniques will expand the capability of

fiber-optic systems.

Newly developed optical fiber amplifiers, for example, can directly amplify
optical signals without first converting them to an electrical signal, speeding
up transmission and lowering power requirements.