Lecture 5

Light Propagation in Optical Fiber

• Loss mechanisms in optical fiber communication

systems.
• Types of Optical Fibers

Fiber Optic Communications Technology by D. K. Mynbaev &

Lowell L. Scheiner - Pearson Education.
• At the end of this lecture students should be able to:

– Understand the loss mechanisms in optical fiber communication

systems (CO1).

– Understand the characteristics of step-index, graded-index, single-

mode , and multi-mode fibers also evaluate their design parameters
(CO2)
Factors Causing Distortion in Optical Fibers
Loss Mechanisms in Optical Fiber
Communication Systems
• Every transmission line introduces some loss of signal
power. This is the phenomenon of “attenuation”.

• In fiber-optic communication technology, attenuation is

the decrease in light propagation along an optical fiber.

• Whether the loss of light due to the violation of condition

of TIR is included in the total attenuation within the fiber?

– ANS: NO
• Hence, when light is coupled to an optical fiber for
the purpose of communication, attenuation in the
optical fiber means a power loss for reasons other
than failure to attain total internal reflection initially.

• Types of Attenuations OFCS:

• Bending loss
• Scattering
• Absorption
Bending Loss
– Macrobending loss

– Microbending Loss

• Macrobending loss: arises due to the physical bending of the fiber.

• Bending can change not only the optical properties but also the
mechanical characteristics of optical fiber.

• High speed optical communication is deployed only by the invention of

flexible fiber cables. If the fiber is rigid then it is very difficult for the
installer.
Macrobending Loss
How to reduce the loss due to bending?

• By designing bend insensitive fiber

Profiles at a cost of affecting other fiber
Parameters like effective-area.
• Bending loss and effective-area are
directly related to each other.
• Hence, the manufacturers make
trade off between the parameters and
Fig. Macrobending loss in fiber
specify the bending radius of the fiber
In the data sheet.
• E.g., One turn at a 32mm diameter
Mandrel causes 0.5dB bending loss for
Conventional fibers.
Fig. Optical fiber mandrel
• Sometimes manufacturers include the minimal bending radius in their
data sheet.
• The rules of thumb regarding minimum bending radius: a bending radius
should be more than 150 times the cladding diameter of the fiber for long-
term applications and more than 100 times of the cladding diameter for
short-term applications.

• E.g., Silica fiber cladding diameter= 125µm

– Rb(long-term)=19mm
– Rb(short-term)=13mm
Microbending Loss
• Is the bending loss not due to the curvature of the entire fiber axis as in
Macrobending.
• It is due to the failure of TIR, caused by micro-deformations of the fiber
axis, as shown in the figure.
• Fiber central axis is imaginary. In reality
this line is determined by the core-cladding
boundary.
• This type of loss can be eliminated by
the manufacturers through Morden
Fabrication technology.
Fig. Microbending Loss
 Scattering
• Suppose there is an imperfection in a core
material as shown in the fig. A beam
propagating at the critical angle or less will
change direction after it meets the
obstacle. In other words, light will be
scattered.
• The scattering effect prevents attainment
of TIR at the core-cladding boundary,
resulting a power loss or attenuation. Fig. Scattering Loss
• Even very small change in the value of
core’s refractive-index will be seen by the
travelling beam as an optical obstacle and
this obstacle will change the direction of
original beam, and the beam fail to
achieve TIR, resulting scattering loss.
• Fail to achieve TIR initially is not included
as a part of attenuation in optical
communication but if it happens due to
bending or change in refractive index can
be treated as attenuation.
 Absorption
Fig. Photon Absorption and Emission
Note: By changing the wavelength also, the
absorption properties still remain are caused
not by Silica atoms but by some molecules of
the hydroxide anion OH-, often called high
Water. These molecules are incorporated in
Silica during the fabrication process and very
hard to eliminate them. OH- have major peaks
At 945nm, 1240nm and 1380nm.
•
• If frequency
an incoming photon has such a
(f) that its energy (E =hf) is
p
equal to the energy gap (ΔE) of the
material, this photon will be
absorbed by the material. ΔE is the
energy difference between two
energy levels of the material.
• How this type of loss can be
eliminated?
– Change the frequency of operation or
change the material.
• Dose absorption depends upon λ?
– Yes
Transparent Windows
• 1st window: 850nm (4dB/km)

