FIBER OPTICS

COMMUNICATIONS
ENGR. RYAN PAUL S. RIWARIN
WHAT IS FIBER OPTICS
Fiber Optics:

The technology of transferring information, for example, in communications or computer

technology, through a number of thin flexible glass or plastic tubes (optical fibers) using
modulated light waves.

Optics:

Branch of physical science dealing with the propagation and behavior of light.

Optical Fibers:

In the simplest form, they are cylindrical dielectric waveguides made up of central cylinder of
glass (core) with one index of refraction, surrounded by an annulus (clad) with a slightly
different index of refraction.
HISTORY OF FIBER OPTICS
1850 John Tyndall, a British physicist, demonstrated that light can be guided
along a curved stream of water using Total Internal Reflection.
1880 Alexander Graham Bell experimented with an apparatus he called
photophone.
1930 John L. Baird and C. W. Hansell were granted patent for scanning and
transmitting television images through uncoated fiber cables.
1951 A.C.S. van Heel, H.H. Hopkins and N.S. Kapany experimented with light
transmission through bundles of fiber that led to the development of the flexible
fiberscope.
HISTORY OF FIBER OPTICS
1956 N.S. Kapany coined the term “fiber optics”.

1958 Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow wrote a technical paper about

LASER and MASER.

1960 Theodore Maiman, built the first optical maser.

1967 K.C. Kao and G.A. Bockham proposed a cladded fiber cables.
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.
❖ Tremendous Bandwidth - An optical fiber can easily support 100 Mbps while
advanced systems are carrying beyond 1 Gbps.

❖ No Interference - The light pulses travel entirely within the fiber causing no
harmful interference, known as electromagnetic interference (EMI) and
radio-frequency interference (RFI) in nearby wire cables or adjacent optical
fiber.
❖ Noise Immunity - The optical fiber system is also immune to nearby signals
and EMI/RFI, regardless of interference magnitude
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.

❖ No Electrical Hazard - There is complete electrical isolation between

ends of the link. This eliminates ground loops which affects
performance, as well as the danger of shock at one end if there is a
misconnection or failure at the other end.

❖ Secure Communication - Since the light energy stays entirely within

the fiber, the only way to intercept the signal is to tap physically into
the line since there is no radiated energy field to intercept. Taps are
difficult to accomplish physically, and a tap in the line causes a loss in
signal power that can easily be detected.
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.

❖ Safe to use in Dangerous Environment - Since there is no electrical

energy present; fiber optics can be used wherever, even there is a
danger of explosion from sparks.

❖ Lightweight - The weight and bulk of fiber optical cable is much less
than the equivalent wire cables for the same effective bandwidth and
number of users.
DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTICS TECHNOLOGY

❖ Cost - The cost of the fiber is a little greater than that of basic copper
wire in some configurations.

❖ Complex deployment & repairs - It is difficult to splice optical fibers

to make them longer or to repair breaks.

❖ Complex connectors - Connectors for fibers are more complex to

attach to the cable and require precise physical alignment.
DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTICS TECHNOLOGY

❖ Complex network - Switching, routing and distribution of

fiber optic signals are difficult.

❖ Complicated test equipments - Fiber-based system

needs special test equipment.
NATURE OF LIGHT

Wave Nature of Light

Light is an electromagnetic wave having a very high oscillation
frequency and a very short wavelength.
➔ In fiber optics and any other field of expertise concerning light
signals, it is more pronounced to express it in wavelength rather
than frequency.
General Subdivision of light
Infrared
➔ Band of light wavelengths that are too long to be seen by the human eye. (770 nm
to 100,000 nm)
Visible Light
➔ Band of light wavelengths to which the human eye respond. (390 nm to 770 nm)
Ultraviolet
➔ Band of light wavelengths that are too short to be seen by the human eye. (10 nm to
390 nm)
Wave Properties of Light
Reflection

➔ Phenomenon of wave motion, in which a wave is returned after impinging on

a surface. When energy, such as light, traveling from one medium encounters
a different medium, part of the energy usually passes on while part is
reflected.

Refraction

➔ The change in direction that occurs when a wave of energy such as light
passes from one medium to another of a different density, for example, from
air to water.
Wave Properties of Light
Diffraction

➔ The bending or spreading out of waves as they pass around the edge of an
obstacle or through a narrow aperture.

Absorption

➔ The reduction in the intensity of radiated energy within a medium caused by

converting some or all of the energy into another form.

Dispersion

The separation of visible light or other electromagnetic waves into different

wavelengths.
Ray Theory of Light

A number of phenomena are adequately explained by considering light as narrow

rays and this area of optical science concerns the application of laws of reflection
and refraction of light in the design of lenses.

❖ In a vacuum, ray travel at a velocity of 3x108 m/s.

❖ Rays travel in a straight path unless deflected by some change in the
medium.
❖ When ray is reflected, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of refraction
(Specular Reflections)
❖ If any power crosses the boundary (refraction occurs), the transmitted ray
directions is given by Snell’s Law or Fresnel Law.
Critical Angle (θc)

Defined as the minimum

angle of incidence at which a
light ray may
strike the interface of two
media and results in an angle
of refraction
of 90° or greater.
Snell’s Law

This important law, named

after Dutch mathematician
Willebrord Snell, states that
the product of the refractive
index and the sine of the
angle of incidence of a ray in
one medium is equal to the
product of the refractive index
and the sine of the angle of
refraction in a successive
medium.
Index of Refraction (n)

The refractive index of a substance measures how the substance affects light
traveling through it. It is equal to the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the
speed of light in that substance.
Index Profile

A graphical representation of the value of the refractive index across the fiber.
Numerical Aperture (NA)

The figure of merit used to describe the light gathering or light collecting ability of
an optical fiber.
Acceptance Angle or Acceptance Cone Half Angle (θmax)

The maximum angle in which the external light rays may strike the air/fiber
interface and still propagate down the fiber.
Fractional Index Change (Δ)

The normalized difference between the index of the core and cladding.