Fiber Optics Technology

Fiber Optics What Is It?

Fiber Optics are cables that are made of optical fibers
that can transmit large amounts of information at the
speed of light. (www.dictionary.com)
History
1961-“Industry researchers Elias Snitzer and Will
Hicks demonstrate a laser beam directed through a
thin glass fiber. The fiber’s core is small enough that
the light follows a single path, but most scientists
still consider fibers unsuitable for communications
because of the high loss of light across long
distances.” (www.greatachievements.com.)
1970- Researchers find a way to super purify glass
fibers.
1980- At&t installs first set of fiber optic cables in
major cities.
History
1988- First transatlantic cable

1996- First transpacific cable

1997- First Fiber Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG)

Present
Telecommunications

Internet Access

Cable and Satellite Television

Decorative Light Source

The Cable
Fiber Optic have three major characteristics
Composed of fibers either glass or plastic and sometimes
both

Are very flexible

Have different tips

Components
Core – thin glass center of the fiber where light
travels. High refractive index n1
Cladding – outer optical material surrounding the
core. Low refractive index n2
Buffer Coating – plastic
coating that protects
the fiber.
Advantages of Optical Fibre
Thinner
Less Expensive
Higher Carrying Capacity
Less Signal Degradation& Digital Signals
Light Signals
Non-Flammable
Light Weight
Areas of Application
Telecommunications
Local Area Networks
Cable TV
CCTV
Optical Fiber Sensors
Glass Fibers
Characteristics
Glass Core

Glass Cladding

Ultra Pure Ultra Transparent Glass

Made Of Silicon Dioxide

Low Attenuation

Popular among industries

Plastic Fibers
 Characteristics
Core Generally Consists Of Polymethyl
Methacrylate (Acrylic Glass) (PMMA) Coated
With A Fluoropolymer

High Attenuation

Used Mostly In Automotives

Affordable

Very Durable
How Does Optical Fibre Transmit Light??
Total Internal Reflection.
Fibre Optics Relay Systems has
-Transmitter
-Optical Fibre
-Optical Regenerator
-Optical Receiver
 Optical fibre cable
A bundle of optical fibres consists of thousands of
individual fibre wires as thin as human hair,
measuring 0.004 mm in diameter is known as optical
fibre cable.
Total Internal Reflection in Fiber
Total Internal Reflection in Fiber
The optical fibre obeys the laws of reflection and
refraction of light waves.
 The reflection or refraction of
the light at the interface depends
on the difference in the speed of
light in two materials having
different refractive indices and
angle of incidence.
Case 1. (Green color)
The refracted ray bends away from normal because the
refractive index n1 of the first medium is grater than
the refractive index n2 of second medium (n1 > n2).
If the angle made by the refracted ray with normal is θ2,
then θ2 > θ1.

Case 2. (Red color)

If the angle of incidence (θ1) is increased for a certain
value equal to critical angle (θc), then θ2 is 90
If θ1 = θc, then θ2 = 90
Case 3, Blue color
If the angle of incidence θ1 is greater than the critical
angle of incidence, θc , then the incident light ray is
reflected back into the same medium by total internal
reflection.
Expression for critical angle θc
 For the refraction of light, a relation between the
angle of incidence (θ1) and angle of refraction (θ2) is
given by snell’s law.
n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2
For total internal reflection
θ1 = θc and θ1 = 90
n1 sin θc = n2 sin 90
Condition for total internal reflection
1. The glass around the centre of fibre (core) should
have higher refractive index (n1) than that of the
material (cladding) surrounding the fibre (n2).

2. The light should incident at an angle (between the

path of the ray and normal to the fibre wall) greater
than the critical angle θc.
 Types of optical fibre
Number of Refractive
Material modes index
profile

Glass Plastic
fibre fibre Step Graded
index index
Single Multi fibre fibre
mode mode
fibre fibre
Fiber optic materials
They are of two types
Glass fibers
Plastic fibers
Glass

fibers
These are made up of fused mixtures of metal oxides and
silica glasses.
The most common is silica with a refractive index of 1.458 at
850 nm.
To Produce two similar materials having slightly different
indices of refraction for the core and cladding, either fluorine
or various oxides such as Boron Oxide, Germanium oxide, or
P2O5 are added to silica.
Examples:
1. GeO2 – SiO2 core; SiO2 Cladding
2. P2O5 – SiO2 Core; SiO2 Cladding
3. SiO2Core; P2O5 – SiO2 Cladding
Glass fibers
Core Cladding
GeO2-SiO2 SiO2
P2O5-SiO2 SiO2
SiO2 P2O5-SiO2

Another type of silica glasses are the low melting silicates. Such optical fibre are
made of soda-lime silicates, germanosilicates and varioius borosilicates
Plastic Fibers
They are made up of plastic. Low in cost.
Greater signal attenuation than glass fibers.
Has toughness and durability.
Numerical aperture 0.58 (high)
Acceptance angle up to 70⁰.
Plastic Fibers
Core n1 Cladding n2