• 2nd window: 1310nm (0.5dB/km)

• 3rd window: 1550nm (0.2dB/km)

Fig. Typical Spectral Attenuations

Calculation of Total Attenuation
•• Fiber
  loss is the ratio of power at
the output end of a fiber, Pout to
power launched into the fiber Pin.
• In communication the loss (or
attenuation) is measured in (dB).
• Pout and Pin are measured in Watt.
• Since , the above equation is
assigned with a negative sign
make the resultant calculation
positive.
• Loss is also represented in dBm.
•  
• Total attenuation in an optical link
is directly proportional to the link
length (L).
• So the fiber-optic communication
technology uses another
characteristics: Attenuation per
unit of fiber length (A).
• Attenuation is a number available
in data sheet.
• It is also termed as CLF (Cable-loss
factor) or attenuation coefficients.
 Classifications Of Optical Fibers
• Fiber structures are classified according to the
•  
– Index profile
• Step-index fiber (SIF)
– Multi mode
– Single mode
• Graded-index fiber (GIF)
– Multi mode Fig. Index profile for step-index (α
– Number of guided modes =∞) and graded-index parabolic (α
=2) core shapes.
• Single mode fiber (SMF)
• Multi mode Fiber (MMF)

G. Keiser, Optical Fiber Communication. (Mc Graw Hill, 2000).

 Modes in Optical Fibers
What is a Mode?
Fig. Schematic of single fiber
structure.

Circularly symmetric structure with a Core and Cladding

Fig. Electric field distribution of

lower order modes in symmetrical
slab waveguide

Fig. Cylindrical coordinate system

{r, ϕ, z} used for analyzing
electromagnetic wave propagation
in an optical fiber.
Linearly Polarized (LP) modes
• Modes in a fiber is Linearly polarized modes
• A light wave whose field distribution does not change as it propagates.
• Standard wave equation: (eq.1)

• For cylindrical coordinate system {r,ϕ,z}, z-axis lying along the axis of the
waveguide.

• Electromagnetic waves are propagate along z-axis, will have a functional

dependence of the form which are harmonic in time (t) and coordinate (z)
(eq.2).

• Where β is z component of propagation constant.

• Wave equation in cylindrical coordinates (electric field Ez) (eq.3)

• Where
• And k is the free space propagation constant = 2π/λ.
• The solution of the above wave equation results the guided modes.
• Eq.3 can be solved by separation of variables method.
• With separation of variables method eq.3
becomes well-known differential equation
for Bessel functions as shown in (eq.4)

Fig. plot of Bessel functions

• Eq.4 must have been solved for regions inside and outside core, the
solution for guided modes must remain finite as r0, and outside the
solution must decay to zero as r∞.
• Where u= propagation parameter and w =decay parameter
• The permissible range of β for bounded solution is therefore

• The modes are classified as:

– Truly Guided Modes
– Radiated Modes
– Leaky Modes
• The boundary between truly
guided mode and leaky mode is
defined by cutoff (β/k=n2)condition.

Fig. Effective Index Variation in a step- index profile.

• Degenerate modes: all modes characterized by a common set of j and m satisfy the
same characteristic equation (under weakly guiding approximation).
• Thus HEv+1,m mode is degenerated with EHv-1,m mode
• Degenerate modes have same β value, never acquire a phase difference.
• The (arbitrary) sum of degenerate modes is itself a mode
• Such degenerate modes are called Linearly Polarized modes and designated as LPjm.
Regardless of their TM, TE, EH, or HE field configuration.

• Where j azimuthal mode number (variation in ϕ)and m radial mode number

(variation in r).

• In general
– Each LP0m mode is derived from an HE1m mode.
– Each LP1m mode comes from TE0m, TM0m and HE2m modes.
– Each LPvm mode (v >= 2) is from an HEv+1,m and an EHv-1,m mode.
 Fig. Formation of LP11 mode from TE01, TM01 and HE21 modes

Shevgaonkar, R. K. FIBER OPTICS

 ?
bhagyalaxmibehera@soa.ac.in