LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

A Course Material on

Optical Fiber Communication

Dr. Samarth Borkar
Dept. of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering.
Goa College of Engineering.

Optical Fiber Waveguides: Ray Theory

Optical Fiber Waveguides

In free space light travels as its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or 186 x 103 miles/sec.
When light travels through a material it exhibits certain behavior explained by laws of reflection,
refraction.

Electromagnetic Spectrum
The radio waves and light are electromagnetic waves. The rate at which they alternate in
polarity is called their frequency (f) measured in hertz (Hz). The speed of electromagnetic wave
(c) in free space is approximately 3 x 108 m/sec. The distance travelled during each cycle is called
as wavelength (λ)

In fiber optics, it is more convenient to use the wavelength of light instead of the frequency with
light frequencies, wavelength is often stated in microns or nanometers.
1 micron (µ) = 1 Micrometer (1 x 10-6)
1 nano (n) = 10-9 meter
Fiber optics uses visible and infrared light. Infrared light covers a fairly wide range of
wavelengths and is generally used for all fiber optic communications. Visible light is normally
used for very short range transmission using a plastic fiber.

1
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Fig. shows electromagnetic frequency spectrum

Ray Transmission Theory

Before studying how the light actually propagates through the fiber, laws governing the nature
of light must be studied. These was called as laws of optics (Ray theory). There is conception
that light always travels at the same speed. This fact is simply not true. The speed of light
depends upon the material or medium through which it is moving. In free space light travels at
its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or 186 x 103 miles/sec. When light travels through
a material it exhibits certain behavior explained by laws of reflection, refraction.

Reflection
The law of reflection states that, when a light ray is
incident upon a reflective surface at some incident
angle 1 from imaginary perpendicular normal, the
ray will be reflected from the surface at some angle
2 from normal which is equal to the angle of
incidence.

2
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Refraction
Refraction occurs when light ray passes from
one medium to another i.e. the light ray changes
its direction at interface. Refraction occurs
whenever density of medium changes.

E.g. refraction occurs at air and water

interface, the straw in a glass of water will
appear as it is bent. The refraction can also
observed at air and glass interface.

When wave passes through less dense medium to denser medium, the wave is refracted (bent)
towards the normal. Fig. shows the refraction phenomena.

The refraction (bending) takes place because light travels at different speed in different
mediums. The speed of light in free space is higher than in water or glass.

Refractive Index
The amount of refraction or bending that occurs at the interface of two materials of different
densities is usually expressed as refractive index of two materials. Refractive index is also
known as index of refraction and is denoted by n.

Based on material density, the refractive index is expressed as the ratio of the velocity of light
in free space to the velocity of light of the dielectric material (substance).

The refractive index for vacuum and air os 1.0 for water it is 1.3 and for glass refractive index
is 1.5.

3
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Snell’s Law
Snell’s law states how light ray reacts when it meets the interface of two media having different
indexes of refraction.

Let the two medias have refractive indexes n1 and n2 where n1 >n2.

1 and 2 be the angles of incidence and angle of refraction respectively. Then according to
Snell’s law, a relationship exists between the refractive index of both materials given by,

A refractive index model for Snell’s law is shown in Fig.

The refracted wave will be towards the normal when n1 <
n2 and will away from it when n1 > n2.

This equation shows that the ratio of refractive index of two

mediums is inversely proportional to the refractive and
incident angles.

As refractive index

and substituting these values we get

4
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Critical Angle
When the angle of incidence (1) is
progressively increased, there will be
progressive increase of refractive
angle (2). At some condition (1) the
refractive angle (2) becomes 90o to
the normal. When this happens the
refracted light ray travels along the
interface. The angle of incidence (1)
at the point at which the refractive
angle (1) becomes 90o is called the
critical angle. It is denoted by c.

The critical angle is defined as the minimum angle of incidence (1) at which the ray
strikes the interface of two media and causes an angle of refraction (2) equal to 90o. Fig shows
critical angle refraction.

Hence at critical angle 1 = c

and 2 = 90o Using Snell’s law :

n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2

Therefore,

The actual value of critical angle is dependent upon combination of materials present on each
side of boundary.

5
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Total Internal Reflection (TIR)

When the incident angle is increase dbeyond the critical angle, the light ray does not pass
through the interface into the other medium. This gives the effect of mirror exist at the interface
with no possibility of light escaping outside the medium. In this condition angle of reflection
(2) is equal to angle of incidence (1). This action is called as Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
of the beam. It is TIR that leads to the propagation of waves within fiber-cable medium. TIR can
be observed only in materials in which the velocity of light is less than in air.

The two conditions necessary for TIR to occur are :

1. The refractive index of first medium must be greater than the refractive index of second
one.
2. The angle of incidence must be greater than (or equal to) the critical angle.

(2nd Explanation)
To consider the propagation of light within an optical fiber utilizing the ray theory model it is
necessary to take account of the refractive index of the dielectric medium. The refractive index
of a medium is defined as the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in
the medium.
A ray of light travels more slowly in an optically dense medium than in one that is less dense,
and the refractive index gives a measure of this effect. When a ray is incident on the interface
between two dielectrics of differing refractive indices (e.g. glass–air), refraction occurs, as
illustrated in Figure 4.6 (a). It may be observed that the ray approaching the interface is
propagating in a dielectric of refractive index n1 and is at an angle φ1 to the normal at the
surface of the interface. If the dielectric on the other side of the interface has a refractive index
n2 which is less than n1, then the refraction is such that the ray path in this lower index medium
is at an angle φ2 to the normal, where φ2 is greater than φ1. The angles of incidence φ1 and
refraction φ2 are related to each other and to the refractive indices of the dielectrics by Snell’s
law of refraction, which states that:

6
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

Or

Figure 4.6 Light rays incident on a high to low refractive index interface (e.g. glass air): (a)refraction; (b)
the limiting case of refraction showing the critical ray at an angle φc (c) total internal reflection where φ > φc
It may also be observed in Figure 4.6 (a) that a small amount of light is reflected back
into the originating dielectric medium (partial internal reflection). As n1 is greater than n2, the
angle of refraction is always greater than the angle of incidence. Thus when the angle of
refraction is 90° and the refracted ray emerges parallel to the interface between the dielectrics,
the angle of incidence must be less than 90°. This is the limiting case of refraction and the angle
of incidence is now known as the critical angle φc, as shown in Figure 4.6 (b). From Eq. (1.1)
the value of the critical angle is given by

At angles of incidence greater than the critical angle the light is reflected back into the
originating dielectric medium (total internal reflection) with high efficiency (around 99.9%).
Hence, it may be observed in Figure 4.6(c) that total internal reflection occurs at the inter- face
between two dielectrics of differing refractive indices when light is incident on the dielectric of
lower index from the dielectric of higher index, and the angle of incidence of the ray exceeds

7
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

the critical value. This is the mechanism by which light at a sufficiently shallow angle (less than
90° − φc) may be considered to propagate down an optical fiber with low loss.

Figure 4.7 The transmission of a light ray in a perfect optical fiber

Figure 4.7 illustrates the transmission of a light ray in an optical fiber via a series of total
internal reflections at the interface of the silica core and the slightly lower refractive index silica
cladding. The ray has an angle of incidence φ at the interface which is greater than the critical
angle and is reflected at the same angle to the normal.

The light ray shown in Figure 4.7 is known as a meridional ray as it passes through the axis of
the fiber core. This type of ray is the simplest to describe and is generally used when illustrating
the fundamental transmission properties of optical fibers. It must also be noted that the light
transmission illustrated in Figure 1.3 assumes a perfect fiber, and that any discontinuities or
imperfections at the core–cladding interface would probably result in refraction rather than
total internal reflection, with the subsequent loss of the light ray into the cladding.

Acceptance angle
Having considered the propagation of light in an optical fiber through total internal reflection
at the core–cladding interface, it is useful to enlarge upon the geometric optics approach with
reference to light rays entering the fiber. Since only rays with a sufficiently shallow grazing
angle (i.e. with an angle to the normal greater than φc) at the core–cladding interface are
transmitted by total internal reflection, it is clear that not all rays entering the fiber core will
continue to be propagated down its length.

The geometry concerned with launching a light ray into an optical fiber is shown in Figure 4.8,
which illustrates a meridional ray A at the critical angle φc within the fiber at the core– cladding
interface. It may be observed that this ray enters the fiber core at an angle θa to the fiber axis
and is refracted at the air–core interface before transmission to the core–cladding interface at

8
 LECTURE 4: OPTICAL FIBER WAVEGUIDES: RAY THEORY

the critical angle. Hence, any rays which are incident into the fiber core at an angle greater than
θa will be transmitted to the core–cladding interface at an angle less than φc, and will not be
totally internally reflected. This situation is also illustrated in Figure 4.8, where the incident ray
B at an angle greater than θa is refracted into the cladding and eventually lost by radiation. Thus
for rays to be transmitted by total internal reflection within the fiber core they must be incident
on the fiber core within an acceptance cone defined by the conical half angle θa.

Hence θa is the maximum angle to the axis at which light may enter the fiber in order to be
propagated, and is often referred to as the acceptance angle for the fiber.

Figure 4.8 The acceptance angle θa when launching light into an optical fiber

If the fiber has a regular cross-section (i.e. the core–cladding interfaces are parallel and there
are no discontinuities) an incident meridional ray at greater than the critical angle will continue
to be reflected and will be transmitted through the fiber. From symmetry considerations it may
be noted that the output angle to the axis will be equal to the input angle for the ray, assuming
the ray emerges into a medium of the same refractive index from which it was input.

My lecture notes prepared over the years forms the resource material for this compilation. Most of the
material and figures have been taken from a wide collection of Textbooks, research papers, and review articles
published in journals/proceedings. Although this compilation has been created with utmost determination
and hard work still any kind of constructive criticism are always welcome and gratefully appreciated. I do not
lay any claims to original research therein but what I can claim is the way the contents have been presented.
Refer standard suggested textbooks for in-depth understanding. It is beyond the scope of this compilation to
cover all the aspects exhaustively. ~ Dr. Samarth Borkar, Goa College of Engineering.