01 Optical Fibers

Ambo Institute of Technology
Optics and Optical Communications
Academic year: 2020/21
Ambo Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Ambo Institute of Technology Ambo

Course information
Lecture: Wednesdays 8:30 – 9:10 am, 10:10 – 10:50 am
Fridays 3:10 – 3:50 pm, 4:50 – 5:30 pm
Lecture room: LH-5
Credit hours: 5 ECTS
Contents: – Optical fibers (fiber types, impairments)
– Optical transmitters and receivers
– Coherent systems
– WDM and TDM systems
– Access networks
– Optical amplifiers
– Dispersion compensation
2 22.01.2021 ECEg4302 Ambo Institute of Technology

Optics
Optics is concerned with the generation, propagation, manipulation and detection of light.
Optics can be categorized as:
For many centuries, the development of optical sources and optical detectors was very
slow, hence progress was strongest in studies of light propagation and light manipulation
i.e. ray optics, wave optics and electromagnetic optics.

Optics
Ray optics
propagation of light rays through simple optical

components and systems.
In many applications of interest the wavelength λ

of light is short compared with the relevant length
scales of the optical components or system (e.g.
mirrors, prisms, lenses).
Wave optics
propagations of light waves through optical

components and systems.

Optics
Electromagnetic optics: description of light waves in terms of electric and

magnetic fields.
Quantum optics: emission/absorption of photons, which are characteristically

quantum mechanical in nature and cannot be explained by classical optics
(e.g. lasers, light-emitting diodes, photodiode detectors, solar cells).

Nature of light: wave or particle?
We are interested in how light behaves and ultimately we want to answer the question ”What
is light?”
Newton (1680) – believed in the particle theory of light. In reflection and refraction, light
behaved as a particle. He explained the straight-line casting of sharp shadows of objects
placed in a light beam. But he could not explain the textures of shadows.
Young (1800) – showed that light interfered with itself. Wave theory: Explains the
interference where the light intensity can be enhanced in some places and diminished in
other places behind a screen with a slit or several slits.
Bright bands (fringes): interference maxima

Dark bands: interference minima
Thomas Young(1773–1829,
English), PhD in physics from
Göttingen, Germany

Nature of light
According to James clerk Maxwell (1850),
Light propagates as wave having a wavelength λ.
The speed of light in vacuum is 𝑐 = 2.99792458𝑥108 m/s James clerk Maxwell,

mathematician and physicist,
Heinrich Hertz (1887) professor in Cambridge, UK
Discovered experimentally the existence of electromagnetic waves at radio-

frequencies. He generated radio waves from oscillating electric charge.
At the time, it was generally believed that all wave propagation must take place in
some kind of physical medium.
The SI unit of frequency is now named the hertz (Hz) in commemoration of this
achievement.

Nature of light
At the beginning of the 20th century there were two important problems in physics which
could not be solved using the laws of physics as they were known at that time:
Black body radiation and
Photoelectric effect
They apparently went against all the conventional wisdom that light was in fact a form of
electromagnetic radiation.
A blackbody is a body that both absorbs all the radiation incident on it and emits radiation
with a spectral density characteristic of its temperature.
The problem that Planck set out to resolve was that the spectral profile of blackbody
radiation could not be modelled by existing laws.

Nature of light

Nature of light
Planck (1900) – found that the energy of light radiated from a hot black body is emitted in
𝒄
quanta, the energy of which is proportion to the observed frequency 𝒇 = . Each quantum
𝝀
or ‘photon’ has energy 𝑊 = ℎ𝑓 = ћ𝜔 where ℎ = 6.6260755𝑥10−34 𝑊𝑠
is Planck’s constant.
Wave theory does not describe the absorption of light by
a photosensitive materials.

Nature of light
Einstein (1905) – used Plank’s idea to show that in the photoelectric

effect (light causing electrons to be emitted from a metal surface) light
must act as a particle. Einstein formulated: “light is like the French
philosopher Voltaire. Voltaire was born catholic, converted as a young
man to Protestantism, and returned to Catholicism shortly before his
death. Light is born as a particle, lives as a wave, and dies as a photon
when being absorbed.”
Further, it was shown by de Broglie that each particle having

𝒉
momentum p may be associated with a wavelength 𝝀 = . i.e. particles,
𝒑
such as the electron e-, are associated with waves. Obviously, the
nature of light is ambiguous.

Photoelectric effect
Expectations based on classical EM theory:
The energy of emitted electron should increase

with the intensity
No dependence of the frequency in the

emission
Sufficiently dim light  time lag
Experimental observations:
No intensity dependent: Electrons can be pulled

out even with very low intensity radiation
Frequency dependent
No time lag
Credit: Prof. Dr. Carsten Rockstuhl, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Lightwave communication systems
Optical communication link
Laser + modulator Photodiode + amplifier +..
Figure taken from Prof. Dr.-Ing C. Koos lecture notes, IPQ

Optical Transmitter
Converts electrical data into an optical bit stream suitable for transmission.
Optical fiber
Optical fibers are used for transmitting optical bit streams.
Optical Amplifier
Amplify the optical signal directly without requiring its conversion to electrical
domain
Optical Receivers
Converts optical bit stream into the original electrical form.

