PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

P.C. JAIN

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTROPHYSICS

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
DELHI 110 007
1
•COMMUNICATION
- Transmission of information /message from one point to another

Communication enters our lives in many ways:

- Telephone – makes us talk to any person anywhere.
- Radio and television – entertain and educate.
- Communication signals as navigational aids – ships, aircrafts and
satellites .
- Weather forecasting – conditions measured by a multitude of sensors
are communicated to forecasters.
- Videophones, voicemail and satellite conferencing – enable seeing live
images instantly and communicate directly with people located far away.
- Digital data transmission and retrieval – has made realization of e-mail,
FAX and internet possible.

We communicate through speech. In modern communication systems,

the information is first converted into electrical signals and then sent
electronically.
•COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Two persons talking to each other constitute the simplest communication system.
The person who speaks is the source, the person listening is the receiver and the
intervening air is the communication link between them.

A communication system consists of three basic components:

- Transmitter (source)
- Communication channel (link – medium)
- Receiver

Nature/details of these components depend on:

1. Nature of the signal/ message to be communicated.

2. Distance which separates the source and the receiver.

- Direct talking is possible over short distances – sound waves attenuate

fast.
- Long distance communication requires the signal/message to be
converted into an electrical signal/a set of signals /electromagnetic waves.
- Long distance communication requires a link between the source and the
receiver
Message Communication Out put
signal Transmitter Receiver
channel signal

CUMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Transmitter:

Transmits the message/signal over the communication channel.

Quite often the original signal is not suitable for transmission over the
communication channel to the receiver. It requires to be modified to a
form suitable for transmission.

Communication Channel:

Provides a link between the transmitter and the receiver. It can

be a transmission line (telephone and telegraphy), an optical fibre
(optical communication) or free space in which the signal is radiated in
the form of electromagnetic waves.

Receiver:

Reconstructs the original message/signal after propagation

through the communication channel.
•Designing a Communication System
In designing a communication system we have to focus our
attention to the following questions:

- In what form is the information that is to be conveyed.

- How can the transmitter use this information?

- How does the transmitter feed the information to the communication

channel?

- What effects does the communication channel have on the information?

- In what form the receiver should present the information to the outside
world?

- How does the received information differ from the original information?
What cause the difference? To what extent can the two be allowed to
differ?
•TRANSMITTER
- We communicate through a message or a signal.

- A transmitter transmits the message over the communication channel to

the receiver.

- As a rule, the message produced by the source is not suitable for

transmission over the communication channel. Accordingly, a suitable
transducer converts it into a time varying electrical signal called the
message signal.

A transmitter, in its simplest form, is a setup which boosts the power of

message signal and feeds it into the communication channel
 Antenna Antenna

Amplifier Loud speaker

Amplifier
Microphone

Transmitter Receiver
In its simplest form, the transmitter has following problems:

1. Size of the antenna or aerial

For transmitting a signal we need an antenna. It should have a size comparable
to the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave representing the signal ( at least
/4) so that the time variation of the signal is properly sensed by the antenna.
For an electromagnetic wave of frequency 20 kHz, the wavelength  is 15 km.
Obviously such a long antenna is not possible. Therefore, direct transmission
of
such a signal is not possible. If the frequency of the signal is 1MHz, the
corresponding wavelength is 300m and transmission of such a signal is
possible. Therefore, there is a need of translating the information contained in
the original low frequency signal into high or radio-frequencies before
transmission.
2. Effective power radiated by an antenna
The power radiated from a linear antenna 
 l /  2

For a good transmission we need high power hence there is need for high
frequency transmission.
3. Mixing up of signals from different transmitters

Direct transmission of baseband signal leads to interference from

multiple transmitters. Thus multiple user friendly communication is
not possible. A possible solution is provided by employing
communication at high frequencies and then allotting a band of
frequencies to each user.

The above arguments suggest that there is a need for translating the
original signal ( low frequency) into a high frequency wave before
transmission such that the translated signal continues to possess the
information contained in the original signal. The high frequency wave
carrying the information is called the carrier wave. The process of
transformation is called Modulation.

Modulation
Transformation of the signal into a form suitable for transmission
through a given communication channel
 Antenna Antenna

To
Tunable Demodu- Audio
Signal Modulator Amplifier
Amplifier lator Amplifier Speaker

Transmitter Receiver
Basic constituents of a transmitter are:
1. Message signal
2. Modulation
3. Antenna

Message signal:

A single valued function of time that conveys the information.

