• FIBER OPTICS

• An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length.

• Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss, and they
are also immune to electromagnetic interference.

• 3 Regions (3C’s)

• 3 Variation of Optical Fiber

• Plastic core and cladding (PCP)

• Advantages of Plastic over

Glass Fiber

• Flexibility and ruggedness

• Easy to install

• Less weight

• More economical

• Can withstand stress

• Disadvantages

• High attenuation

• Inefficient

• Limited for short distance applications

• Classifications of Optical Fibers

• Depends on:

a.) Mode (path) of propagation

- A stable propagation state in an optical fiber.

- The number of modes a fiber can transmit depend on its numerical aperture as well as
the wavelength.

• Single-Mode ( Monomode)

• Only one path for light to take down the cable.

• Extremely wide bandwidths and low losses.

• 8um (mot commonly used core diameter)

• Placed 3km between repeater.

• Multimode Fiber
 • The light wave rays take many paths between the source and the far end of the fiber.

• Placed 2km between repeaters

• Diameter: 50 – 200 um

• 62.5um – most commonly used

b.) Index Profile

- A graphical representation of the refractive index of the core.

• Step Index

• The core has a uniform index of refraction providing an abrupt change in rfraction index at the
core-cladding interface.

• These types of fibers have relatively high dispersion making it useful only at lower rates and
shorter distance.

• Graded Index

• The core has index of refraction that changes continuously from the center to the outside.

• This core is made out of many thin layers, each with lower index of refraction than the adjacent
inner core.

• The effect of this grading is that light waves are propagated by refraction so they are bent in a
sinusoid like curve about the fiber.

• Light Propagation

• Light - a form of energy visible to the eye produced by moving charged particles.

• Photon – a packet of light energy

E = hf

where: h – Planck’s constant

(6.63 x 10 exp -34 Joules/sec)

f – frequency of light

Note: 1 eV = 1.6 x 10exp-19

• Light Propagation

• Example: Calculate the energy in one photon of a light wave at a wavelength of 400 nm. Express
the result in both joules and eV.

• Behavior of Light
 • Propagation of Light:

– Diffraction – occurs when light rays strike a sharp edged obstruction or small opening

– Interference – occurs when two or more light waves overlap.

– Interaction with Materials:

– Reflection – return of light waves as it hits an interface

– Scattering – redirection of light due to inhomogeneities in the material

– Refraction – bending of light rays as they travel from one medium to another.

• Refractive Index ()

• The ratio of light velocity in free space to the velocity of a light in a given material.

Where: c = speed of light in free space

v = speed of light in a given material

• Snell’s law

• Explains how a light may react when it meets the interface of two transmittive materials that
have different indices of refraction using the law which states that:

1 sin 1 = 2 sin 2

where: 1 = refraction index of material 1

2 = refraction index of material 2

1 = angle of incidence

2 = angle of refraction

• When a light travels from a less dense material into a more dense material, the wave is
refracted towards the normal

• Refracted ray;
toward normal
1 < 2

1 = 2

Unrefracted ray

• Fresnel Reflections

• reflected light when refraction occurs

RHO = [ (1 – n) / (1 + n) ] exp 2
If medium is air:

Loss dB = 10 log (1 – RHO)

• Example

• Determine the loss in dB due to fresnel reflections for light passing from air to glass.

• Critical Angle of Incident (c )

• The minimum angle of incidence at which a light ray may strike the interference of two media
and result in an angle of refraction of 90 degrees or when the incident ray is in parallel to the
boundary.

• Acceptance Angle or Acceptance Cone Half Angle (in)

• Maximum angle in which external light rays may strike the air/fiber interface and still propagate
down the fiber.

• Numerical Aperture (NA)

• A figure of merit used to measure the light gathering or light collecting ability of the optical
fiber.

NA = sin in

• V Parameter (V)

• It is a key parameter that describes the mode structure of a fiber.

• where:

a = radius of the core of the fiber

λ = wavelength

1 = index of refraction of core

2 = index of refraction of cladding

g = gradient of graded fiber

= 2 ; parabolic profile

= 1 ; triangular profile

=  ; step index profile

• Number of Modes (N)

• also;

• Light Sources
• A light source is any material or device which gives off energy with a wavelength from about 300
microns down to 0.5 microns.

• Requirements:

a. Their light must be as nearly monochromatic

( single frequency) as possible.

• Light Emitting Diode (LED)

• Non – coherent injection light sources which are low-cost, low-heat light sources and are the
most promising light sources for optical transmission.

• LEDS have the necessary reliability, life expectancy, and simplicity for optical transmission
purposes.

• LEDS are able to couple about 100uw of power with a coupling efficiency of 2 %.

• Injection Laser Diodes (ILD)

• ILDs make the most efficient use of electric energy.

• This coherent light source can couple a few milliwatts of light power into a fiber since it has a
more direct radiation pattern.

• Advantages of ILDs over LED

• Reduced coupling losses

• Greater radiant output power

• Can be used at higher bit rates

• Reduced wavelength dispersion; monochromatic

• Disadvantages of ILDs

• Expensive

• Shorter lifetime

• Temperature dependence

• Requires automatic level control circuit to protect the device from power Supply transients.

• Light Detectors

• PIN (Positive Intrinsic Negative) diodes

• When photons are absorbed by intrinsic layer’s electrons in the valence band, they add
sufficient energy to generate carriers in the depletion region and allow current to flow thru the
device

• APD ( Avalanche Photo Diode )

• Light enters diode and is absorbed by the thin, heavily doped n-layer causing a high electric field
intensity to be across in p-n junction thus ionization occur and continues like avalanche.

• Advantages of APD over PIN

• APDs give better sensitivity over PIN

• APDs provides larger amplification

• Advantages of Optical Fibers over Metallic Cables

• Broad Bandwidth Capability

• Fiber Optics can be used to form a Compact concept

• Immunity to Crosstalk

• Immunity to Electromagnetic and Radio Frequency Interference

• Lower Attenuation

• Capability for secure transmission

• Safer to install and Maintain

• More Economical

• Disadvantages of Fiber System

• High initial cost of installation

• Any damage inflicted on a fiber cable is not easily repairable.

• Losses in Optical Fiber Cables

1. Scattering losses – due to imperfections in the fiber that are formed during manufacturing
process.