History of fiber optics
1854: John Tyndall guides light in a jet of water flowing from a tank.
Shows light guidance by total internal reflection.
1930: Heinrich Lamm shows first image transmission through fiber bundle.
1960: Lawrence Curtiss made first glass clad fiber (1000 dB/km loss).
1960: The laser was invented and demonstrated. Initially no body actually “needed” the
laser. So why? Because it was possible.
Then people came up with the idea of using lasers for information transmissions.
Then the big question was how to confine the laser light and transmit?
Optical fibers were suggested as the best option for optical field transmission in
1966.
In 1966 Charles K. Kao showed that the losses of > 1000 dB/km in existing glass was
due to impurities and can in principle be reduced to below 20 dB/km.
He proposed optical fibers as transmission media;
Noble prize in physics in 2009.
1970: Scientists from Corning demonstrated a fiber with a loss of only
20 dB/km.
Today the lower limit of fiber loss is below 0.2 dB/km.

Advantages of optical communications
Large transmission capacity: Large bandwidth (1.55 μm – 1.3 μm = 250 nm > 30 THz)
Bitrates for transmission media:
Twisted pair 6 Mbit/s (6 km)
Coaxial cable 650 Mbit/s (1.5 km)
Glass fiber 1.28 Tbit/s single channel (240km)
Fiber + WDM > 100Tbit/s
Long transmission distance due to low fiber loss
Down to 0.15dB/km@λ = 1.55 μm; 0.35dB/km@λ = 1.3 μm
Immune to electromagnetic interference
High carrier frequency and strong confinement of the light inside the waveguide
Disadvantages: Reception sensitivity
Electrical reception is limited by thermal noise with a power 𝑃𝑛 = 𝑘𝑇0 𝐵 (Boltzmann's
constant k, room temperature 𝑇0 = 293 𝐾, signal bandwidth B)
However, optical systems are limited by quantum noise with an equivalent noise
power 𝑃𝑞 = 2ℎ𝑓0 𝐵 (Planck’s constant h, optical carrier frequency 𝑓0 ).
𝑃𝑒𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑙 𝑘 𝑇0
𝑆𝑁𝑅𝑒𝑙 = , 𝑆𝑁𝑅𝑜𝑝𝑡 = , = ≪1
𝑘𝑇0 𝐵 2ℎ𝑓0 𝐵 𝑃0𝑝𝑡 2ℎ𝑓0
Electrical reception is by far more sensitive.

The dB units
Decibel (dB) expresses a power ratio according to
dB = 10log10 (p1/p0)
dBm expresses the absolute power on a log scale relative to 1 mW
dBm = 10log10 (p/1mW)
Examples: Power (P):

Transmitter: -6 to 17 dBm (0.25 to
0 dBm = 1 mW 50 mW)
0 dB = 1
3 dBm = 2 mW Receiver: -3 to -35 dBm (500 down
3 dB = 2 to 0.3 µW)
6 dBm = 4 mW Optical Amplifier: +3 to +20 dBm (2
5 dB = 3
to 100 mW)
9 dBm = 8 mW
10 dB = 10
-3 dBm = 0.5 mW
-3 dB = 0.5
-30 dBm=1 μW
-10 dB = 0.1
-60 dBm = 1 nW
-20 dB = 0.01

Optical fibers
Structure of optical fibers
Multimode fiber Single mode fiber

Core diameter: 50 or 62.5μm Core diameter: 8-10μm
Cladding diameter: 125μm Cladding diameter: 125μm

Optical fibers
Optical fibers are flexible filaments made of transparent materials such as fused silica,
speciality glasses or polymers. They are often not much thicker than a human
hair(~100µm diameter).
They are dielectric waveguide of cylindrical geometry with core and cladding of suitable
material.
Refractive index of the core is greater than refractive index of the cladding (𝑛1 > 𝑛2 ). To
change index of refraction dopants are added. Dopants can increase or decrease the
index of refraction.
Fiber works by total internal reflection at the core-cladding interface. When the light tries
to pass from the core to the cladding, and the angle is correct, it is reflected back into the
core.

Light propagation in medium
When light passes through materials that are not a perfect vacuum, it actually
propagates much slower than the speed of light in vacuum. This can be described by a
𝐜
refractive index. The refractive index (n) of a material is given by 𝒏 = where v is the
𝐯
speed of light in the material, which is less than the speed of light in vacuum c.
And when light tries to pass from one medium to another with a different index of
refraction, a reflection and refraction can occur.
𝒏𝟏 > 𝒏𝟐

Reflection and refraction
Boundary between two optical media leads to reflection and refraction:
𝑒𝑖 : unit vectors
𝑁: normal
alternative writing of Snell’s law:

Light propagation in optical fibers
The light in a fiber-optic cable travels through the core (hallway) by constantly
bouncing from the cladding (mirror-lined walls), a principle called total internal
reflection. Because the cladding does not absorb any light from the core, the
light wave can travel great distances.
However, some of the light signal degrades within the fiber, mostly due to
impurities in the glass. The extent that the signal degrades depends on the
purity of the glass and the wavelength of the transmitted light.