Analog
Signals
Discrete or digital

Analog Signal
Is a continuous function of time, with the amplitude (instantaneous
value of the signal) being continuous.
Simplest form of an analog signal is a sinusoidal signal having a single
frequency

g(t) = A sin t

Signals generated by different sources have their own characteristics

- amplitude, frequency or nature.

Nature – Simple single frequency or a complex superposition of several

frequency components

The signals associated with music or speech are complex; can be

considered as superposition of several sinusoidal signals of varying
amplitudes and frequencies.

The range over which the frequencies in a signal vary is called the
bandwidth (B) (the frequency range between the lowest and highest
frequency components). Bandwidth for audio signals is 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
Discrete Signals

Discrete signals are discontinuous in time; they are defined only at

discrete times.

In case of discrete signals the independent variable (time) takes only

discrete values which are usually uniformly spaced. Consequently,
discrete-time signals are described as sequences of samples whose
amplitudes may take a continuum of values.
When each sample of a discrete-time signal is quantized I.e. its
amplitude is only allowed to take on a finite set of values (e.g. in a
binary representation low and high signals are designated as 0 and 1)
and then coded, the resulting signal is referred to as a digital signal.
An analog signal can be converted into a digital signal – A/D conversion.
A device performing this operation is called A/D converter.

A discrete or digital signal can also be converted into an analog signal –

D/A conversion. A device performing this operation is called a D/A
converter.

Advantages of transmitting information in the digital form are many.

In a digital communication system, the receiver has to detect simple
pulses, which have the same shape and height. It has only to recognize
whether such a pulse is present or not in any prescribed time interval.
The signal to noise ratio (S/N) is high.

In digital data communication, the rate at which the data is communicated

is very important. It is expressed in bits per second (bps)
• Modulation
We have seen:
- Direct transmission of audio frequency signals is not possible –
associated wavelengths are large.
- Quite often, the message signals require a carrier and a
communication channel for transmission from source to the receiver.
- An efficient utilization of the communication channel requires a shift
of the range of base band frequencies to another frequency range
suitable for transmission.

A shift of the range of frequencies in a signal is accomplished by

employing a process called modulation. In this process the signal is
superimposed over the carrier wave. The frequency, fc, of the carrier
wave must be much higher than the highest frequency component of the
message signal.

The form of modulation depends on the specific characteristics of the

carrier wave, nature of the message signal/data and the communication
channel. The carrier wave may be (I) continuous or (ii) pulse. The signal
may be analog or digital.
Forms of Modulation

Amplitude Modulation
Analog Signals Angle/Frequency Modulation
Pulse Modulation

Amplitude shift keying (ASK)

Digital Signals Frequency shift keying (FSK)
Phase shift keying (PSK)
ANALOG SIGNALS
Amplitude & Frequency Modulation

A sinusoidal wave conveys no information. To transmit information by the

usual sinusoidal waveform, the characteristics of the wave must be
varied in some manner. A sinusoidal carrier wave C(t) is defined by

C(t) = Ac cos (c t + o )

The modulation of the carrier wave can be accomplished in two ways:

(1) The amplitude of the carrier wave is varied about a mean value,
linearly with the baseband signal m(t), the angular frequency c
remaining constant. This mode of modulation is termed as amplitude
modulation.
(2) The phase angle  of the carrier wave is varied according to the
baseband signal, the amplitude of the carrier wave being kept
constant. This mode of modulation is termed as angle modulation.
There are two variations of angle modulation - phase modulation
(PM) and frequency modulation (FM).
Amplitude Modulation:

- Employed for commercial broadcasting of voice signals. Carrier

frequencies – 0.5 to 20 MHz.
- Broadcast noisy – noise signals created by atmospheric static or man
made electric discharges also get amplitude modulated.

Frequency Modulation:

- TV broadcast , VHF, UHF, SHF and EHF broadcasts.

- Requires higher carrier wave frequencies.
- Noise generated by atmospheric or man made electric discharges does
no harm to intelligence.
- Higher S/N ratio, quality of broadcast very good.

FM Radio – 88 to 108 MHz

VHF TV – 47 to 230 MHz
UHF TV – 470 to 960 MHz
Pulse Modulation

Modulation of a carrier wave may be accomplished by short pulses.

