INTRODUCTION TO OPTICAL FIBRE COMMUNICATIONS (Fibre Structure and Wavelength Fundamentals)

1.0 Introduction
An optical telegraph was built by Claude Chappe in 1790s in France. In 1870, John Tyndall demonstrated the principle of guiding light through internal reflections. In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell invented the photophone, which used unguided light to carry speech. A major breakthrough leading to high capacity optical communications was achieved with the invention of laser in 1960. The laser acted as a narrowband source of optical radiation suitable for use as a carrier of information. In 1966, Charles K. Kao at Standard Telecommunications Laboratories, England fabricated a low loss glass fibre, giving a loss of 1000 dB/km or so. Such a fibre could transmit light for a short distance only. But Kao suggested that purer glass materials would permit the use of fibre for longer transmission lengths. Kao had shown that it would be possible to transmit light signals over long distance using glass fibre and modulated infrared light. In 1970 Corning glass works, U.S.A. developed a low loss fibre giving a loss of 20dB/Km. This was the second major breakthrough to make optical communication a practical reality. By 1972, losses were reduced to 4dB/km. Today, the best fibres have a loss of < 0.2 dB/km. The information travels from the transmitter to the receiver over the information channel. There are basically two types of information channels: unguided or guided channels. Atmosphere is an unguided type of channel over which waves can propagate. Guided channels are those which guide the electromagnetic waves through them. Two wire lines, coaxial cable, waveguide and optic fibre are the examples of Guided information channels. Guided channels have the advantages of privacy, no weather dependence and the ability to convey messages within, under and around physical structures. An optical fiber is a thin strand of glass or plastic serving as the transmission medium over which the information passes. The basic fiberoptic system is a link connecting optical transmitter and receiver. Transmitter

It converts an electrical signal into a light signal. The source is either a lightemitting diode or laser diode which does the actual conversion. The drive circuitry changes the electrical signal fed to the transmitter into a form suitable for the source.

FiberOptic Cable

It is the medium for carrying the light. The cable includes the fibers and its protective coverings.

Receiver

It accepts the light and converts it back into an electrical signal. The generator amplifies, reshapes the signal before passing it on. The range of wavelengths in the visible region extends from 0.4 m to 0.7 m. The visible range is not suitable for light transmission through glass fiber. In this region, the waves are attenuated to such an extent that only short transmission links are possible. Losses in the ultraviolet region are even greater. It is the infrared region from 0.8 m to 1.6 m which is used for fiber optic transmission.

1.1 Advantages of Fibers 1.1.1 Wide Bandwidth

The information carrying capacity which increases with the bandwidth of the transmission medium, is very large in fibers. The bandwidth available on a pair of single mode fibers is in the order of several GHz. Thus, thousands of circuits can be carried on the fibers whether the information is voice, data or video or a combination of these.

1.1.2 Low Loss

Bandwidth is an effective indication of the rate at which information can be sent. Loss indicates how far the information can be sent. As a signal travels along a transmission path the signal loses strength. This loss of strength is known as attenuation. In a copper cable, attenuation increases with the modulation frequency: the higher the frequency of the information signal, the greater is the loss. In an optical fibre, attenuation is flat: loss is the same at any signaling frequency until a very high frequency. Thus, the problem of loss is much more in a copper cable as information carrying capacity increases. Fig.1 shows the loss characteristics Vs the channel bandwidth for fibres, and coaxial cable. Loss in coaxial cable increases with frequency, whereas loss in the optical cable remains flat.

Fig. 1 Attenuation versus Frequency (BW) The loss at very high frequencies in the optical fibre does not result from additional attenuation of the light by the fibre. The loss is caused by loss of information, not by optical power, but due to the variation of the optical power. At very high frequencies, distortion causes a reduction or loss of this information.