Total internal reflection (TIR)
Step-index optical fiber

Apply snell’s law at the input Geometric optics (ray optics) is
𝑛0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖 = 𝑛1 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑟 only valid when wavelength is
Minimum critical angle for total internal reflection approaching zero
𝑛1 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅𝑐 = 𝑛2 sin(𝜋 2) 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅𝑐 = 𝑛2 /𝑛1
Relate to maximum entrance angle
𝑛0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑛1 sin(𝜃𝑟,𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) = 𝑛1 sin 𝜋 − ∅𝑐 = 𝑛1 𝑐𝑜𝑠∅𝑐 = 𝑛1 1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 (∅𝑐 ) =
2
𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2 = NA

Numerical aperture (NA)
The numerical aperture (NA) is a measure of the light-gathering power of an optical
system. The term originates from microscopy.
For fibers, we have: 𝑁𝐴 = 𝑛0 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑖,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2 ≈ 𝑛1 2∆ where ∆= (𝑛1 − 𝑛2 )/𝑛1
∆≈ 1 − 3% 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑀𝑀 𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠, ∆≈ .1 − 1% 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑆𝑀 𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠
The acceptance angle of the fiber to achieve TIR is: 𝜃𝑎 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 (𝑁𝐴). This acceptance
angle determines the cone of external rays that are guided by the fiber. The numerical
aperture therefore describes the light-gathering capacity of the fiber. With a higher NA we
get problems with dispersion.
Figure taken from Peter Bermel lecture, Purdue University

Sign conventions in Electromagnetic (EM) waves
There is actually a difference between physics texts (dealing with general EM,
lasers, and all sorts of atomic radiation interactions) and electrical engineering
(EE) texts (mostly dealing with antenna theory, where electrical engineers have
historically been most prevalent in encountering radiation) in the various
definitions of complex dielectric function, complex index of refraction, etc.
For example, in physics texts, you’ll see the complex index of refraction listed
as: 𝑛 = 𝑛 + 𝑖𝑘
In electrical engineering: 𝑛 = 𝑛 − 𝑗𝑘
The confusion comes from the initial choice of phasor rotation direction with
increasing time, which ultimately decides all the signs in the system.

Sign conventions in EM waves
If we have a wave defined by:

𝐸𝑦 = 𝐸0 cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝛽𝑧)
we can also define this wave using Euler’s Theorem:
𝐸0 𝑖(𝜔𝑡−𝛽𝑧)
𝐸𝑦 = 𝑒 + 𝑒 −𝑖(𝜔𝑡−𝛽𝑧)
2
sometimes see this equation is written as:
𝐸0
𝐸𝑦 = 𝑒 𝑖(𝜔𝑡−𝛽𝑧) + 𝑐. 𝑐
2
𝐸0
𝐸𝑦 = 𝑒 −𝑖(𝜔𝑡−𝛽𝑧) + 𝑐. 𝑐
2
where the “c.c." stands for “complex conjugate."

Sign conventions in EM waves
In linear systems, we generally don’t carry around the extra baggage of the
complex conjugate, since we can equivalently just represent 𝐸𝑦 by one of the
two terms from equation above and take the real part.
𝐸𝑦 can be represented by:
In Electrical Engineering
Or
In physics
Mathematically, the difference between

these two equations is the direction of
rotation of the phasor in the complex plane
with increasing time.

Wave propagation
Propagation of optical fields in fibers is governed by Maxwell’s equations. For a

nonconducting medium without free charges, Maxwell’s equations take the
form:

Wave propagation
From Maxwell’s equations E and H are the electric and magnetic field vectors,
respectively, and D and B are the corresponding flux densities. The flux densities are
related to the field vectors by the constitutive relations:
Where 𝜀0 is the vacuum permittivity, 𝜇0 is the vacuum permeability, and P and M are
the induced electric and magnetic polarizations, respectively. For optical fibers M = 0
because of the nonmagnetic nature of silica glass.
By using Maxwell’s equations we can solve for wave equation as
Wave equation in frequency domain:

𝛻 2 𝐄 + 𝑛2 (𝜔)𝑘0 2 𝐄 = 𝟎
Where the free-space wave number 𝑘0 is defined as and 𝜆 is the
vacuum wavelength of the optical field oscillating at the frequency ω.

Fiber Modes
An optical mode refers to a specific solution of the wave equation that satisfies
the appropriate boundary conditions and has the property that its spatial
distribution does not change with propagation.
The fiber modes can be classified as guided modes, leaky modes, and
radiation modes. Signal transmission in fiber-optic communication systems
takes place through the guided modes only.
Wave equation is written in cylindrical coordinates ρ, φ, and z as (Fiber has
cylindrical shape)
Equation above is written for the axial component 𝐸𝑧 of the electric field vector.
Similar equations can be written for the other five components of E and H.
However, it is not necessary to solve all six equations since only two
components out of six are independent. It is customary to choose 𝐸𝑧 and 𝐻𝑧 as
the independent components and obtain Eρ, Eφ, Hρ, and Hφ in terms of them.

Fiber modes
Using the method of separation of variables and writing 𝐸𝑧 as
we obtain the three ordinary differential equations:
(1)
(2)
(3)
Equation (1) has a solution of the form Z = exp(iβz), where β has the physical
significance of the propagation constant. Similarly, the second equation has a solution
Φ = exp(imφ), but the constant m is restricted to take only integer values since the field
must be periodic in φ with a period of 2π.

Fiber modes
The third equation is the well-known differential equation satisfied by the Bessel
functions.
The general solution of the cylindrical wave equation
is thus of the form

is core radius
The same method can be used to obtain 𝐻𝑧 . Indeed, the solution is the same but with
different constants B and D, that is
The other four components Eρ, Eφ, Hρ, and Hφ can be expressed in terms of 𝐸𝑧 and 𝐻𝑧
by using Maxwell’s equations.