Conventional telegraphy is the simplest example of this mode of
modulation.
Pulse systems are based on sampling of the information signal at
periodic intervals, usually twice the maximum frequency present (2B).
They transmit a very short pulse of radio-frequency carrier for each
sample, with pulse characteristics varied in some manner proportional to
the amplitude at the sampling instant. A general name given to these
modes of modulation is the pulse modulation.

The common pulse systems employed in pulse modulation of analog

signals are:
(i) Pulse – amplitude modulation (PAM)
(ii) Pulse – position modulation (PPM)
(iii) Pulse – duration/width modulation (PDM/PWM)
(iv) Pulse – code modulation (PCM
Digital Signals / DATA

Three modulation techniques are employed for transmitting digital

signals / data. There is a step change in amplitude, frequency or phase.

1. Amplitude – shift keying (ASK) – used for transmitting data over

optical fibre
2. Frequency – shift keying (FSK) – Less susceptible to errors.
3. Phase – shift keying (PSK
•Antenna
- An antenna is a vital component of any communication system. It is
employed both at the transmitting end as well as at the receiving end.
- An antenna is a length of conductor, its length is such that it acts as a
resonant circuit at the frequency of operation. l = /2.
- It acts as a conversion device. The first conversion takes place at the
transmitter where electrical energy is converted into electromagnetic
waves. The second conversion occurs at the receiving end where the
electromagnetic waves are transformed into electrical signal that is
applied to the input of the receiver.

Two types of antenna:

1. Dipole antenna – Length of dipole = /2 ; Omni directional.

2. Dish antenna – A spherical or parabolic dish is employed as a reflector

or collector. The resonant element is placed at the
focus. It is highly directional.
• Communication Channel
- In a communication system, the communication channel or the
transmission medium is the physical path between the transmitter and
receiver.
- Transmission media can be classified into two broad categories:

(a) Guided - Point – to – point communication

(i) Twisted pair
(ii) Coaxial cable
(iii) Optical fibre

(b) Unguided – Free space

- Characteristics and quality of transmission are determined both by the

nature of the signal as well as the medium.
- In guided media, the nature of the medium is more important; in
unguided media, the spectrum or the frequency band of the signal
transmitted by the transmitter is more important.

Characteristics of a Communication Channel : Band width,

Modulation and Data rate.
•Receiver

- Reconstructs the original message or data after its propagation through

the communication channel
- The process consisting of decoupling of the carrier wave and the
modulating signal is broadly termed as demodulation.
- The design of the receiver depends on the modulation process
employed in the transmitter.
- The antenna receives the modulated wave transmitted from the
transmitter, which is then amplified by a suitable amplifier and fed to the
demodulator or decoder.
- The demodulator or decoder extracts the original signal. The process of

demodulation provides a means of recovering the original signal from

the modulated wave. In effect, demodulation is reverse of modulation:
therefore, it depends on the modulation process used.
• Data Transmission and Retrieval – FAX and Modem

Data :
- The term data is applied to representation of facts, concepts, or
instructions in a formalized manner suitable for communication,
interpretation, or processing by human beings or by automatic means.
- In case of e-mail, the data consists of the message (m) to be sent. The
input device and the transmitter are components of a PC. The user
activates the e-mail package on the PC and enters the message via the
keyboard (input device). The PC is connected to some transmission
medium or channel by an I/O device. The input data are transferred to
the transmitter as a sequence of bits [ g(t) ] on some communications
cable. The transmitter is connected to the medium and converts the
incoming bits into a signal [ s(t) ] suitable for transmission [Modem I].
At
the receiving end the signal received from the medium is converted
back into a sequence of bits [ r(t) ][Modem II]. These bits are sent to the
output PC, where they are briefly buffered in memory as a block of bits
or characters. These data are then presented to the user via an output
device such as printer or screen. The message [ m] as viewed by the
user will usually be an exact copy of the original message.
Modem
- Digital data can also be represented by analog signals by use of a
modem (modulator/demodulator).
- The modem coverts a series of binary pulse into an analog signal by
encoding the digital data into a carrier frequency.
- The resulting signal occupies a certain spectrum of frequency centred
about the carrier and propogated across the a medium suitable for that
carrier.
- At the end of the line, the modem demodulates the signal to recover the
original data.

FAX
- Facsimile or FAX means exact reproduction of a document at the
receiving end.
- The document to transmitted is first converted into digital data form. A
process called ‘scanning’, which normally is carried out by optical
means, does this. The device , which does scanning is called a
‘scanner’.
- The digital data representing the document is then transmitted to the
destination by using a suitable medium. At the receiving end the digital
data is then used to reconstruct the original document.
• Space communication
- The communication process utilizing the physical space as
communication channel/medium is termed as space communication
radio, television and satellite communication fall under this category.
- In this type of communication, electromagnetic waves of varying
frequencies are used as carrier waves. These waves travel in open
space or the atmosphere.
- The interaction of electromagnetic waves with earth’ atmosphere,
therefore, plays an important role.

Electromagnetic radiations and the earth’s atmosphere

- The atmosphere surrounding the earth is complex, it has many

constituents and their relative proportions vary as we go higher and
higher. The air thins out gradually as we go up.
- The atmosphere has no sharp boundaries; it has several layers of
regions with different properties and names. Except for layer in the
upper atmosphere, called ionosphere, which is composed of ionized
matter I.e. electrons and positive ions, the rest of the atmosphere is
mostly composed of neutral molecules.
- Water vapour is concentrated in the lowest layer.
- Ozone in the atmosphere is confined to the ozone layer, some 50 – 80
km above the ground.
- The ionosphere, which extends from 60 – 350 km, plays an important
role in space communication. It is subdivided into layers as C, D, E,
F1, F2

Communication in space

- In space communication, a signal is emitted from the antenna of a

transmitter in the form of an electromagnetic wave, which travels
through the intervening space and received by another antenna at the
receiver.
- An electromagnetic wave after being radiated by the transmitting
antenna may be divided into various parts. One part travels along the
surface of the earth and is called surface wave (ground wave). The
remainder part moves upwards towards the sky and is called the sky
wave.
- A signal after being transmitted from the antenna of a transmitter can
be received by the antenna of the receiver in two ways; (a) directly by
the surface wave or (b) by the sky wave after it bounces back from the
atmosphere
 EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
Ionosphere

Mesosphere

Ozone Layer
80 km

Stratosphere
50 km

Troposphere
12 km

EARTH
 IONOSPHERE

300
n ~ 8 1011 (m3) F2 Layer

n ~ 5 1011 (m3) F1 Layer

Height 200
(km)

E Layer
n ~ 1011 (m3)
100
n ~ 109 (m3) D Layer
60
n ~108 (m3) C Layer
- Surface wave propagation – used for medium wave band and TV
broadcasting which is done in the frequency rang 100 – 200 MHz. In this

transmission the reception is possible only when the receiver antenna

directly intercepts the signal. Thus, if the broadcast is made from a
tower of height h above the ground, due to the curvature of earth no
reception is possible beyond certain points.
d 2Rh

- To get larger coverage TV broadcast are made from tall antennas.

Further, the power transmitted also decreases nearly as the inverse
square of the distance hence the signal becomes weak as the distance
increases, which limits the range of transmission by this mode.
- The ground wave attenuation increases with frequency, so the
transmission via this mode is in practice possible only for frequencies
up to about 1500 kHz or wavelengths greater than 200m.
- Below 200m wavelength, the communication in AM band is via sky
wave.
- The diffraction of electromagnetic waves also affects their
propagation.The frequencies of the waves employed for radio and
television broadcast lie in the range 5 – 1000 MHz and the
corresponding wavelengths are in the range of 30 cm – 200 m. At these
wavelengths the diffraction effects are considerable and therefore these
waves lose their directional properties.
- Microwaves have frequencies ~ 100 – 300 GHz and therefore
wavelengths in the range of few millimeter. Because of short
wavelength, they have directional properties and better suited for
beaming signals in particular direction. This possibility was first
employed in radar. Microwave communication is extensively employed
in telecommunication as it provides larger bandwidth.
- The waves in HF band are reflected back by the ionosphere. Therefore,
employing sky wave does the broadcasting in this band.
- The ionosphere consists of positively charged ions and electrons. Such
a system is known as plasma. It has a characteristic frequency called
‘plasma frequency’ given by
f p  9N 1 / 2

where N is the electron density. When a radiation of frequency fp

reaches the region of electron density N at normal incidence, it will be
reflected. Thus the radio waves of different frequencies sent from earth
will be reflected back the appropriate layers of the ionosphere. The
critical frequency for reflection is, therefore, given by
fc  9(Nmax )1 / 2
- There exists a distance from the transmitter, measured along the
surface of the earth, to the point where the sky wave returns to the earth
after reflection from the ionosphere. This distance is known as ‘skip
distance’ for a single hop. Using multiple hops in which the wave is
reflected between ionosphere and earth several times or beaming at
different angles can increase the range of transmission.