1.1.3 Electromagnetic Immunity

Optic fibres are insulators. No electric current flows through them, either due to the transmitted signal or due to external radiation striking the fibre. For these reasons, fibres do not radiate or pickup electromagnetic radiation as in copper cables. Any copper conductor acts like an antenna, either transmitting or receiving energy. Since fibers do not radiate or receive electromagnetic energy, they make an ideal transmission medium. As a consequence to fibre's electromagnetic immunity, signals do not become distorted by EMI. Fibres offer very high standards in error free transmission.

1.1.4 Small Size

Fibres are hair thin in size. Fibers covered with protective coverings are still smaller than the equivalent copper conductor. The small size of fibre optic cables makes them attractive for applications where space is at a premium.

1.1.5 Light Weight

A glass fibre weighs considerably less than a copper conductor. A fibreoptic cable with the same information carrying as a copper cable weighs less than the copper cable. Weight savings are important in such applications as aircraft and automobiles.

1.1.6 Greater Safety

A fibre is a dielectric. It does not carry electricity. If the cable is damaged, it does not present any spark or fire hazard, so it cannot cause explosions or fires as a faulty copper cable can. Moreover, it does not attract lightning. The fiberoptic cable can be run through hazardous areas.

1.1.7 Higher Security

Fibre optics is a highly secure transmission medium, because the fibres do not radiate energy that can be received by a nearby antenna without getting detected. It is also extremely difficult to tap a fibre.

2.0 Basic Fibre Construction 2.1

An optical fibre has two concentric layers called the core and the cladding. The inner core carries the light. The refractive index of core is slightly higher than the cladding. The typical value of refractive index of core is between 1.48 to 1.5. The index of cladding is 1% lower than that of the core; the typical values being 1.46 to 1.48. The difference in index in core and cladding allows total internal reflection of light through the core. Most fibres have an additional coating around the cladding. The primary function of the additional coatings which are made of polymer is to protect the core and cladding from shocks that might affect the optical or physical properties of the fiber. The coatings do not have any optical property so as to affect light propagation within the fibre.

2.1.1 Light Propagation in Optical Fibres

The speed of light is actually the velocity of electromagnetic energy in a vacuum such as space. The speed of light in other materials such as glass, plastic is less. The speed of light changes when it travels from one material to another, resulting in light changing its direction of travel. This deflection of light is called refraction. Furthermore different wavelengths of light travel at different speeds in the same material.

2.1.2 The index of refraction denoted by n, is a dimensionless number expressing the

ratio of the velocity of light c in free space to its velocity v in a specific material : n = c/v The refractive indices of some selected materials are shown in Table 1 below. The index of glass can be changed by controlling its composition.

Table I Refractive Indices of Various Materials Material Vacuum Air Water Fused Quartz Glass Diamond Silicon Gallium Arsenide Index (n) 1.0 1.0003 1.33 1.46 1.5 2.0 3.4 3.6 Light velocity (Km/s) 300,000 300,000 225,000 205,000 200,000 150,000 88,000 83,000

2.1.3 Even when light passes from one index to another, a small portion is always reflected
back into the first material. This reflection is known as Fresnel reflection. For light passing from air to glass, reflection loss is about 0.17 dB. The relationship between the incident and refracted ray is clearly brought out by Snell's law which states: n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2 where n1, n2 are the refractive indices of the two materials and 1, 2 are the angles of incidence and refraction respectively. Critical angle of incidence c where 2 = 90 is c arc Sin (n2/n1) = At angles greater than c the light is reflected back. These simple principles of reflection and refraction form the basis of light propagation through the optical fibre. The amount that a ray of light is refracted depends on the refractive indices of the two materials. Light passing from a lower refractive index to a higher one is bent towards the normal, an imaginary line perpendicular to the interface of the two materials. But light going from a higher index to a lower one refracts away from the normal, as shown in Fig.2.