Fiber modes
𝐽𝑚 , and 𝐾𝑚 are different types of Bessel functions. Note that A, B, C, and D are the only
unknowns.
Boundary conditions: Ez, Hz, Eφ, and Hφ should be continuous across the core-cladding
interface
Continuity of Ez and Hz at 𝜌 = 𝑎 leads to
𝐴𝐽𝑚 𝑝𝑎 = 𝐶𝐾𝑚 𝑞𝑎 ; 𝐵𝐽𝑚 𝑝𝑎 = 𝐷𝐾𝑚 𝑞𝑎
Continuity of Eφ and Hφ provides two more equations
Four equations lead to the eigenvalue equation

Fiber modes
For a given set of parameters a, 𝑘0 , 𝑛1 , and 𝑛2 , this eigenvalue equation can be

solved numerically to give values of the propagation constant β. We may obtain
multiple (say n) solutions for each integer value of m. We denote these solutions, for
each m, as β𝑚1 , …., β𝑚𝑛 (𝜔).
Each set of m and n values corresponds to a unique propagation mode, identified by
a unique spatial distribution and corresponding propagation constant β𝑚𝑛 . Since the field
distribution does not change with propagation (z), except for phase shifts (and satisfies
all boundary conditions), this is a “fiber mode”!
In general, both E𝐳 and H𝒛 are non-zero (except when m = 0), in contrast with planar
waveguides, where one of these can be taken to be zero. Fiber modes are thus referred
to as hybrid modes. We refer to these fiber modes as HE𝑚𝑛 or EH𝑚𝑛 depending on
whether H𝑧 or E𝑧 dominates.
In the special case when m = 0, the modes are also called TE0𝑛 and T𝑀0𝑛 modes,
corresponding to transverse electric (i.e., E𝐳 = 0) and transverse magnetic (H𝐳 = 0) modes,
respectively.

Fiber modes
The lowest order mode is HE11 , which exists for all wavelengths.
The z-components of the E or H fields for the HE11 mode are quite small (for small ∆
where ∆ = (𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 − 𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑑 )/𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 ), and the E𝑥 or E𝑦 component is dominating. This mode
is essentially linearly polarized.
The HE11 mode is often referred to as the LP 01 mode. LP means ”linearly polarized”
Diagram below shows fundamental and higher order linearly polarized modes
Source: RP Photonics

V-parameter
Noting that 𝑝2 + 𝑞 2 = (𝑛12 − 𝑛22 )𝑘02 , we introduce the dimensionless V parameter as

𝑎 𝜔
𝑉 = 𝑘0 𝑎 𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2 = 2𝜋 𝑁𝐴 ≈ 𝑎𝑛1 2∆ where ∆ = (𝑛1 − 𝑛2 )/𝑛1
𝜆0 𝑐
where a : core radius
𝜆0 : wavelength in vacuum
𝑛1 : the maximum refractive index of the core
𝑛2 : the refractive index of the cladding
NA : the numerical aperture
For single-mode operation is required that V < 2.405, which is the first root of
Bessel function 𝐽0
For large V, approximately 𝑉 2 /2 modes are guided. Number of modes increases rapidly
with V parameter.
Example: The single-mode condition
A multimode fiber with a = 25 μm and Δ = 0.005 has a value of V = 18 at λ = 1.3 mm. It
then supports 182 /2 = 162 modes
Single-mode fibers are often designed to have a cut-off at λ = 1.2 μm. By taking 𝑛1 =
1.45, Δ = 0.004, we find that the required core radius a = 4 μm

Fundamental fiber mode
Use of Bessel functions is not always practical.

For single mode operation, the 𝐻𝐸11 mode (called the fundamental mode) is the only
mode allowed. Thus, single mode implies that 𝑇𝐸01 , 𝑇𝑀01 , and 𝐻𝐸21 can not be
supported.
V < 2.405 is a necessary condition for single mode operation
It is possible to approximate spatial distribution of 𝐻𝐸11 mode with a Gaussian for V in the
range 1 to 2.5.
Spot size w depends on V parameter

Types of optical fiber
We can subdivide the different types of optical fiber in many ways, for example:
Material
Plastic, glass, polymer.
Mode of Propagation
Single-mode or multimode.
Refractive index profile
Step-index and graded index.
There are also other more “specialised” fibers, such as photonic crystal fibers, holey
fibers and multicore fibers
Different fiber types Multimode fiber Single mode fiber

Multimode fiber types

Types of optical fiber
Optical fibers are available in a variety of forms, each developed for different types of
applications:
Material
Plastic, glass, polymer.
The fibers used in optical communications are usually all silica (SiO2), with the
core and/or the cladding lightly doped to change its refractive index such that
the core has a slightly higher refractive index than the cladding.
Mode of Propagation
Single-mode fibers
Multimode fibers
Refractive index profile
Step-index fibers: The core may have a constant refractive index, resulting in a step
discontinuity in refractive index at the core/cladding interface.
graded index: the core may have a predetermined refractive index profile that
decreases with radial distance from the core center.
There are also other more “specialised” fibers, such as photonic crystal fibers, holey
fibers and multicore fibers

Single mode fibers (SMF)
Single-mode fibers (also called monomode fibers) are optical fibers which are designed
such that they support only a single propagation mode. For single mode operation, 𝐻𝐸11 is
the only mode allowed.
The fiber is used for high bandwidths, and long distances.
SMF has a much smaller core size, between 8-10 microns (µm).
No inherent distance limitations caused by modal distortions
Can easily transmit a signal several thousand kilometers (with appropriate
amplification), without requiring regeneration.
Typically supports distances of ~80km even without amplification
Small core diameter, requiring very high precision at the connections, as the use of laser
source.
Figure taken from Rozenn Diehl & Rene Reimann, ETH Zurich photonics laboratory

Single mode fibers
Single-mode fibers have small cores (about 3.5 x 10-4 inches or 9 microns in diameter)
and transmit infrared laser light (wavelength = 1300 nm to 1550 nm).
Multi-mode fibers have larger cores (about 2.5 x 10-3 inches or 62.5 microns in
diameter) and transmit infrared light (wavelength = 850 to 1,300 nm) from light emitting
diodes (LEDs).
Some optical fibers can be made from plastic. These fibers have a large core (0.04
inches or 1 mm diameter) and transmit visible red light (wavelength = 650 nm) from
LEDs.

