Ec422 Ofc-3

EC422: Optical Communication
Topic: OPTICAL SOURCES
by
Dr Sunil Joshi
EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Optical Source for OFC
• Optical Source is an active component of any OFC
system at the transmitting end.
• Its fundamental function is to convert electrical signal
variations in to proportional light intensity variations, in
an efficient manner.
• Optical emitters operate on the idea that
electromagnetic energy can only appear in a discrete
amount known as a quantum. These quanta are called
photons when the energy is radiated.
• Energy in one photon varies directly with the
frequency (E=hv)

Semiconductor Light Sources
• A PN junction (that consists of direct band gap

semiconductor materials) acts as the active or
recombination region.
• When the PN junction is forward biased, electrons and
holes recombine either radiatively (emitting photons) or
non-radiatively (emitting heat). This is simple LED
operation.
• In a LASER, the photon is further processed in a
resonance cavity to achieve a coherent, highly directional
optical beam with narrow linewidth.
• Its design and construction allows the light
output be effectively launched or coupled in to
the optical fibre.
Typical optical emitters include:
• Monochromatic incoherent Sources: LED

• Monochromatic coherent sources: LASER

Light-Emitting Diodes
• An LED is form of junction diode that is operated with
forward bias
• Instead of generating heat at the PN junction, light is
generated and passes through an opening or lens
• LEDs can be visible spectrum or infrared

Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
• For photonic communications requiring data rate 100-

200 Mb/s with multimode fiber with tens of microwatts,
LEDs are usually the best choice.
• LED configurations being used in photonic
communications:
1- Surface Emitters (Front Emitters)
2- Edge Emitters

Surface-Emitting LED
Schematic of high-radiance surface-emitting LED. The active region is limitted

to a circular cross section that has an area compatible with the fiber-core end face.

Edge-Emitting LED
Schematic of an edge-emitting double heterojunction LED. The output beam is

Lambertian in the plane of junction ( || = 120º) and highly directional perpendicular to
pn junction (  ⊥ = 30º) . They have high quantum efficiency & fast response
Light Source Material
• Most of the light sources contain III-V ternary &
quaternary compounds.
• Ga 1 −x Alx As by varying x it is possible to control the band-gap
energy and thereby the emission wavelength over the range of
800 nm to 900 nm. The spectral width is around 20 to 40 nm.
• In Ga As P By changing 0<x<0.47; y is approximately 2.2x,
1−x x y 1−y
the emission wavelength can be controlled over the range of
920 nm to 1600 nm. The spectral width varies from 70 nm to
180 nm when the wavelength changes from 1300 nm to 1600
nm. These materials are lattice matched.

Spectral width of LED types
Optical Fiber communications, 3rd ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

Laser Diodes
• Laser diodes generate coherent, intense light of a
very narrow bandwidth
• A laser diode has an emission linewidth of about
2 nm, compared to 50 nm for a common LED
• Laser diodes are constructed much like LEDs but
operate at higher current levels

Considerations with Optical Sources
• Physical dimensions to suit the fiber

• Narrow radiation pattern (beam width)
• Linearity (output light power proportional
to driving current)
• Ability to be directly modulated by
varying driving current
• Fast response time (wide band)
• Adequate output power into the
fiber
Considerations…
• Narrow spectral width (or line width)
• Stability and efficiency
• Driving circuit issues
• Reliability and cost

LED vs. laser spectral width
Single-frequency laser Laser output is many times

(<0.04 nm) higher than LED output; they
would not show on same
scale
Standard laser
(1-3 nm
wide)
LED (30-50 nm wide)
Wavelength
OS Requirements
• Light beam should be highly directional so as to
launch light in to fibre with hair like dimension.
• The OS must accurately track the input electrical
signal to minimize the distortion and the noise.
• Ideally its characteristics should have significant
linearity.
• Stable Output against ambient temperature.

OS Requirements
• At emitted light the fibre should have low losses, it

should exist in the attenuation dip of fibre window.
• Itshould be capable of being modulated at wide
bandwidth from audio frequency to as high as GHz.
• Adequate power output, low dispersion.
• Narrow spectral line width.

Quantum Efficiency & Optical Power Calculations

Thank you
Any Question!

OFC Receiver
Upon arriving at the receiving end of an optical

fibre, an OFC receiver converts the optical
signal variations in to a proportional electrical
signal.