Fig. 2 Principles of Refraction As the angle of incidence (the angle between the incident ray and the normal) increases, the angle of refraction approaches 90 to the normal. The angle of incidence that yields an angle of refraction (angle between the refracted ray and the normal) as 90 is known as critical angle. If the angle of incidence increases further (beyond critical angle), the light is totally reflected back into the first material so that it does not enter the second material. The angles of incidence and reflection are equal. The fibre uses a circular configuration such that n2 surrounds n1.

2.1.4 Figure 3 shows the propagation of light through a circular fibre with refractive indices of
core and cladding being n1, n2 respectively and n1>n2. There are three possibilities of ray striking the corecladding interface. (a) Light ray 1 injected into the fibre and striking the coretocladding interface at an angle greater than the critical angle. This is totally reflected back into the core. Since the angles of incidence and reflection are equal, the reflected light will again be reflected. The light will continue zigzagging down the length of the fibre. Light ray 2 strikes the core cladding interface at an angle less than the critical angle. Such a ray continues travelling to cladding. It then strikes the outer surface of the cladding at an angle greater than the critical angle of incidence, so it is reflected back into the cladding. It will then reenter the core, pass through the cladding on the opposite side and is reflected again into the cladding and then to core. The cladding is usually inefficient as a light carrier, and the light in the cladding becomes attenuated fairly rapidly. Such a ray does not contribute to the light energy travelling to the distant end, and it is lost over distance. Light ray 3 strikes the core cladding interface at an angle less than the critical angle, so it is refracted into the cladding, where it meets the claddingair interface at angle less than the critical angle of incidence for claddingair. This ray escapes into air and does not contribute to light propagation in the fibre. Fig. 3

(b)

(c)

Light Propagation through Fibre In the aforesaid analysis, it is made clear that the injected light should meet the coretocladding interface at angles greater than the critical angle so that light is totally reflected internally and travels down the length of the fibre. The propagation of light is governed by the indices of the core and cladding and by Snell's law. This analysis has considered only meridional rays those that pass through the fibre axis each time they are reflected. Other rays, called Skew rays, travel down the fibre without passing through the axis. The path of a Skew ray is typically helical, wrapping around and around the central axis. Such a ray is ignored.

2.2

Optical Fibre Classification 2.2.1 The optical fibres can be classified in three ways :
Material Size (or Mode) Refractive Index

2.2.2 Material Classification

One way of classifying the fibres is by their material make up. Glass fibres have a glass core and glass cladding. They are most widely used. The glass used in fibres is ultrapure, ultratransparent silicon dioxide or fused quartz. Impurities such as germanium, phosphorus, boron or fluorine are added to the pure glass to achieve the desired refractive index. Plasticclad Silica (PCS) fibres have a glass core and plastic cladding. The performance of this type of fibre is not as good as all glass fibres. Plastic fibres have a plastic core and plastic cladding. Plastic fibres have high losses and very low bandwidths but are inexpensive. Plastic and PCS fibres do not have protective coatings surrounding the cladding.

2.2.3 Classification According to Size (or Mode)

The second way to classify fibres is by the size (core diameter) or modes in fibre. Mode is a mathematical and physical concept describing the propagation of electromagnetic waves through media. Mode theory derives from Maxwell's equations. For the purpose of understanding the concept we shall define the mode simply as a path that a light ray can follow in travelling down a fibre. The number of modes supported by a fibre ranges from 1 to over 1,00,000. Thus, an optical fibre provides a path of travels for one or thousands of light rays depending on its size and properties. Multimode Fibre is characterized by relatively large core diameters. Typical values of core diameters are 50, 62.5, 80, 100 micrometers. A multimode fibre supports more than one propagating mode. Single Mode Fibre supports only a single propagating mode. It is characterized by small core diameters ranging from 4 to 10 micrometers. Fig.4 shows crosssection of the core and cladding diameters of four commonly used single and multimode fibres.