Satellite Communication
- With increasing demands of information technology there has been
pressure on increasing the bandwidth and therefore the carrier
frequency.
- Beyond a certain frequency (>30 MHz) the ionosphere bends any EM
wave but does not reflect it back towards earth.
- A new concept of communication, the communication via the satellite
has revolutionized the communication technology.
- Signals from an earth station are beamed up to a satellite in space,
which acts as a microwave link repeater. The signal is amplified and
returned to earth at a different frequency to avoid interference between
the up link and down link.
- Microwave frequencies have to be used to penetrate ionosphere
because all practical satellites orbit well above the atmosphere.
- The satellite communication first started in 1962 with the satellite
Telstar. The first commercially operated satellite was launched in 1965.
Since then numerous communication satellites have been launched for
the services of point-to-point telecommunication circuits, vide area TV
coverage, direct broadcasting by satellite, navigational communications
to ships and aircrafts.
- Most of the satellites orbit at heights greater than 600 km to minimize
atmospheric drag.
- The choice of orbit is of fundamental importance, as it determines the
transmission path loss and delay time, the earth coverage area and time
period the satellite is visible from a given area.
- The orbits of communication satellites are conventionally classified as
inclined elliptical, polar circular and geo-stationary.
- The geo-stationary orbit is the most widely used orbit for
communication satellites.
•Remote Sensing
- Remote sensing is the science and art of obtaining information about
an
object, area, or phenomenon, acquired by a sensor that is not in direct
contact with the object.
- Any photography is a kind of remote sensing.
- If we want to cover large areas for which information is required we
have to take photograph from longer distances. Aerial photography was
first introduced in World War I for military uses and later extended to
areas such as archaeology, cartography, resource surveys, town and
country planning etc.
- It has now to share with satellite imagery.
- A satellite equipped with appropriate sensors to acquire data can be
placed in an orbit around earth at any height having a period of
revolution. It takes photographs or collect any other information desired
and transmits it back to an earth station. This is known as remote
sensing.
- A LANDSAT series of satellites designed for land-use applications are
employed for this purpose. These satellites fly in near-polar orbits at an
altitude of 918 km. The instrument on board is a multi-spectral scanner.
This instrument scans a swath of width about 185 km. The satellite
travels in a direction slightly west of south . In a single day there will be
14 southbound passes. The distance between successive passes is
more than the swath width. Thus different parts of earth are scanned.
The data obtained is transmitted to the receiving station on earth.
 ‘Taking photograph’ of any object relies on the reflected wave from the
object as we use visible light in normal photography.
- Selection of the wavelength of the radiation depends on the effect of
atmosphere including ionosphere and the nature of the objects to be
scanned.
- The visible and near infrared spectral bands are chosen to amplify or
separate specific earth features such as vegetation and water.
- Data from thermal infrared bands are of high interest, particularly due to
the fact that thermal infrared data is a measure of surface temperature
and can also be obtained at night.
- Microwave data are of particular relevance for certain hydrological
variables such as soil moisture and precipitation. They can also be
obtained at night and are not restricted to cloud free conditions.
- The spatial resolution of remote sensing data varies with the form of
sensor employed and height of the satellite. The resolution also
depends on the wavelength of radiation used. Low altitude satellites are
capable of resolving 10 m while the resolution of geo-stationary satellite
is ~ 5 km. The temporal resolution depends on the nature of the orbit.
The temporal resolution of geo-stationary satellite can be half an hour
or less while that of polar orbits could be 15 days.
- Some applications of remote sensing include meteorology, climatology,
oceanography and coastal studies. Archeology, geological surveys,
water resource surveys, urban land use surveys, agriculture and
forestry etc
•Line Communication
- Line communication is point-to-point communication.
- It requires the use of a guided medium as communication channel.
- In a guided medium as a signal travels, it gets attenuated. The signal,
therefore, needs periodic amplification and retransmission at a repeater
station.
- In line communication, the response of the communication medium
towards the signal plays an important role.
- The transmission characteristics of a guided medium and the quality of
transmission depend upon:
1. Nature of the medium (wire/co-axial cable/optical fibre)
2. Nature of the signal (frequency, strength/power etc.)
- A given medium can accommodate only a limited band of frequencies
which depends on its characteristics.