Signal path through an optical link

Optical Receiver
RECEIVER Function:
• Converting the optical energy emerging from the end of a
fibre into electrical signal.
• Amplifying the signal
• Signal processing by electronic circuit following the
receiver amplifier

Optical receiver consists of:
Photodetector
Amplifier
Signal Processing circuitry

than that of an optical Transmitter.
Because:
 Receiv
er has
to
detect
weak
signal.
 Receiv
er has
to
detect
distort
ed
signal.
 Decision making on the basis of amplified and

reshaped version of distorted signal.
Basic Components of Rx

Basic components of an optical receiver:
1. Photodetector:
The first element is either a pin or avalanche photodiode. It
produces an electric current that is proportional to the received
power level.
2. Front end amplifier:
As the electric current is very weak , a front end amplifier is

used to boost it to a level that can be used in next electronic
components

3. Low pass filter:
After the electric signal produced by the photodiode is

amplified, it passes through the low pass filter to reduce the
noise that is outside the signal bandwidth .
This filter thus defines the receiver bandwidth. Minimize
the effect of intersymbol interference (ISI).
Equalization: Reshape the pulses that have become
distorted (pulse spreading) as the traveled through the
fiber.
4. Sampling circuit:
It samples the signal level at the mid point of each time slot

5. Decision circuit
It compares the samples with a certain reference voltage
known as the threshold level.
If the received signal level is greater than the threshold
level, 1 is received.
If the received signal level is below the threshold level, 0 is
received.
6. Clock recovery or timing recovery
To accomplish bit interpretation, the receiver must know
where the bit boundaries are.
This is done with the assistance of periodic waveform called
clock, which has the periodicity equal to the bit interval.

Front- End Amplifier
Noise sources at the front end of a receiver dominate

the sensitivity and bandwidth.
Major engineering emphasis has been on the design of a
low noise front end amplifier.
Goal:
Maximize the receiver sensitivity while maintaining a
suitable bandwidth.
Front end amplifiers classified into two broad
categories:
High impedance
Trans impedance
1. Receiver with High impedance amplifier
hv C Vout
RL
Photodiode
Amplifier
Generic structure of a high-impedance amplifier

Basic concern in front end design:
•To choose load resistor RL.
•Thermal noise is inversely proportional to the load
resistance.
•Thus, R should be as large as possible to minimize

L
•thermal noise
1. High impedance amplifier
Trade off must be between noise and receiver bandwidth,
since the bandwidth is inversely proportional to the resistance
Rp seen by the photodiode.
High load resistance results in low noise but also gives a low
receiver bandwidth
2. Receiver with Trans-impedance amplifier
RL
Vout
hv
C
Amplifier
Photodiode
Generic structure of a trans-impedance amplifier

It largely overcomes the drawbacks of

the high impedance amplifier.
In this case RL is used as a negative feedback resistor
around an inverting amplifier.
Now RL can be large since the negative feedback
reduces the effective resistance seen by the photodiode
by a factor G, so that Rp =RL/(G+1), where G is the gain of
an amplifier.
Trans impedance amplifier is the choice
for optical fiber transmission links.
Optical Detectors
• The most common optical detector used with fiber-optic systems is
the PIN diode
• The PIN diode is operated in the reverse-bias mode
• As a photodetector, the PIN diode takes advantage of its wide
depletion region, in which electrons can create electron-hole pairs
• The low junction capacitance of the PIN diode allows for very fast
switching

Avalanche Photodiode
• The avalanche photodiode (APD) is also operated in the reverse-
bias mode
• The creation of electron-hole pairs due to the absorption of a photon
of incoming light may set off avalanche breakdown, creating up to
100 more pairs
• This multiplying effect gives an APD very high sensitivity

Noise in OFC Receiver

Quantum or Shot Noise source
Random arrival rate of signal photons, i.e. production and collection
of photo electrons is random in nature when photons incident on
photo diode produces a quantum or short noise at the
photodetector. Shot noise also arises from the statistical nature of
the avalanche multiplication process in APD.
Thermal Noise source