Polystyrene 1.60 Methyl 1.49

(NA=0.583) methacrylate

Polymethyl 1.49 Co-polymer 1.40

methacrylate
(NA=0.51)
Classification of Optical Fibers
Optical fibers are classified into the following
depending upon the number of modes of propagation.
Single mode fiber
Multimode fiber
Single-mode fibers
– It is used to transmit one signal per fiber (used in
telephone and cable TV).
 They have small cores (9 microns in diameter) and
transmit infra-red light from laser.
Its core diameter is small in the order of a few times
the wavelength of light.
It is designed to have small refractive index difference
between the core and cladding
The single-mode fibre must be used along with laser
diodes.
It can support only one mode of propagation.
Single-mode fibers
Core diameter : 8-10 μm
It does not mean only one wave is there.
All rays can take only one way.
No dispersion (homogenous signal delay)
Expensive due to the small core diameter
NA = 0.1 at λ = 0.8 μm.
Multi-mode fibers
It is used to transmit many signals per fiber (used in
computer networks).
 They have larger cores (62.5 microns in diameter) and
transmit infra-red light from LED.
Multimode fibre
If more than one mode is transmitted through an
optical fibre, then the optical fibre is known as
multimode fibre.

The large core radii of multimode fibre makes it easier

to launch light into the fibre
Multi-mode fibers
Core Diameter: 50 or 62.5 μm
Different used wavelengths
Different Signal delays
Some modes take longer time to travel since they
travel longer distance.
 Classification based on refractive index
Based on refractive index profile, they are classified
into the following two types
Step index fiber
Graded index fiber
Step index fiber
For an optical fiber, a step-index profile is a refractive index
profile characterized by a uniform refractive index within the
core and a sharp decrease in refractive index at the core-
cladding interface so that the cladding is of a lower refractive
index.

It is based on the comparision of the refractive indices of air,

cladding, and core materials. In this step index fibre, the
refractive index of air, cladding and core vary step by step as
shown in diagram
Step index single mode fibre
Due to its small core diameter, only a single – mode of light ray
transmission is possible.
Characteristics:
it has a very small thin core diameter, typically of about 10 μm.
NA is very small
it supports only one mode in which the entire light energy is
concentrated.
because of a single mode of propagation of light, loss due to
intermodal dispersion does not exist.
it carries higher bandwidth than multimode fibre.
Advantages
It has a very high capacity
About 80% of optical fibres manufactured are of this
type
Disadvantages
In spite of its so many advantages, the manufacturing
and handling of this type of fibre is very expensive
Applications and uses
Its used as under-sea cable
Submarine cable system
Long distance telephone system
Step index multimode fibre
Its core has a much larger diameter which makes it
easier to support propagation of a large number of
modes.

There is a sudden increase in the value of refractive

index from cladding to core. Thus, its refractive index
profile takes the shape of a step.
Characteristics
1. It has large core diameter
2. It has low bandwidth
3. Light is passed into a multimode fibre using a light
emitting diode
4. It has larger numerical aperture and it is of the order
of 0.3
5. It has high attenuation.
Advantages
1. Since LED’s are used as the source of light, they
are easier to operate.
2. LEDs have longer life than laser diodes, thus
making them more suitable in many
applications.
3. They are less expensive and requires less complex
circuitry.
 Disadvantage
1. They suffer from intermodal dispersion loss
 Application and uses
They are widely used in data links which require
low bandwidth
 Graded Index Fiber
A graded-index or gradient-index fiber is an optical fiber whose
core has a refractive index that decreases with increasing radial
distance from the fiber axis (the imaginary central axis running
down the length of the fiber).

i.e the refractive index at the fibre axis is maximum, while it is

minimum at the core cladding interface.
Graded Index Fiber
Because parts of the core closer to the fiber axis
have a higher refractive index than the parts near
the cladding, light rays follow sinusoidal paths
down the fiber.
The advantage of the graded-index fiber compared
to multimode step-index fiber is the considerable
decrease in modal dispersion.
Advantages
Intermodal dispersion can be reduced with this type
of fibre
It is a high quality fibre
Disadvantages
It is most expensive of all types of fibres
Its fabrication is difficult
Applications and uses
It is widely used in intra-city trunks between central
telephone offices
It is used in medium-distance applications.
i
Losses in optical fibre
Attenuation
The power of the light at the output end is found to be
always less than the power launched at the input end.
The loss is found to be a function of fibre material,
wavelength of light, and length of the fibre.
This loss of optical power is also known as
ATTENUATION.
Attenuation loss is generally measured in temrs of the
decibel (dB).
It is defined as the ratio of the optical power output
from a fibre to the power input.
Basic attenuation mechanisms
Material absorption losses
Scattering losses
Bending losses
Material absorption losses
It is related to fibre material composition and
wavelength of the light used.
1. Extrinsic absorption (by impurity atoms)
2. Intrinsic absorption
3. Absorption by atomic effect
scattering
When the light is scattered by an obstruction, the
result is power loss.
Bending losses
Whenever the optical fibres have the bends, then they
produce bending losses
Macroscopic bending losses
Microscopic bending losses
Macroscopic bending losses
These losses occur when the radius of curvature of
bending is greater than fiber diameter. This situation
arises when a fiber cable turns in a corner.
This loss is negligible for small bends.
Microscopic bending
This is due to non-uniformities micro-bends inside the
fibre. This micro bend in fibre appears due to non-
uniform pressures created during the cabling of the
fibre or even during the manufacturing itself.
Applications of OPTICAL FIBERS
The basic concept of optical fibre communication is similar to other type of
communication system.