Guided Media
- Guided medium has finite boundaries.
- Examples of such media are provided by:
(a) Twisted pair
(b) Co-axial Cables
(c) Optical Fibre
 LINE COMMUNICATION

Guided Repeater
Transmitter station Receiver
Medium

Point-to-point
Physical Connection
Twisted Pair
- Two insulated copper wires arranged in a spiral pattern form a twisted
pair

- Twisting of wires minimizes electromagnetic interference.

- A number of such wires are bundled together into a thick cable.
- Copper conductor wires in the twisted pair provide a very low cost
medium.
- Is used for transmitting both, analog as well as digital information.
- In local telephone services, individual telephone sets from a house are
connected to the local telephone exchange box on the street using a
twisted pair. Each one of these boxes is connected underneath by a
thick cable, which carries several twisted pairs, to the main telephone
exchange and all around the city.
- Transmission of many signals at a time in a single twisted pair is done
by transmitting the signal as a modulated wave with a fixed carrier
frequency. An analog voice signal of bandwidth 3 kHz, requires a
bandwidth of 6 kHz, if such a signal is to be transmitted in the form of a
modulated wave. If we wish to send 100 such signals over the same
wire
-Loss due to finite resistance.
- At high frequencies the current in a conductor tends to flow on the
surface (Skin effect). Therefore the with increasing frequency the
effective resistance per unit length of the conductor also increases.
- The upper limit to frequency in this type of transmission line is 1 MHz
and the repeater spacing limit is ~ 6 km.

Coaxial Cable

- A coaxial cable consists of a hollow outer cylindrical conductor, which

surrounds a coaxial single inner conductor.
- The inner conductor is held at the centre by a solid dielectric
(insulating) material all around.
- The outer conductor is normally connected to ground and thus
provides
an electrical shield to the signals carried by the central conductor.
- Most of the power is carried by the electromagnetic waves and only a
relatively small amount in the form of conduction electrons in the
central conductor.
- Very high frequencies can be transmitted before the attenuation
becomes too severe.
- Reduced attenuation in co-axial cables increases the repeater spacing
to about 20 km and permitting much larger bandwidths (20 MHz).
Employing digital transmission further enhances the bandwidth.
- Co-axial cables are commonly used for long distance high frequency
transmission. They can carry both analog and digital signals. They are
extensively used in local area computer network for high speed data
transmission.
Optical Communication

- Communication is through optical (light) signals.

- Communication medium employed is an optical fibre
- The schematics of the essential components of an optical
communication link are as shown.
- This mode of communication provides a very large bandwidth and
therefore carry large amount of information.
- Light is a form of electromagnetic wave with frequencies lying in the
range 1012 to 1016 Hz and corresponding wavelengths in the range 0.03
to 300 m.
- The light emitted from He-Ne laser has  = 0.63 m, or a frequency of
~ 4.71014 Hz. If we use this light and employ only 1% of this frequency
bandwidth I.e. 4700 GHz for an optical communication channel, it offers
tremendous capacity for transmission.
- To telecast pictures through a TV channel we need an approximate
bandwidth of 4.7 MHz per channel. The number of TV channels which
can be accommodated in a bandwidth of 4700 GHz is ~ 106
 Optical Communication

Transmitter

Input signal

Optical source Modulation

Optical fibre cable

Receiver
Optical Demodulation
detector

Output signal
Optical Fibre
- An optical fibre is a thin fibre of glass. Its diameter is about the same as
that of a human hair ~ 10 to 100 m.

- Light can be guided in such a fibre by launching it at one end, using an

intense and focused light source, and allowing it bounce down to the
other end by a series of reflections (total internal reflections) from the
sides.
- An optical fibre essentially consists of an inner cylinder of glass known
as the core, having a refractive index n1, and an outer cylinder of a
different glass, called the cladding having a refractive index n2, n =
n1 n2 ~ 10 3 .
- For use in a telecommunications system, many fibres are usually
incorporated into a cable structure for pulling into underground ducts.
Photonic Devices

Photonics is a subject that deals with the generation and detection of

photons. The devices which generate and detect photons are called
photonic devices. Such devices are extensively employed in optical
communication.

To understand the functioning of these devices we need to know the

different interaction mechanisms between photons and electrons in a
solid.

There are three important processes;

(a) Absorption

(b) Spontaneous emission

(c) Stimulated emission

Optical Light Source and Optical Detector

Light Source

- In optical communication light source plays a pivotal role.

- It generates a beam of light. This light wave can be modulated directly
to produce light pulses, by applying an appropriate electrical signal to
the optical source. Another alternative is to modulate the light beam
externally using an electro-optic modulator.
- The light source to be used in optical communication is required to
have some special characteristics.
- Its physical size should be small so that it can be coupled to the thin
optical fibre.
- Monochromatic light sources which can produce light of desired
wavelength (0.85, 1.3 and 1.55 m) are preferred.
- Rapid switching.

Some of these fundamental requirements are met by light emitting

devices such as solid state semiconductor LASER diodes.
Light emitting diode

A light emitting diode (LED) works by the process of spontaneous

emission, when a p-n junction is forward biased. In forward bias,
electrons from the n – region migrate to the p – region and the holes from
the p – region move towards the n – region. Holes injected into the n –
region quickly encounter free electrons and recombine. Electrons
injected into the p – region encounter holes and recombine. When each
electron – hole pair recombines a single photon is released which carries
with it the energy required to liberate an electron from the valency bond.
The wavelength and frequency of light emitted are determined by the
band gap energy. The intensity of light produced is proportional to the
forward current conducted by the junction that controls the number of
holes and electrons crossing the junction to be recombined..
 Light

h = Eg

n n
Visible – Phos. Doped
p
GaAs

Infrared – Al doped
GaAs

LED Operated in
forward
bias
Laser
- LASER is an acronym and stands for light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation.
- An important optical and electronic device.
- The laser is a source of highly directional , monochromatic and coherent

light.
- Laser action has been obtained using different materials, including
gases, such as neon, helium, carbon dioxide, and solids such as ruby
and semiconductors.
- The action of a laser is based on the principle of stimulated emission.
When light is absorbed, electrons from the ground state E1 are excited to
the band of level designated as E3. These excited levels are highly
unstable, and the electrons decay rapidly to level E2. The energy
difference E3  E2 is given up in the form of heat. The level E2 is very
important for the stimulated emission because this level is metastable
having a mean life of few mili-seconds. If the electrons are excited from E1
to E3 at a rate faster than the rate E2 back to E1, the population of the
metastable state E2 becomes larger than the ground state E1. Such a
situation is called population inversion.
The population inversion is very crucial for laser action. Now if a photon
of energy E2  E1 enters this system and interacts with one of the inverted
population atoms. This photon can now actually stimulate the electron to
fall from state E2 to state E1 and emit a photon of energy E2  E1. Thus the
first photon has the emission of another photon of same energy and
multiplying the number of photons by a factor of two. We thus have light
amplification by stimulated emission of radiation or LASER E  E .
The construction of a semiconductor laser diode is achieved by polishing
the sides of the p-n junction. A highly polished surface acts as a partially

reflecting surface and also enables a back reflection process. Stimulated

photons assist in the process of combining the electrons and holes by
stimulating the electrons to fall quickly .
The structure of a modern semiconductor LASER designed for optical
communication is very complex as shown below. The lasing material is
gallium arsenide, an alloy of gallium and arsenic. It has the advantage
that the material can be made n- type or p-type by varying the relative
proportion of the two elements. It has also the band gap whose
corresponding wavelength lies in the first low loss window at 0.86 m.
Optical Detectors

- Light pulses that propagate in the fibre and reach the receiver end
become weak, due to some unavoidable losses along the way.
- The optical detector should highly sensitive.
- The optical detector should have a quick time response. It should
respond quickly to the changing light pulses that are switching ON
and OFF.
- The physical size of the detector should be very small, so that it
can be properly coupled to the thin optical fibre.

Several kinds of photosensitive devices that generate an electrical signal

when light falls on them are used as optical detectors. These include
silicon photo-diodes, avalanche photo-diodes (APD), photo-transistors,
and photo-resistors .
 Light

p n

A V

p – n operated in reverse bias