1. Thermal noise arising from the detector load resistor
2. In amplifier electronics
Dark current
The photodiode dark current arises from electrons and
holes that are thermally generated at the pn junction of
the photodiode. Small as compared to other noises.
Thermal noises are of a Gaussian nature , and can be
treated by standard techniques.
The analysis of the noises and the resulting error

probabilities associated with the primary photocurrent
generation and the avalanche multiplication are
complicated, since neither of these processes is
Gaussian. (instead, time varying Poisson process)
A further error source is attributed to intersymbol

interference (ISI), which results from pulse spreading
in the optical fiber.
Because of the pulse spreading induced by the fiber, some
of the transmitted energy will progressively spread into
neighboring time slots as the pulse propagates along the
fiber.
Receiver Performance
Ideally, in a digital receiver the decision circuit output signal
voltage Vout (t)
• Would always exceed the threshold voltage when 1 is
present
• Would be less than the threshold when no pulse, 0 was sent
Deviation from the average value of vout(t) (decision circuit output)

are caused by:
1. Various noises
2. Interference from adjacent pulses
3. Condition when the light source is not completely
extinguished during a zero pulse.
*Probability of Error
Measuring the rate of error occurrences in a digital data
stream.
A simple approach is to divide the number ‘Ne’ of errors
occurring over a certain time interval ‘t’ by the number ‘Nt’ of
pulses (ones and zeros) during this interval.
This is called either error rate or the bit-error rate
(BER)
BER = Ne/Nt = Nt/Bt
Where Bt= 1/Tb is the bit rate (pulse transmission rate)

The error rate is expressed by a number
say for example as 10-9.
(one error occurs for every billion pulses sent)
Typical error rated for optical fiber

telecommunication system range from:
10-9 to 10-12
Standards which define acceptable bit error rates
include ITU-T O.150 and O.201 Recommendations.
Receiver sensitiviy
To achieve a desired BER at a given Data rate, a specific
minimum average optical power level must arrive at the
photodetector.
The value of this minimum power level is called the
receiver Sensitivity.
A common method of defining the receiver sensitivity

is as an average optical power (Pave) in dBm incident
on the photodetector.
The receiver sensitivity gives a measure of the

minimum average power needed to maintain a
maximum (worst case) BER at a specific data rate.
- 20
pin
- 30 photodiode
Sensitivity (dBm)
Avalanche
- 40 photodiode
- 50
0.01 0.1 1 10
Bit rate (Gb/s)
Sensitivities as a function of bit rate for generic pin and

avalanche InGaAs photodiodes at 1550 nm for a 10-12 BER
The Quantum Limit
It is calculated by assuming zero dark current i.e no electron
hole pairs generated in the absence of an optical pulse.
It is the minimum received optical power required for a
specific bit-error performance in a digital system.
This minimum received power level is known as the
quantum limit, by assuming all system parameters ideal.
*Sensitivity of most receivers is around 20 dB higher

than the quantum limit because of various nonlinear
distortions and noise effects in the transmission link.
When specifying the quantum limit, distinguish between

average power and peak power. Quantum limit based on the
peak power
Thanks
Any question…….!

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EC422: Optical Communication

Topic: OPTICAL SOURCES

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

• A PN junction (that consists of direct band gap

Typical optical emitters include:

• Monochromatic incoherent Sources: LED

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

• For photonic communications requiring data rate 100-

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Schematic of high-radiance surface-emitting LED. The active region is limitted

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Schematic of an edge-emitting double heterojunction LED. The output beam is

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Optical Fiber communications, 3rd ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

• Physical dimensions to suit the fiber

• Narrow spectral width (or line width)

• Stability and efficiency

• Driving circuit issues

• Reliability and cost

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Single-frequency laser Laser output is many times

LED (30-50 nm wide)

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

• At emitted light the fibre should have low losses, it

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Upon arriving at the receiving end of an optical

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

 Decision making on the basis of amplified and

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

2. Front end amplifier:

As the electric current is very weak , a front end amplifier is

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

After the electric signal produced by the photodiode is

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Noise sources at the front end of a receiver dominate

Generic structure of a high-impedance amplifier

•Thus, R should be as large as possible to minimize

Generic structure of a trans-impedance amplifier

It largely overcomes the drawbacks of

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

EC422: OPTICAL COMMUNICATION BY- Dr Sunil Joshi

Thermal Noise source

The analysis of the noises and the resulting error

A further error source is attributed to intersymbol

Deviation from the average value of vout(t) (decision circuit output)

BER = Ne/Nt = Nt/Bt

Where Bt= 1/Tb is the bit rate (pulse transmission rate)