The Various components used in optical fibre communication systems are as

follows.

1. Source
2. Detectors
3. Connectors
4. Couplers
5. Receptor and
6. Multipliers
1. Source
2. Detectors
3. Connectors
4. Couplers
5. Receptor and
6. Multipliers
Source: Active component in OCS (Optical Communication System)
Used to convert the electrical energy into optical energy in an
efficient manner and resulting in successful launching of light into
the optical fibre.
Characteristics of light Source:
1. Continuously at room temperature
2. Light output should be modulated over a wide range of
frequencies
3. The wavelength of the output should coincide with one of the
transmission window
4. To couple large amount of power into the fibre and the output
spectrum should be small to reduce material dispersion

LED (Light Emitting Diodes) and Semiconductor Laser

Detector:

1. Main function is to convert the received optical signal into electrical

signal
2. Very high sensitivity
3. Larger signal response for the received optical signal
4. Short response time to obtain a suitable bandwidth
5. Minimum noise (While detection process)
6. Continuous operation over a wide range of temperature for many years
7. Compatible size with fibre dimension.

Semiconductor photo diode., PIN Photo diode, Avanlanche photodiode

Connectors

Two Catagories:

1. Fusion Splicing
The two fibre ends are viewed through microscope and placed together using
micropositioners
After aligning the two ends at correct position, an electric arc is struck across
the joint causing two ends to melt and fuse.

2. Ferrule-type Connector
Precision made ferrule to accurately align the fibre core and hence the two fibre
is joined together.
Coupler:

1. Splitter & Combiner (Three port & Four Port

2. Star Coupler
Repeaters and Multiplexers
Repeaters are used in receiver section to convert the
optical signal back to electrical signal. Generally in digital
transmission, repeaters are used as regenerators to
regenerate the original digital sound.

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) device is

specialised form of coupler designed to permit a number
of peak wavelength optical signals to transmit in parallel
single fibre
The device can be used in two modes either multiplex or
demultiplex.
Fibre Optic Sensor
Active method
Passive method
Active Sensor or Intrinsic Sensor

In an active sensor, the sensing and measurement are taking place

simaltaneously

1. Intensity Modulated Sensor – Phys. Para. Like Pressure,

displacement, refractive index, temperature, liquid level etc.
2. Phase Modulated Sensor – Hydrophone, Gyroscope and
Magnetometers
3. Polarization Modulated Sensor - Magnetic field and current
measurement in high-voltage transmission lines
4. Wavelength Modulated Sensor – Used to measure the
temperature (Based on spectral variation)
Passive Sensor
The extrinsic optical fibre sensor are those wherein
optical fibres are used to transmit radiation to and
from the point or region to be sensed.

The light transmitted through the fibre is modulated

externally by some induced environmental changes.

The modulated signal is passed through a second

fibre.
Temperaure Sensor

Mach-Zhender Interferometer is used to measure or to sense the temperature:

Laser beam – He-Ne Source

 Fibre endoscope

Fibre endoscope consists of inner and outer fibre.

The inner fibre illuminates the inner structure of the object under study while the outer
fibre is used to collect the reflected light form that area.
1. Interior of lungs
2. Tissues and
3. Blood vessels of the skin
4. Stomach Ulcer and etc.
Glass fibre and Plastic fibre
Glass fibre – Optical fibre is made up of mixture of
silica glass and metal oxide, then it is called as Glass
fibre
Ex: Core : GeO2 – SiO2, Cladding : SiO2
Core : SiO2, Cladding: P2O3 – SiO2
Plastic fibre - Optical fibre is made up of plastic, then
it is called as plastic fibre
Ex: Core: Polystyrene, Cladding: methylmetha crylate
Core : Polymethyl methacrylate, Cladding: Co -
polymer
 Number of modes
Single Mode fiber (SM)
If only one mode is transmitted through an optical
fibre, then the optical fibre is known as single-mode
fibre
Its core diameter is small in the order of a few times
the wavelength of light.
It is designed to have small refractive index difference
between the core and cladding
The single-mode fibre must be used along with laser
diodes.
It can support only one mode of propagation.
Multimode fibre
If more than one mode is transmitted through an
optical fibre, then the optical fibre is known as
multimode fibre.

The large core radii of multimode fibre makes it easier

to launch light into the fibre
Refractive index profile
In any optical fibre, cladding has a uniform refractive
index. However, the refractive index of core either
remain constant or vary in a particular way.