DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Fiber Optic Guide Properties and Attenuation

Experiment No. 4

By
Renzo Rio U. Grafilo
BSECE/4th Year/ECE41

T-ECET416LA - TRANSMISSION MEDIA & ANTENNA SYSTEM LAB

Date Performed: 10/14/2022 Date Submitted:10/12/2022

Instructor: Sir Conrado, Monzon

 Introduction:

Fiber optic cables are made up of many strands of optic fibers, which are hairlike strands of pure glass
designed to transfer light. When hundreds or thousands of these strands are connected, they can broadcast
light waves up to 60 kilometers. Electrical signals, such as television, audio, or data signals, are
transformed to high-quality optical signals and conveyed at the speed of light using an optical transmitter,
resulting in a quick, high-quality mode of data transfer.

A pure glass core is surrounded by many layers of optical fibers. The first layer is a reflective coating that
functions as a long, flexible mirror, reflecting light along the whole length of the glass core. This is
referred to as complete inward reflection. The fiber is then shielded from damage and moisture by an
exterior protective layer known as a "buffer" coating. Bundles of these optical fibers are then encased in
an aramid yarn strengthening layer, followed by a plastic "jacket" to form a full fiber optic cable.

The features of LED as the light source of the fiber optic cable were studied in this experiment, as well as
the examination of optical power as a function of forward current and the conversion of optical power into
electrical signal. A fiber optic transmitter and a multimeter are used to measure the fluctuating voltage Vf,
forward current If, and power of 650nm, 665nm, and 950nm LEDs. In the second section, a
transimpedance amplifier test was performed utilizing a fiber optic connection connected from the
transmitter to the receiver. Determining the change of power of LED light source in power optics and
what is an appropriate diameter of light for a good transmission.

Objectives of the Experiment:

1. Study the properties of LED as a light source in fiber optic communication.
2. Study the conversion of optical power into electrical signals in a transimpedance circuit.
3. Investigation of optical power as a function of forward current.
 Results:

Table 4.1. Characteristic of LEDs

650 nm 665 nm 950 nm

VF (V) IF (mA) P1 (mW) VF IF P1 VF IF P1
0 0.023 0 0 0.023 0 0 0.022 0
0.3 0.007 0.0021 0.3 0.007 0.0021 0.3 0.007 0.0021
0.6 0.037 0.0222 0.6 0.037 0.0222 0.6 0.037 0.0222
0.9 0.068 0.0612 0.9 0.068 0.0612 0.9 0.123 0.1107
1.752 1 1.752 1.595 1 1.595 1.029 1 1.029
1.805 2 3.61 1.624 2 3.248 1.057 2 2.114
1.84 3 5.52 1.641 3 4.923 1.073 3 3.219
1.867 4 7.468 1.654 4 6.616 1.084 4 4.336
1.889 5 9.445 1.665 5 8.325 1.093 5 5.465
1.909 6 11.454 1.675 6 10.05 1.1 6 6.6
1.926 7 13.482 1.683 7 11.781 1.106 7 7.742
1.941 8 15.528 1.691 8 13.528 1.112 8 8.896
1.955 9 17.595 1.698 9 15.282 1.117 9 10.053
1.969 10 19.69 1.705 10 17.05 1.122 10 11.22
2.072 20 41.44 1.763 20 35.26 1.154 20 23.08
2.14 30 64.2 1.81 30 54.3 1.177 30 35.31
2.156 33.3 71.7948 1.837 36.5 67.0505 1.198 43 51.514
 Discussion:

In the first part of the experiment conducted the characteristics of LED light sources of the optic fiber
using the fiber optic transmitter. In table 4.1 it is observed that as the Vf and If increases, the power also
increases, thus the Vf and If is proportional to the power of the optic fiber. It is also observed in the table
that as the diameter of the LED becomes larger, the lower the power becomes; thus, the diameter of LED
is inversely proportional to the power. In figures 4.2 and 4.3, it is observed that the graph of current-
voltage characteristic of the LEDs is like the breakdown voltage of a diode. The graph of the power-
current characteristic just shows that power and current are both directly proportional to each other. It was
observed in table 4.2 that as the wavelength increases, the threshold voltage increases, thus they are
inversely proportional. In table 4.3. the LED source brightness was increased, and the voltage also
increases. As shown in the table, 1k and 10k have the same Vdc which is 8.4mV and the Vdc in 100k ohm
was measured 8.7mV. In the last part, table 4.4 a fiber optic receiver was used and the optical power as
function of forward current was observed and as varying the If by 2mA step, the Vdc and power in 650nm
and 665nm was increasing thus it is directly proportional to the forward current. In 950nm, the variation of
2ma step was observed to have stable measured Vdc of 0.0086V and power of 0.02838uW. The power
conversion factor in table 4.5 shows that there is larger k factor in smaller Rc resistance of 1k than the
100k ohm resistance. Then in figure 4.5, the graph of optical power as function of time was observed and
we can see that the 650nm has larger power as the forward current increases.
Conclusion/Findings:

It is concluded that the as the voltage Vf and current If increases, the power of the light in optic fiber
increases therefore they are directly propotional to each other. However, the larger the wavelength, the
lower the power was measured thus the wavelength of the LED is inversely proportional to the power. The
optical power was concluded that the 650nm yielded larger power as the forward current increases and
950nm was concluded to have stable Vdc and power.The conversion power factor was concluded to have
larger factor at smaller resistance than the larger resistance. The Vdc in transimpedance amplifier
measurement was concluded to have larger value when the resistance is higher.

References:

Characteristics of fiber optic cable. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/characteristics-of-fiber-optic-cable