Multimode fibers (MMF)
We can analyse optical fibers using electromagnetic theory, i.e. solution of the wave
equation (derived from Maxwell’s equations) for a cylindrical system. However, the
simplest model of light is based on the assumption that light propagates as a ray.
Whenever an optical component has dimensions that are significantly larger than the
wavelength of the light, we can use geometrical optics (also known as ray optics) to
analyse that component. This works for multimode fibers.
Multimode fibers have a large diametral core that allows multiple modes of light to
propagate. The core diameter is typically 50 μm or 62.5 μm, which is significantly bigger
than the wavelength of light used (of the order of 1 μm). This allows the use of less
precisely focused, aimed, and calibrated light sources. But this comes at the expensive of
long-distance reach.
In multimode fibers “Modal distortions” typically limit distances to “tens to hundreds” of
meters.

Step-Index fibers
Fiber with a core of constant refractive index n𝟏 and a cladding of slightly lower refractive
index n𝟐 . Refractive index profile makes a step change at the core-cladding interface.
Step-Index Multimode Fiber due to its large core, some of the light rays that make up the
digital pulse may travel a direct route, whereas others zigzag as they bounce off the
cladding. These alternate paths cause the different groups of light rays, referred to as
modes, to arrive separately at the receiving point. The pulse, an aggregate of different
modes, begins to spread out, losing its well-defined shape. The need to leave spacing
between pulses to prevent overlapping limits the amount of information that can be sent.
This type of fiber is best suited for transmission over short distances.
Many fibers of practical interest do not have a step-index profile!
Note: the different colors

are used simply to show
different ray paths.

Graded-index fibers
Modal dispersion can be greatly reduced by making multimode fibers with graded-index
fibers. In the graded index fiber the refractive index is not uniform within the core, it is
highest at the center and decreases smoothly and continuously with distance towards the
cladding. The refractive index profile across the core takes the parabolic nature. The
higher refractive index at the center makes the light rays moving down the axis advance
more slowly than those near the cladding. Light in the core curves helically rather than
zigzag off the cladding, reducing its travel distance. The shortened path and the higher
speed allow light at the periphery to arrive at a receiver at about the same time as the
slow but straight rays in the core axis. As the result the signal suffers less dispersion.
Figure taken from Rozenn Diehl & Rene Reimann, ETH Zurich photonics laboratory

Dispersion physical meaning
The pulse distortion from dispersion leads to inter-symbol interference (ISI): Neighboring
pulses will broaden and overlap difficult to identify ‘0’ and ‘1’.
Impulse broadened by:

∆𝑡𝑔 = 𝐷𝐿∆𝜆
Figure taken from Christopher R. Moylan lecture, University of California, Total width
Santa Cruz Half-power width
Dispersion mechanisms
Modal (or intermodal) dispersion
Chromatic dispersion (CD)
Polarization mode dispersion (PMD)

Modal dispersion
For short-distance optical fiber communications, multimode fibers are often preferred
over single-mode fibers, because they can accept light from simpler light sources (e.g.
light emitting diodes (LEDs) ), and their alignment (e.g. in fiber connectors) is less critical.
However, the possible data rates and/or transmission distances achievable with such
fibers is limited by the phenomenon of modal dispersion. When numerous fiber modes
are propagating different modes travel different paths, some longer than others, resulting
in a spreading of the light pulse. This spreading of light pulse is called modal dispersion.
“Modal distortions” typically limit distances to “tens to hundreds” of meters.
Multimode dispersion does not depend on the source linewidth (even a single wavelength
can be simultaneously carried by multiple modes in a waveguide).
Multimode dispersion would not occur if the waveguide allows only one mode to
propagate - the advantage of single mode fibers!

Modal dispersion
Pulse broadening
Modal dispersion
rays arrive at different

times
Different modes arrive at the receiver with different delays => pulse broadening

Chromatic dispersion
The main advantage of single-mode fibers is to propagate only one mode so that modal
dispersion is absent. However, pulse broadening does not disappear altogether. The
group velocity associated with the fundamental mode is frequency dependent within the
pulse spectral linewidth because of chromatic dispersion.
If we have a pulse of light which is not monochromatic (it contains a group of
wavelengths), then we will have chromatic dispersion. These different spectral
components of a pulse travel at different group velocities. The propagation delay
differences among the spectral components of the transmitted signal causes pulse
broadening. This is also known as group velocity dispersion (GVD).
Chromatic dispersion in single mode fibers:
Different wavelengths(“colors”) inside

the same mode propagate with
different velocities, thereby increasing
the output impulse width.
Figure taken from Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freude lecture, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

Spectral width
Real sources emit over a range of wavelengths. This range is the source linewidth or
spectral width. The smaller is the linewidth, the smaller the spread in wavelengths or
frequencies, the more coherent is the source. A perfectly coherent source emits light at a
single wavelength is zero linewidth and is perfectly monochromatic.
intensity
Spectral linewidth of optical

source

Light pulse in dispersive media
All optical sources (including lasers) have a finite spectral width.

