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OPTICAL FIBERS
Image courtesy of TE Connectivity SubCom

USPH303 unit 1
 Refraction of light
2

 Snell’s law of
Incident ray Reflected ray
refraction:
 Incident ray, refracted
i ray and normal to the
surface at the point of
r incidence are in the
same plane.

Refracted ray

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 Table of typical refractive indices
ref: wikipedia.org
3

Vacuum 1
Gases at 0 °C and 1 atm Solids
Air 1.000293 Ice 1.31
Helium 1.000036 Fused silica (quartz) 1.46
Hydrogen 1.000132 Window glass 1.52
Carbon dioxide 1.00045 Polycarbonate (Lexan™) 1.58

Liquids at 20 °C Flint glass (typical) 1.69

Sapphire 1.77
Water 1.333
Cubic zirconia 2.15
Ethanol 1.36
Diamond 2.42
Olive oil 1.47
Moissanite 2.65

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 When light is incident from denser medium
on the boundary to rarer medium:
4

 in this case, angle of

refraction is larger than
angle of incidence.
 For angle of refraction to
be 90, angle of incidence
is
 This is called critical angle.
 If the angle of incidence is
greater than this, then
there is total internal
reflection. Image Credit: https://physics.stackexchange.com

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 Real life examples
5

Fiber toys – total internal reflection

Highway Mirage along with optical leakage

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 Basic structure of optical fiber cable
6

 Optical parts are core

Image: https://www.pinterest.com
and cladding.
 Core has greater
refractive index than
cladding.
 Outer jackets are mainly
to give mechanical
strength to the optical
fiber.
 It also protects fiber
from chemical erosion.
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 Numerical aperture
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 There is a maximum angle of incidence max that ensures light

to remain inside the optical fiber.


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 Calculation
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 Find the numerical aperture for an optical fiber with core

refractive index of 1.500 and cladding refractive index of
1.480. Hence find the angle of acceptance.
 n1 = 1.500
 n2 = 1.480

N.A. = 0.1628 angle of acceptance is 922’

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9 Multimode Fibers

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 Modes of transmission
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cladding

core
cladding

 Different rays travel making different angles with axis of the core.
 Each different angle is different transmission mode.
 The time required for each mode is different as it has to travel different
path lengths.
 The colours shown here are only to differentiate them (they are not actual
colours of light passing through them.

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 Modal dispersion
11
L

cladding

core
cladding

This time difference for different modes causes signal to spread in time. It is called
modal dispersion.
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 Graded Index Optical Fiber
12

 In the graded index, the refractive index of the core gradually reduces
from axis to cladding.
 Ray travelling closer to axis, travels less physical path, but since it is
travelling through denser medium, it takes more time.
 Ray travelling at larger angle to axis has to travel greater physical
distance, but while passing near cladding, it passes through rarer medium
and hence travel faster.
 Hence the net time difference between different modes reduces.

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 V number
13

 A fibre is frequently characterised by V number given

by: V = 2a(N.A.)/0
 Where 0 is wavelength, a is radius of core, N.A. is
numerical aperture
 V is dimensionless and is known as normalised
frequency.
 If V is large, the total number of modes in step index
fibre is given by Ms = V2/2
 For graded index optical fibre the total number of
modes are V = /(+2) x V2/2
 For parabolic profile  = 2, hence modes are V2/4.

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 Modal dispersion
14

For Step Index:

For Graded index:

Modal dispersion is smaller by factor of

100 or more than step-index fiber.
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15 Single mode fibers

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 Single mode optical Fiber
16

 If there is just one mode = no modal dispersion!!

 When optical fiber is very thin, it does not allow
different modes!
 When wavelength of light is comparable to the
diameter of fiber, it acts as a waveguide and wave
travels with constraint of single mode.
 Typical wavelength used is around 1.31 or 1.55
and diameter of single mode fiber is 8-10.
 All international sub-sea optical fiber cables are
single mode.
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 Attenuation in Optical Fiber
17

Ref: https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=3255

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 Sizes of optical fiber
18

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 Why glass fiber?
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 Its viscosity is variable for a wide range of temperatures,

and can be well controlled. Hence it can be easily drawn
into a thin fiber.
 Highly pure silica has very low loss. For most commercially
available silica fibers 96% power gets transmitted through
1km of fiber.
 Glass is intrinsically strong. Its strength is 13.8GPa i.e. 125
thick fiber can support load of 17kg wt.
 The exposure of glass with external atmosphere leads to
formation of cracks and fracture. While manufacturing it is
drawn in extremely clean environment and coated with
polymer so it does not come in contact with atmosphere.
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20 Application 1
ILLUMINATION

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 Advantage of fiber in illumination
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 It uses multimode optical fiber

 Core diameter is large and refractive index
difference can be large
 Claddingless plastic fibers can be used
 Inexpensive LED can be used
 Heat from the source can be avoided with filter at
the source end, hence it is called cold light
 UV light is absorbed in plastic core fibers

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 Glow cables
22

 These are plastic fibers without

cladding.
 Reason for side glow is scattering
inside the core.
 Features of Plastic Fiber Optic:
 Very low attenuation with
<0.25dB/m (That is actually not quite
low. It implies power will be half in
4m or longer.)
 Excellent toughness
 Excellent fiber diameter uniform
distribution
 Nice surface
http://www.wiedamark.com/images/products/detail/sideglo  Excellent heat resistance
wanilarge.gif  Excellent anti-UV performance

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 Interior light decorations with cold light
23

Ref://www.fibercreations.com/gallery/
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 Guiding Light https://physics.aps.org/story/v25/st15
24

The light-detecting rods

and cones in the eye
(pencil-shaped cells
near the bottom) are
obscured beneath
several layers of cells
in the retina, shown in
this artist’s conception.
Computer simulations
suggest that a specific
set of cells can act like
optical fibers to
channel light through
these layers.

K. Franze et al., “Müller Cells are Living Optical Fibers in the Vertebrate Retina,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 104, 8287
(2007) Mahesh Shetti, Wilson College
25 Application 2:
Communication

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 Some features
26

 For short distance communication multi-mode fibers

are used.
 For long distance communication single mode fiber
is the only choice.
 The frequency for single mode fiber is selected such
that minimum absorption takes place in the core
medium.
 Small core diameter and smaller acceptance angle,
single mode fibers use laser source.
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27 Application 3:
Medical Applications

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 Endoscope parts
28

 Endoscope is an optical device to see and operate inside any system.

 There are typically two sets of the fibers.
 The outer fiber supplies light, it is incoherent bundle. It is enclosed with sleeves to
protect it from water or moisture.
 The inner coherent ring serves to transmit the image. The tiny lens connected to
the end of this bundle allows for light to be effectively focused so that reflected
light from the object of interest can be collected and transmitted for viewing.
 Water pipes - The pipes serve to carry water which is used to wash the lens thereby
maintaining a clear view.
 The operational channel - This is an opening on the device that is used to move
various accessories to the distil end (of the endoscope) for surgery purposes.
 Control cables - This is used to control the direction that the distil end will bend as it
moves through body cavities.

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 A commercial Endoscope features
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 The scopes have high resolution

sensors with LED illumination
 The Tele-View USB Endoscopes
come in 1.0m, 1.5m, 3.0m and
3.5m lengths with 8.7mm, 9.8mm
or 12.6mm diameters.
 The insertion tube includes:
 high resolution camera sensor,
 super-bright LED lights
 a working channel
 an irrigation channel to clean the
lens
http://www.veteldiagnostics.com/products/endoscope
-gastroscope  an air-water channel for lavage
or insufflation.
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