Fig. 4 Typical Core and Cladding Diameters

2.2.4 Classification According to Refractive Index Profile

The refractive index profile describes the relationship between the indices of the core and cladding. There are two main relationships existing in fibre optics: Step Index and Graded Index. The stepindex fibre is characterized by a uniform index throughout the core material. The profile shows a sharp step at the junction of the core and cladding. In contrast, the graded index has a nonuniform core. The index is highest at the centre and it gradually decreases until it matches that of the cladding. There are basically three types of fibres according to above classification: 1. 2. 3. Multimode stepindex or simply stepindex fibre. Multimode gradedindex or gradedindex fibre. Singlemode stepindex fibre (commonly called singlemode fibre).

2.2.5 Step Index Fibre

The multimode stepindex fibre is the simplest type. The core diameter ranges from 100 to 970 micrometers. It includes all glass, PCS and all plastic constructions. This type of fibre is the most wide ranging but it is inefficient from the point of view of information carrying capacity. The fibre propagates a number of modes. The path lengths of different modes are different as different rays take a shorter or longer time to travel the length of the fibre depending on their angle with the fibreguided axis. The ray that travels straight down the center of the core without reflecting arrives at the other end first, other rays arrive later. Thus, though all the rays enter the fibre at the same time but arrive at the distant end at different times. This results into spreading of light in time or simply pulse spreading. This spreading of light is called modal dispersion. Modal dispersion results from the varying modal path lengths in the fibre. Typical values of modal dispersion in multimode step index fibres range from 15 to 30 ns/km, length of fibre. Modal dispersion is the main limiting factor for transmitting higher data rates on step index fibres.

2.2.6 Graded Index Fibre

The modal dispersion can be reduced by using gradedindex fibre. The gradedindex (or GRIN) fibre has a core material whose refractive index varies with distance from the fibre axis. The structure is illustrated in Fig.8.

Minimum density Maximum density Minimum density End view Side view
Fig. 5 GRIN Fibre Index is maximum at the core center and decreases gradually towards the core cladding interface. The light travels faster in a medium of lower index of refraction (v = c/n). So the farther the light ray is from the core axis, the greater is its speed. Because the index is

Index profile

continuously changing across the axis, the light ray is bent or continually redirected towards the fibre axis in an almost sinusoidal fashion as shown in Fig.6. Fig. 6

Ray Paths along a GRIN fibre Those rays that follow the longest path by travelling near the outside of the core have a faster average velocity. The light travelling near the axis of the core has the slowest average velocity. As a result of this, all rays tend to reach the end of the fibre at the same time. The typical value of modal dispersion for GRIN fibre is 1 ns/km or less. Typical sizes of multimode GRIN fibres are 50/125, 62.5/125 and 85/125. This type of fibre has wide applications requiring wide bandwidths.

2.2.7 Single Mode Fibre

One way of reducing the modal dispersion by using a GRIN fibre. Another way in which modal dispersion is completely eliminated is by reducing the core diameter until the fibre propagates only one more efficiently. This type of fibre is known as mono or more popularly single mode fibre. The single mode fibre has a very small core diameter of only 4 to 10 micrometer. The cladding diameter is standardized at 125 micrometer, as in GRIN fibres. The point at which a singlemode fibre propagates only one mode depends on the wavelengths of light carried. Different fibre designs have a specific wavelength, called the cutoff wavelength, above which it carries only one mode. A fibre designed for singlemode operation at 1300 nm has a cutoff wavelength of around 1200 nm. The operation of the singlemode fibre is quite complex. In singlemode fibre the optical energy is not confined to the core alone. Some of the optical energy of the mode travels in the cladding as shown in Fig.7.

Fig. 7 Light through (Multi & Single Mode Fibres

The diameter of the light appearing at the end of the fibre is larger than the core diameter. This diameter is known as Mode Field Diameter. Since the optical energy in a singlemode fibre travels in the cladding as well as in the core, the cladding need to be more efficient to carry light energy unlike the multimode fibres where the flow of energy in cladding is undesirable. The singlemode fibres have a very large bandwidth of the several gigahertz and allow transmission up to tens of kilometers.

2.3

Advanced Single Mode Fibres

Apart from step profile in ordinary single mode fibre, more complex index profiles are being used to obtain lower losses and lower dispersion in the fibres. Fig.8 shows refractive index profiles of advanced singlemode fibres.

2.3.1 Modes in StepIndex Fibres

We have seen that the modal dispersion causes pulse spreading and overlapping. As a result, it limits the data rate or information carrying capacity that a fibre can support. We will see later that the modal dispersion depends on wavelength and core diameter. At this junction, we will introduce a parameter V number. The V number is a fibre parameter that takes into account the core diameter, wavelength propagated, and fibre numerical aperture (commonly known as NA to be defined later). It is also called the normalized frequency.

Fig. 8 Refractive Index Profiles of Advanced SingleMode Fibres For a multimode stepindex fibre, the number of modes N = V /2 For a GRIN fibre, the number of modes is approximately N = V /4 For large values of V, many modes will propagate. Large V corresponds to a relatively large core radius. The number of modes in a gradedindex fibre is about half that of a step index fibre having the same core diameter and NA. A fibre with a 50 micrometer core supports over 1000 modes.
2 2

2.3.2 Fiber Comparisons

The performance of the fibre depends on its type. Here, the term performance means higher bandwidth, higher information carrying capacity, and lower losses. Though it is common to stress on high performance, i.e. low losses and high bandwidth of fibres, but one has to choose the fibre depending on the application.

2.4 Numerical Aperture 3.0 Characteristics of Optical Fibres - Introduction

Like any other medium such as the VF pair, coaxial cable or the free space in the case of microwave systems, the optical fibre also its own transmission characteristics such as Numerical Aperture, Modal and Material Dispersion, etc.

3.1

Numerical Aperture
Numerical aperture is defined as the "lightgathering ability" of a fibre. When an optical ray in a medium of refractive index 'n' falls on the lateral surface of the core of optical fibre at a maximum angle so that it can traverse throughout the fibre core length due to total internal reflection, then n sin is called the Numerical Aperture (NA) of the fibre. Only light injected into the fibre at angles greater than the critical angle will be propagated. In Fig.9, a meridional ray is shown entering the end face of the core at an angle .

Fig. 9 Meridional Ray in a Core The ray will be refracted into the core at an offaxis angle. It strikes the core cladding interface at an angle i and is totally reflected if i > c (c = Critical angle). Numerical Aperture is a unitless quantity. We can also define the angles at which rays will be propagated by the fibre. These angles form a cone that gives the maximum angle of light acceptance. The acceptance angle is related to the NA. A ray not falling within the acceptance cone is lost by radiation.

Fig. 10 Numerical Aperture

The numerical aperture of a fibre is important because it gives an indication as to how the fibre accepts and propagates light; a fibre with a low NA requires highly directional light. Numerical apertures and acceptance angles for fibres representative of Allglass, PCS and allplastic constructions are listed in Table 2. Table 2 Typical Numerical Apertures and Acceptance Angles Construction Allglass PCS Allplastic n1 1.48 1.46 1.49 n2 1.46 1.40 1.41 NA 0.24 0.41 0.48 Acceptance Angle o 13.9 24.2 29.0
o o

In general, fibres with a large bandwidth have a lower NA. They thus allow fewer modes. Fewer modes means less dispersion and, hence, greater bandwidth. A large NA promotes more modal dispersion, since more paths for the rays are provided. In GRIN fibres, the NA is maximum at the centre (NA = 0.26). The NA drops off to zero at the edge of the core. Only a ray perfectly parallel to the fibre axis will be guided if it enters the waveguide at this point. NA for singlemode fiber is only about 0.11. Light in a singlemode fibre is not reflected or refracted, so it does not exit the fibre at angles. Similarly, the fibre does not accept light rays at angles within the NA and propagates them by total internal reflection.

3.2 Dispersion
Dispersion is a phenomenon which spreads a light pulse as it travels down the length of an optical fibre. Dispersion is undesirable as it limits the bandwidth or informationcarrying capacity of a fibre. The bit rate must be low enough to ensure that pulses do not overlap. The pulse broadening increases as the square root of the distance of transmission. The duration that must be allotted between pulses to avoid inter-symbol interference is proportional to the length of the fibre. There are three classes of dispersion. 1. 2. 3. Modal or intermodal dispersion. Material dispersion. Waveguide dispersion.

3.2.1 Modal Dispersion

This type of dispersion is dominant in multimode fibres. It arises due to different velocities of different modes. Singlemode fibres are not subject to intermodal dispersion. Gradedindex fibres greatly reduce intermodal dispersion. Phase velocity of light in the core will be same in any direction for a S.I. fibre. A ray travelling along the fibre axis will travel the shortest distance. A ray having an angle i with the axis which is equal to the critical angle (i = c), will be travelling the longest path. Most S.I. glass fibres have measured pulse spreads around 1050 ns/km. The discrepancy arise due to mode mixing and preferential attenuation. Mode mixing is the exchange of power between modes. Rays in one mode are deflected (by scattering and at bends and splices) into the paths of other modes. Rays may move from higher to lowerorder modes, and vice versa. The result of continued mode mixing is that energy launched in any one mode travels a total zigzag path length

that is somewhere between the shortest (axialmode) path and the longest (critical angle) path. All rays travel nearly the same total length, reducing multimode pulse spreading considerably. The mode mixing is not perfect, so modal distortion is the main cause of spreading in S.I. fibres. Although mode mixing reduces the pulse spread, it is not altogether desirable. Deflections will also direct some rays into paths at less than the critical angle. The light will be lost, increasing the fibre attenuation. The second source of pulse spread reduction is the greater attenuation suffered by higher ordered modes which penetrate more deeply into the cladding, thereby contributing less to the received pulse compared to lowerorder modes. Pulse spread will be smaller due to negligible amplitude of higherorder modes in the received pulse. But it is undesirable as total signal attenuation increases. It is important to note that modal dispersion does not depend on the source wavelength or on the source bandwidth. GRIN fibres produce much less multimode distortion than S.I. fibres. 3.2.2

Material Dispersion
It is caused due to the variation of velocity with wavelength (colour). Different wavelengths travel at different velocities through a fibre even when all the light follows the same path. The velocity variation caused by some property of the material gives rise to the effect which is called material dispersion. We know that n = c/v, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v the speed of the same wavelength in the material. The index of refraction changes according to the wavelengths. As a result each wavelength travels at a different speed through the material. The pulses travel at different velocities, reaching the end of the fibre at slightly different times. When summed at the output, the pulses add together, yielding an output that is lengthened or spread relative to the input signal. This illustrates how dispersion creates pulse distortion. The farther the pulse travels, the greater the spreading. Distortion caused by material dispersion can be reduced by using sources with smaller bandwidths or line widths. Optical sources radiative over a range of wavelengths instead of the desired single wavelength or single frequency. This range is known as line width or spectra width. The smaller the line or spectral width, the more coherent the source emits light at a single wavelength; thus it has zero line width and is perfectly monochromatic. Typical line widths of common sources are listed in Table 3. Table 2 Typical Source Spectral Widths Source Lightemitting diode (semiconductor) Laser Diode (semiconductor) Nd : YAG laser (solid state) HeNe laser Line width ( ) 20100 nm 15 nm 0.1 nm 0.002 nm

At 1.3 micrometer, the material dispersion is zero. Pulse spreading due to material dispersion disappears at this wavelength. M is positive at wavelengths below 1.3 micrometer. M is negative and pulse spreading is positive at wavelengths about 1.3 micrometers. Material dispersion is of greater concern in singlemode fibres. In a multimode fibre, the modal dispersion is dominant and material dispersion is of no consequence. For SM fibres material dispersion is large in the range of 0.8 to 0.9 micrometer. Pulse spread becomes smaller for longer wavelengths and narrower source linewidths.

3.2.3 Waveguide Dispersion

Waveguide dispersion results from the guiding structure and is important in singlemode fibres. It occurs because guided optical energy is divided between the core and the cladding. The energy travels at slightly different velocities in the core and cladding because of the slightly different refractive indices of the materials. Waveguide and material dispersions depend on the source's spectral width as well as the length of the fibre. Waveguide dispersion is much less than material dispersion in the range of 0.80.9 micrometer. At 1.3 micrometer, wavelength material dispersion disappears, waveguide dispersion is significant. Just beyond this wavelength, M becomes negative while M' stays positive. Cancellation occurs, leaving zero pulse spread at a wavelength that is still close to 1.3 micrometer. In SM fibre attenuation is lowest at 1550 nm, while the dispersion is lowest at wavelength close to 1300 nm. To take advantage of lowest attenuation as well as low dispersion at 1550 nm, singlemode fibre is constructed with a triangularshaped refractive index variation. Such a fibre is known as dispersion shifted fibre. In order to obtain uniformly low dispersion over a wide range of wavelengths in the region 1300 to 1600 nm, dispersion flattened fibres are used. The dispersion-flattened fibre is constructed by appropriately tailoring the refractive index variation of the fibre. For this depressedcladding fibre, where the core index is surrounded by a thin inner cladding whose index is low and an outer cladding whose index is a bit higher is used.

3.2.4 Length Dependence of the Pulse Spread

The pulse broadening increases linearly with fibre length. Experiments with multimode fibres have shown that this is true for short lengths (usually less than 1 km), but for longer lengths, the broadening is proportional to the square root of the length. A good fibre has little mode mixing, so equilibrium is established only after travel over a long distance. A fibre with no mode mixing would have infinite Le, and its pulse spread would increase linearly with length. A poor fibre has a lot of mode mixing due to scattering, micro-bends and in-homogeneities. For this fibre Le is relatively short. Although the poor fibre has improved bandwidth, its attenuation will be much higher than that of good fibres. Material and waveguide dispersions are independent of mode coupling. Pulse broadening by material and waveguide mechanisms increases linearly with path length.

3.2.5 Total Pulse Spread

The total pulse spread of a multimode fibre is determined, by the sum of the modal distortion and the material plus waveguide (negligible) dispersions. The way in which these two contributions are added to find the total effect, depends upon the pulse shapes in question and the degree of precision required.

3.3 Band width

The bandwidth (BW) is defined to be the frequency at which the fibres base band frequency response is down by 3 dB (in optical power). It is the 3 dB bandwidth of a fibre which corresponds to reduction in modulated optic power by half. It is important to note that optic 1.5 dB bandwidth equals the electrical 3 dB bandwidth. f1.5dB (optic) f1.5dB (optic) hence, = f3dB (electrical) = 0.71 f3dB (optic)

f3dB (electrical) = 0.71 f3dB (optic)

The fibre bandwidth is generally specified as the bandwidth length product given in megahertz or gigahertz kilometers. A bandwidth of 400 MHzkm. means that a 400 MHz signal can be transmitted for 1 km. It also means that the product of the frequency and the length must be 400 or less (BW X L = 400). A lower frequency can be sent for a longer distance. Conversely a higher frequency can be sent shorter distance.

3.4 Attenuation
Signal attenuation is a major factor in the design of any communication system. In an optic system, the loss of power takes place at several points. These are the coupler, splices and connectors and within the fibre itself. In this section, we will study the losses associated with the fibre. Attenuation varies with the wavelength of light. The attenuation curve of a typical fibre is shown in Fig.11.

Fig. 11 Spectral Attenuation for Allglass Fibre It can be seen that the fibre exhibits minimum attenuation at wavelength slots of around 850 nm, 1300 nm and 1550 nm. These slots are also called first window, second window, and the third window, respectively. A typical singlemode fibre offers attenuation of 2.02.5 dB/km. at 850 nm and 0.40.5 dB at 1300 nm and 0.250.30 at 1550 nm. The operating wavelengths are so chosen as to avoid high loss regions of the fibre attenuation curve.

3.4.1 Sources of Loss in Fibres

The losses occurring in glass fibres can be attributed to three main causes: 1. 2. 3. Absorption Scattering Geometric effects.

3.4.2 Absorption
The losses due to absorption can be divided further in two categories: (a) Intrinsic absorption (b) Absorption due to impurities The intrinsic absorption is a natural property of glass itself. Even the purest glass will absorb heavily within specific wavelength regions. Intrinsic absorption is very strong in shortwavelength ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This absorption is due to strong electronic and molecular transition bands. Fortunately, the operating region of the fibre is far removed from UV region. Apart from UV absorption loss, glass absorbs light in the infrared region also. The infrared absorption peaks occur between 7 and 12 micrometer for typical glass composition, far from the region of interest. The IR loss is associated with vibrations of chemical bonds such as the silicon oxygen bond. Thermal energy causes the atoms to be moving constantly, so the SiO bond is continually stretching and contracting. This vibration has a resonant frequency in the infrared range. IR absorption contributes a small loss at the upper limit of our range, 1.6 micrometer. In fact, IR absorption prohibits the use of silica fibres beyond 1.6 micrometer wavelength. Impurities are a major source of loss in any practical fibre. In general, two types of impurities are particularly troublesome: (a) (b) Metal ions Hydroxyl ion (OH)

Metal impurities causing absorption include ions of iron, copper, cobalt, vanadium, nickel, manganese and chromium. To maintain low losses, the level of these ions must be less than one part per billion. The hydroxyl ion (OH) is another most important contributor to the loss. Though the peak OH ion absorption lies at 2.73 micrometer (outside the band of interest), the overtones and combination bands of this peak lie within the range of interest. The most significant OH losses occur at 1.38, 1.24 and 0.94 micrometer. Fig.11 indicates OH absorption peaks. OH impurity is kept to less than a few parts per million during the glass fibre manufacture.

3.4.3 Scattering
Scattering is the loss of optical energy due to imperfections in the fibre and from the basic structure of the fibre. Due to scattering, the light is scattered in all directions which causes the loss of power in the forward direction. This loss is known as Rayleigh scattering loss. Rayleigh scattering takes palce due to variations in the density and composition of glass material in the fibre. Density and compositional variations take place during manufacture itself. Material in-homogeneities unintentionally introduced into the glass during manufacture also cause scattering losses. Rayleigh scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the wavelength (1/ ) and it diminishes rapidly at longer wavelengths.
4

3.4.4 Geometric Effects

Bending a fibre causes attenuation. Two types of bends are : (a) (b) Micro-bending Macro-bending

Microscope bending loss is caused due to determination of the fibre axis during cabling process. When a fibre is sheathed within a protective cable, it sets up stresses which cause small axial distortion (micro-bends) to appear randomly along the fibre. Micro-bends cause some of the light to couple out of the fibre. This effect can be eliminated by using loosetube cable construction. Excessive bending of the cable or fibre may result in loss known as Macro-bend loss. This loss may occur when wrapping the fibre on a spool or pulling the fibre cable around a corner. Fibres can be bent with radius of curvature as small as 10 cm. with negligible loss. Typically, breaking will not occur unless the bend radius is less than 150 times the fibre diameter. For example, if the diameter is 125 micrometer, the bend radius before breaking is as little as 1.9 cm. Fig.12 illustrates Micro-bend and Macro-bend losses. A minimum bend radius should be maintained to avoid losses. As a rule of thumb, the minimum bend radius is five times the cable diameter for an unstressed cable and ten times the diameter for a stressed cable. The total attenuation of the fibre is the combination of all the loss phenomena.

Fig. 12 Radiation due to Micro-bending and Macro-bending