Consider an optical pulse launched into a single mode fiber. Due to the spectral width
of the source, this pulse consists of a group of wavelengths which travel at the group
velocity:
Vg = dω dβ =𝑐 𝑛𝑔 where 𝑛𝑔 is group index
Optical pulse
Propagation: 𝑒 −𝑗𝛽(𝜔)𝑍
So the time taken for the wavegroup to travel a distance L along the fiber is given by the
group delay 𝑇
𝑑β
𝑇=𝐿 𝑉 =𝐿 𝑑𝜔
𝑔

Group-Velocity Dispersion (GVD)
Consider a single mode fiber of length L

A specific spectral component at the frequency ω (or wavelength λ) would arrive at the
output end of the fiber after a time delay:
T = L vg
If Δ𝜆 is the spectral width of an optical pulse, the extent of pulse broadening for a fiber of
length L is given by
𝐿 1
𝑑 𝑑
𝑑𝑇 vg vg
∆𝑇 = Δ𝜆 = Δ𝜆 = 𝐿 Δ𝜆
𝑑𝜆 𝑑𝜆 𝑑𝜆
Hence the pulse broadening due to a differential time delay is
∆𝑇 = 𝐿𝐷Δ𝜆
1
Where 𝐷 = 𝑑( )/d𝜆 is called the dispersion parameter and is expressed in units of
vg
ps/(km-nm).

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD)
Light being transmitted through a fiber is generally composed from light of two
perpendicular polarization modes. These polarization modes propagate at different
speeds according to a slow and a fast axis induced by the birefringence of the fiber.
PMD is caused by imperfection in shape of the fiber (not perfectly circular). In non-perfect
fiber the orthogonal polarization modes travel at different speeds. This results in
Differential Group Delay (DGD).

PMD
The refractive index difference is known as birefringence.

𝐵 = 𝑛𝑥 − 𝑛𝑦
assuming 𝑛𝑥 > 𝑛𝑦 , y is the fast axis and x is the slow axis.
𝐵 varies randomly because of thermal and mechanical stresses over time (due to
randomly varying environmental factors in submarine terrestrial, aerial, and buried fiber
cables).
A simple model of PMD divides the fiber into a large number of segments. Both the
magnitude of birefringence B and the orientation of the principal axes remain constant in
each section but changes randomly from section to section.
PMD pulse broadening: ∆𝑇𝑃𝑀𝐷 = 𝐷𝑃𝑀𝐷 𝐿

𝐷𝑃𝑀𝐷 is the PMD parameter (coefficient) measured in ps/ 𝑘𝑚.
𝐿 models the “random” nature (like “random walk”)

Limitations due to dispersion
Fiber dispersion results in optical pulse broadening and pulse broadening limits fiber
bandwidth (data rate)
We can relate the pulse broadening ΔT to the information-carrying capacity of the fiber
measured through the bit rate B.
Although a precise relation between B and ΔT depends on many details, such as the
pulse shape, it is intuitively clear that ΔT should be less than the allocated bit time slot
given by 1/B.
An order-of-magnitude estimate of the supported bit rate is obtained from the
condition 𝐵Δ𝑇 < 1.
Bit-rate distance product (limited by modal dispersion)
𝐵𝐿 < 2 𝑐 𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 /(𝑁𝐴)2
This condition provides a rough estimate of a fundamental limitation of step-index

multimode fibers (smaller the NA larger the bit-rate distance product).

Chromatic dispersion in low-bit-rate systems
Recall broadening of the light pulse due to chromatic dispersion

∆T = 𝐷𝐿∆𝜆
Consider the maximum pulse broadening equals to the bit time period 1/𝐵, then the
dispersion-limited distance is
𝐿𝐷 = 1/𝐷𝐵∆𝜆
Example: For D = 17 ps/(km-nm), B = 2.5 Gb/s and Δλ = 0.03 nm, then 𝐿𝐷 = 784 km
It is known that dispersion limits a 2.5 Gbit/s channel to roughly 900 km! Therefore,
chromatic dispersion is not much of an issue in low-bit-rate systems.
Chromatic dispersion in high-bit-rate systems

When upgrading from 2.5 to 10 Gbit/s systems, the main challenge is chromatic
dispersion. Increasing the bit rate by a factor of 4 i.e. from 2.5 to 10 Gbit/s, increases the
effect of chromatic dispersion by a factor of 16!. This effect limits the transmission
distance!
𝐿𝐷 ∝ 1/𝐵2
Using an optimized NRZ pulse shape, a 10 Gbit/s can be transmitted over approximately
80km.
Since the impact of CD scales with the square of the symbol rate, a 20 Gbit/s signal can
be transmitted over 20km

Fiber loss
One of the important property of optical fiber is signal attenuation. It is also known as
fiber loss or signal loss. Attenuation is a measure of decay of signal strength or loss of
light power that occurs as light pulses propagate through the length of the fiber.
As light travels down an optical fiber, its power (in mW) decreases exponentially
according to Beer’s law:
𝑃 𝑍 = 𝑃(0)𝑒 −𝛼 𝐿
P(z): power at a distance z along the fiber

P(0): power at input to fiber
𝛼: attenuation constant (per unit length)
Optical fiber

Fiber loss
Hence, for a fiber of length L, the attenuation in dB is:
𝑃 𝐿
10
𝛼 𝑑𝐵 𝑘𝑚 = − 𝑙𝑜𝑔10
𝑃 0
≈ 4.343𝛼
𝐿
In optical fibers the attenuation is mainly caused by two physical factors absorption and
scattering losses. Absorption is because of fiber material and scattering due to structural
imperfection within the fiber. Nearly 90 % of total attenuation is caused by Rayleigh
scattering only.
Silica-based glass fibers have losses less than 0.2dB/km (i.e. 95 % launched power
remains after 1 km of fiber transmission). This is essentially the fundamental lower limit
for attenuation in silica based glass fibers.
The signal attenuation of fiber determines the maximum distance between transmitter
and receiver. The attenuation also determines the number of repeaters required,
maintaining repeater is a costly affair.

