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Ofc Unit III
Ofc Unit III
Unit-III
Part I
Part II
OPTICAL DETECTORS
OPTICAL CONNECTORS
Part I
OPTICAL DETECTORS
Fiber Alignment
Fiber splices,
Fiber connectors
Expanded beam connectors
Fiber couplers.
Introducti
on
Optical detection
principle
sufficiently
high
to
excite
an
Absorptio
n
light, h is the
Planck constant, and e is the elementary charge.
Absorption coefficient
The absorption coefficient strongly depends on the
wavelength. This is shown in the figure for some common
semiconductor materials. We can distinguish the materials in
terms of direct and indirect semiconductor materials. We
already discussed that direct semiconductors are the preferred
materials for the realization of optical sources like LEDs and
semiconductor laser diodes. Silicon and germanium are the best
know candidates out of the family of indirect semiconductors.
Silicon and germanium have direct and indirect optical transitions but the
lowest energetic transition is an indirect optical transition. The fact that
silicon and germanium are indirect semiconductors leads to the strong
wavelength dependent absorption of the material. The direct semiconductors
exhibit a sharp transition in the optical absorption.
Based on the absorption coefficient you can see what material is suitable for
what kind of wavelength region. For example, in the case of silicon the optical
bandgap at room temperature is 1.14eV, which corresponds to a wavelength
of 1100nm. Up to 1100nm silicon is still absorbing even though the
absorption coefficient for wavelength >1000nm is already relatively low. That
means silicon is not suitable as an optical detector for an DWDM system
which operates at a wavelength of 1550nm. Silicon is transparent for such a
wavelength. The behavior of germanium is different. The optical bandgap of
germanium is 0.67eV, which corresponds to a cut-off wavelength of more
than 1850nm. However, the absorption coefficient is already very low for
such a high wavelength.
of
germanium
diodes
is
very
(Overview of the
bandgaps of
some photodiode
materials.)
Quantum
efficiency
Responsivity
The expression for quantum efficiency does not involve photon
energy and therefore the responsivity R is often of more use when
characterizing the performance of a photodetector. It is defined as:
Example 1
Example 2
Long-wavelength cutof
It is essential when considering the intrinsic absorption process that
the energy of incident photons be greater than or equal to the
bandgap
energy
Eg
of
the
material
used
to
fabricate
the
Thus the threshold for detection, commonly known as the longwavelength cutoff
point c, is:
photodetectors.
expression
but
are
Extrinsic
not
photodetectors
currently
used
in
violate
optical
this
fiber
PN-diodes
The pn-junction is the first diode structure which we will discuss. The
photogenerated electron hole pairs in the depletion region of the
diode contribute to the overall photocurrent. A pn-diode like all other
diodes can be operated under short circuit conditions or under
reverse bias voltage. Depending on the applied material the
quantum efficiency of the diode might be slightly higher for reverse
bias voltage. Furthermore, the transient response might be faster.
The signal to noise ratio of the diode is mainly defined by the applied
material. The smaller the optical band gap and the higher the
number of electronic defects in the material the higher the leakage
current.
Due to the fact the depletion region is very thin (depends on the
applied reverse bias voltage and the doping levels in the p- and the
n-region) the quantum efficiency of a pn-diode is usually not very
high. Most of the light that is absorbed
will simply not contribute to the overall photocurrent.
In order to extend the region of carrier extraction an intrinsic layer or
a slightly
PN-diodes
As a consequence the depletion region is extended across the
intrinsic or lightly doped layer and therefore more photo-generated
carriers contribute to the photocurrent. The pin-diode can be realized
as an homo-junction or a heterojunction. If the structure is realized in
silicon the device will be usually a homojunction. Under such
conditions all three layers (p-,i- and n-region) have the same optical
band gap. Depending on the application the thickness and the
individual layers can be adjusted.
The thicker the i-layer the further the
sensitivity can be extend in the near
infrared part of the optical spectrum.
If there is only an interest in
detecting blue or green light the ilayer can be kept short. The pin diode
shown on this slide is a crystalline
silicon pin diode. Therefore, the diode
is only sensitive up to a wavelength
of 1100nm. In such a case the i-layer
Typical silicon pin diode.
would be already relatively thick
(typically a few 100m.)
PN-diodes
Typical materials used for the three optical communication bands:
P-i-N-diodes
Long Wave Band (1500nm - 1600 nm)
In order to allow operation at longer wavelengths where the light
penetrates more deeply into the semiconductor material, a wider
depletion region is necessary. To achieve this the n-type material is
doped so lightly that it can be considered intrinsic, and to make a
low resistance contact a highly doped n-type (n+) layer is added.
This creates a pin (or PIN) structure.
Type of P-i-N-diodes
The front-illuminated photodiode
The side-illuminated photodiode
Three main
photodiode.
factors
limit
the
speed
of
response
of
Example 3
layers.The
high-field
region
where
the
avalanche
Multiplication factor
The multiplication factor M is a measure of the internal gain provided
by the APD. It is defined as:
Example 4
Part I
OPTICAL CONNECTORS
Fiber Alignment
Fiber splices
Fiber connectors
Expanded beam connectors
Fiber couplers.
FIBER JOINTS
Source- Fiber
Fiber- Fiber
Fiber- Detector
Manufacturers supply Electro-optical devices (Sources
and Detectors) with fiber optic pigtail to facilitate
direct fiber-fiber connection
IMPORTANT ASPECT IS FIBER-TO- FIBER CONNECTION
WITH LOW LOSS AND MINIMUM DISTORTION
Fiber Joints
Fibers must be joined when
You need more length than you can get
on a single roll
Connecting distribution cable to
backbone
Connecting to electronic source and
transmitter
Repairing a broken cable
Demountable
or
1.
Fresnel Reflection
Reflection Loss
Core mismatch
NA mismatch
Index Profile
Intrinsic Losses
Losses due to:
Fresnel Reflection
Deviation in Geometrical & Optical
parameters
Minimized using fibers manufactured
with lowest tolerance i.e.(same fiber)
Extrinsic Losses
Losses due to some imperfection in
splicing
Caused by Misalignment
Lateral misalignment;
Angular misalignment
FIBER SPLICES
A permanent joint formed between two
fibers
Mechanical Splicing
Fibers are held in alignment by some mechanical means
Prefusion Method
No need for end preparation
Fusion Splicers
Mechanical Splicing
Expanded-Beam Connectors
Average Losses
0.8 dB with MMFs
Reduced to 0.4 dB using index
matching fluids
Optical Couplers
P3 and P4 are extremely low signal levels (-50 to -70 dB below the input
level) resulting from backward reflections and scattering in the device
The evanescent
tail from one
fiber core
couples into
another closely
spaced fiber
core
Optical power
coupling
53
54
55
Star Couplers
56
N N Star Coupler
Can construct star couplers by cascading 3-dB couplers
The number of 3-dB couplers needed to construct an N
N star is
57