Absorption
Absorption is a loss mechanism related to both the material composition and the
fabrication process for the fiber. The optical power is lost as heat in the fiber.
The light absorption can be intrinsic (due to the material components of the glass) or
extrinsic (due to impurities introduced into the glass during fabrication)
Pure silica-based glass has two major intrinsic absorption mechanisms at optical
wavelengths:
A fundamental UV absorption edge: the peaks are centered in the ultraviolet
wavelength region. This is due to the electron transitions within the glass molecules.
A fundamental infrared and far-infrared absorption edge: due to molecular
vibrations (such as Si-O). The tail of these absorption peaks may extend into the
longer wavelengths of the fiber transmission spectral window.
Major extrinsic loss mechanism is caused by absorption due to water (as the hydroxyl or
OH − ions) introduced in the glass fiber during fiber pulling by means of oxyhydrogen
flame. These OH − ions are bonded into the glass structure and have absorption peaks
(due to molecular vibrations) at 1.39 µm. The fundamental vibration of the OH- ions
appear at 2.73 µm.
Since these OH − absorption peaks are sharply peaked, narrow spectral windows
exist around 1.3 µm and 1.55 µm which are essentially unaffected by OH −
absorption.

Absorption
Intrinsic absorption Extrinsic absorption

Rayleigh scattering
Scattering results in attenuation (in the form of radiation) as the scattered light may not
continue to satisfy the total internal reflection in the fiber core. One major type of
scattering is known as Rayleigh scattering.
Rayleigh scattering results from random inhomogeneities that are small in size compared
with the wavelength.
These inhomogeneities exist in the form of refractive index fluctuations which are frozen
into the amorphous glass fiber upon fiber pulling. Such fluctuations always exist and
cannot be avoided !
Rayleigh scattering results in an attenuation (dB/km) ∝ 1/λ4
At 𝜆 = 1.55 𝜇𝑚 Rayleigh scattering leads to losses of around 0.12 - 0.16 dB/km and
represent the dominant loss mechanism. Rayleigh scattering can be reduced by
increasing the wavelength. This needs, however, materials with low IR absorption for
wavelengths beyond 2𝜇𝑚.
The scattered ray can escape by refraction according to Snell’s Law

Nonlinear effects
Refractive index of the fiber depends up on frequency and power of the signal
𝐧(𝝎, 𝑷)
Dispersion Nonlinearities
A phenomenon is ”nonlinear” when

Superposition does not apply
The phenomenon is changed by an amplitude (power) change
In nonlinear optics, light cannot be viewed as a superposition of independently
propagating spectral components
Spectral components interact
New frequencies can be generated, existing components can lose power

Nonlinear effects
High power causes fiber nonlinearity
Problem!
Fiber optic link
High input power = high SNR
Power at transmitter
The nonlinear trade-off:

Low power: System is limited by noise
High power: System is limited by
nonlinearities
The figure shows that the SNR is proportional to the input power
Clearly, higher input power is always better!?!
No, actually it is not.

Nonlinear effects
At high optical intensities, light will interact with matter in a nonlinear way.
Effects of high optical power in optical fibers:
Permanent damage of fibers
At the optical power of > 𝟐 𝑾 single mode fiber can be damaged permanently
Optical Kerr effect
The light signal propagating in optical fiber produces the electric field that changes
the index of refraction of the material (fused silica)
The change in index in turn changes the signal field
The change in index of refraction is proportional to the square of the field magnitude
(optical intensity)

Nonlinear effects
The Kerr-effect gives rise to

Self-phase modulation (SPM)
The field of the incident wave modulates its own phase.
Causes spectral broadening
Cross-phase modulation (XPM)
Causes frequency shift of other WDM channels
The presence of a strong wave oscillating at frequency 𝜔1 imposes a phase shift
onto a second wave, oscillating at 𝜔2 . Strong wave
Limits WDM systems performance
Four-wave mixing (FWM)

Causes power exchange between WDM channels
New frequency components are generated by third-order nonlinear interaction of
two or three waves.
Limits WDM system performance

Dispersion-shifted and dispersion-flattened fibers
For conventional single-mode optical fiber:
minimum attenuation occurs at 1.55 µm
minimum dispersion occurs at 1.3 µm
Furthermore, optical amplifiers operate in the 1.55 µm region
In response to this, dispersion modified fibers have been developed to provide minimal
dispersion at 1.55 µm
Structure dependent losses (waveguide losses) have little effect on overall attenuation,
so changing the refractive index profile in single-mode fiber will have negligible impact
on attenuation. However, changing the refractive index will modify the waveguide
dispersion term, and this can be used to our advantage.
In fact, the refractive index profile can be tailored to shift the dispersion zero to 1.55 µm
or to flatten the dispersion vs. wavelength profile so that dispersion is almost zero
between 1.3 µm and 1.55 µm

Dispersion-shifted and dispersion-flattened fibers
Since the waveguide contribution depends on the fiber parameters such as the core
radius a and the index difference ∆, it is possible to design the fiber such that zero-
dispersion wavelength is shifted into the neighborhood of 1.55 nm. Such fibers are called
dispersion-shifted fibers.
It is also possible to tailor the waveguide contribution such that the total dispersion is
relatively small over a wide wavelength range extending from 1.3 to 1.6 𝜇𝑚. Such fibers
are called dispersion-flattened fibers.
The design of dispersion-modified fibers often involves the use of multiple cladding layers
and a tailoring of the refractive index profile.
Spectral loss of optical fibers
Fiber loss as a function of wavelength: minimum loss at 1550 nm.
The availability of low-loss fibers led to a revolution in the field of lightwave technology
and started the era of fiber-optic communications.
72 ECEg4302 Ambo Institute of Technology

Telecom windows
Optical fiber communications typically operate in a wavelength region corresponding to

one of the following “telecom windows”:
The first window at 800–900 nm was originally used. GaAs/AlGaAs-based laser
diodes and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) served as transmitters, and silicon
photodiodes were suitable for the receivers. However, the fiber losses are relatively
high in this region, and fiber amplifiers are not well developed for this spectral
region. Therefore, the first telecom window is suitable only for short-distance
transmission.
The second telecom window utilizes wavelengths around 1.3 μm, where the loss of
silica fibers is much lower and the fibers' chromatic dispersion is very weak, so that
dispersive broadening is minimized. This window was originally used for long-haul
transmission. However, fiber amplifiers for 1.3 μm (based on, e.g. on
praseodymium-doped glass) are not as good as their 1.5-μm counterparts based on
erbium. Also, low dispersion is not necessarily ideal for long-haul transmission, as it
can increase the effect of optical nonlinearities.
The third telecom window, which is now very widely used, utilizes wavelengths
around 1.5 μm. The losses of silica fibers are lowest in this region, and erbium-
doped fiber amplifiers are available which offer very high performance. Fiber
dispersion is usually anomalous but can be tailored with great flexibility (dispersion-
shifted fibers).

Telecom windows
The 1st window: 850 nm, attenuation 4 dB/km

The 2nd window: 1300 nm, attenuation 0.5 dB/km
The 3rd window: 1550 nm, attenuation 0.2 dB/km
1550 nm window is today’s standard long-haul communication wavelengths.

Summary
Optical fiber
Transmission channel for optical communications
High data rates and low attenuation
Most commonly used fiber material is silica (SiO2)
Fiber modes
Solutions to Maxwell’s equations and boundary conditions
One mode: single-mode fibre
Several modes: multimode fiber
Fiber impairments
Fiber loss
Chromatic dispersion
Polarization mode dispersion
Nonlinear effects

Summary
Based on number of
Optical fibers modes supported
Based on refractive
index profile
Single-mode (step index ) fibers

Do not have modal dispersion (because they are single mode)
Small core radius, difficult to launch light
Chromatic dispersion and polarization mode dispersion exist
Multimode (step index) fibers
Exhibit modal dispersion
Large core radius, easy to launch light

Summary
Multimode (Graded index) fiber

Minimises modal dispersion
Parabolic index profile
Dispersion: distorts signal
Modal Dispersion
Also called Intermodal Dispersion
Occurs in Multimode fibers NOT in single-mode
Chromatic Dispersion
Also called Intramodal Dispersion
Occurs in single-mode and multimode fibers
Two types: material dispersion and
waveguide dispersion
Material dispersion
Due to nonlinear wavelength dependence of refractive index with wavelength
Waveguide dispersion
Due to light propagating in cladding of fiber, can be engineered with different
refractive index profiles

01 Optical Fibers

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01 Optical Fibers

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Ambo Institute of Technology

Optics and Optical Communications

Academic year: 2020/21

Ambo Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Ambo Institute of Technology Ambo

Lecture: Wednesdays 8:30 – 9:10 am, 10:10 – 10:50 am

Fridays 3:10 – 3:50 pm, 4:50 – 5:30 pm

Lecture room: LH-5

Credit hours: 5 ECTS

Contents: – Optical fibers (fiber types, impairments)

– Optical transmitters and receivers

– WDM and TDM systems

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Optics can be categorized as:

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propagation of light rays through simple optical

In many applications of interest the wavelength λ

propagations of light waves through optical

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Electromagnetic optics: description of light waves in terms of electric and

Quantum optics: emission/absorption of photons, which are characteristically

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Bright bands (fringes): interference maxima

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According to James clerk Maxwell (1850),

Light propagates as wave having a wavelength λ.

The speed of light in vacuum is 𝑐 = 2.99792458𝑥108 m/s James clerk Maxwell,

Discovered experimentally the existence of electromagnetic waves at radio-

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Black body radiation and

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or ‘photon’ has energy 𝑊 = ℎ𝑓 = ћ𝜔 where ℎ = 6.6260755𝑥10−34 𝑊𝑠

Wave theory does not describe the absorption of light by

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Einstein (1905) – used Plank’s idea to show that in the photoelectric

Further, it was shown by de Broglie that each particle having

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Expectations based on classical EM theory:

The energy of emitted electron should increase

No dependence of the frequency in the

Sufficiently dim light  time lag

No intensity dependent: Electrons can be pulled

Credit: Prof. Dr. Carsten Rockstuhl, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

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Optical communication link

Laser + modulator Photodiode + amplifier +..

Figure taken from Prof. Dr.-Ing C. Koos lecture notes, IPQ

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Electrical reception is by far more sensitive.

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Decibel (dB) expresses a power ratio according to

dBm expresses the absolute power on a log scale relative to 1 mW

dBm = 10log10 (p/1mW)

Examples: Power (P):

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Structure of optical fibers

Multimode fiber Single mode fiber

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Boundary between two optical media leads to reflection and refraction: