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    Lesson 8 TL

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    Optical fibers carry signals in the form of light and have three main parts: a core that light travels through, a cladding surrounding the core that reflects light back into the core, and a buffer coating that protects the fiber. Compared to copper wires, optical fibers are less expensive, thinner, have a higher carrying capacity, less signal degradation, use light signals instead of electrical signals, require lower power, are well-suited for digital signals, are non-flammable, lightweight, and flexible. Optical fibers come in single-mode and multi-mode varieties and experience various losses during transmission.

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    Lesson 8 TL

    Uploaded by

    siegé
    52 views10 pages
    Optical fibers carry signals in the form of light and have three main parts: a core that light travels through, a cladding surrounding the core that reflects light back into the core, and a buffer coating that protects the fiber. Compared to copper wires, optical fibers are less expensive, thinner, have a higher carrying capacity, less signal degradation, use light signals instead of electrical signals, require lower power, are well-suited for digital signals, are non-flammable, lightweight, and flexible. Optical fibers come in single-mode and multi-mode varieties and experience various losses during transmission.

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    Optical fibers carry signals in the form of light and have three main parts: a core that light travels through, a cladding surrounding the core that reflects light back into the core, and a buffer coating that protects the fiber. Compared to copper wires, optical fibers are less expensive, thinner, have a higher carrying capacity, less signal degradation, use light signals instead of electrical signals, require lower power, are well-suited for digital signals, are non-flammable, lightweight, and flexible. Optical fibers come in single-mode and multi-mode varieties and experience various losses during transmission.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    52 views10 pages

    Lesson 8 TL

    Uploaded by

    siegé
    Optical fibers carry signals in the form of light and have three main parts: a core that light travels through, a cladding surrounding the core that reflects light back into the core, and a buffer coating that protects the fiber. Compared to copper wires, optical fibers are less expensive, thinner, have a higher carrying capacity, less signal degradation, use light signals instead of electrical signals, require lower power, are well-suited for digital signals, are non-flammable, lightweight, and flexible. Optical fibers come in single-mode and multi-mode varieties and experience various losses during transmission.

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    Optical Fiber Communications

    1
    • Core - Thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels
    • Cladding - Outer optical material surrounding the core that reflects the
    light back into the core
    • Buffer coating - Plastic coating that protects the fiber from damage and
    moisture

    Compared to conventional metal wire (copper wire), optical fibers are:

    • Less expensive - Several miles of optical cable can be made cheaper


    than equivalent lengths of copper wire. This saves your provider (cable
    TV, Internet) and you money.
    • Thinner - Optical fibers can be drawn to smaller diameters than copper
    wire.
    • Higher carrying capacity - Because optical fibers are thinner than
    copper wires, more fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable than
    copper wires. This allows more phone lines to go over the same cable or
    more channels to come through the cable into your cable TV box.
    • Less signal degradation - The loss of signal in optical fiber is less than
    in copper wire.
    • Light signals - Unlike electrical signals in copper wires, light signals from
    one fiber do not interfere with those of other fibers in the same cable.
    This means clearer phone conversations or TV reception.
    • Low power - Because signals in optical fibers degrade less, lower-power
    transmitters can be used instead of the high-voltage electrical transmitters
    needed for copper wires. Again, this saves your provider and you money.
    • Digital signals - Optical fibers are ideally suited for carrying digital
    information, which is especially useful in computer networks.
    • Non-flammable - Because no electricity is passed through optical fibers,
    there is no fire hazard.

    2
    • Lightweight - An optical cable weighs less than a comparable copper
    wire cable. Fiber-optic cables take up less space in the ground.
    • Flexible - Because fiber optics are so flexible and can transmit and
    receive light, they are used in many flexible digital cameras for the
    following purposes:
    ■ Medical imaging - in bronchoscopes, endoscopes, laparoscopes
    ■ Mechanical imaging - inspecting mechanical welds in pipes and
    engines (in airplanes, rockets, space shuttles, cars)
    ■ Plumbing - to inspect sewer lines

    •Disadvantages:
    –higher initial cost in installation & more expensive to repair/maintain

    Optical Fiber Link

    Transmitter
    Input Coder or Light Source-to-fibre
    Signal Converter Source Interface

    Fibre-optic Cable

    Fibre-to-light Light Amplifier/Shaper Output


    Interface Detector Decoder
    Receiver

    • Transmitter - Produces and encodes the light signals


    • Optical fiber - Conducts the light signals over a distance
    • Optical regenerator - May be necessary to boost the light signal (for
    long distances)
    • Optical receiver - Receives and decodes the light signals

    3
    Optical fibers come in two types:

    • Single-mode fibers
    • Multi-mode fibers

    Light
    n1 core
    ray
    n2 cladding
    Single-mode step-index fibre no air

    n1 core
    n2 cladding
    Multimode step-index fibre no air
    Variable
    n
    Multimode graded-index fibre Index porfile

    •Single-mode step-index fiber:

    –minimum signal dispersion; higher TX rate possible


    –difficult to couple light into fiber; highly directive light source (e.g. laser)
    required; expensive to manufacture

    •Multimode step-index fibers:

    –inexpensive; easy to couple light into fiber


    –result in higher signal distortion; lower TX rate

    •Multimode graded-index fiber:

    –intermediate between the other two types of fibers

    4
    Acceptance Cone & Numerical Aperture

    Acceptance n2 cladding
    Cone θC n1 core
    n2 cladding

    Acceptance angle, θc , is the maximum angle in which external light rays may
    strike the air/fiber interface and still propagate down the fiber with <10 dB loss.

    θ C = sin −1 n12 − n2 2

    Numerical aperture:

    NA = sinθ C = n12 − n2 2

    Losses In Optical Fiber Cables

    •The predominant losses in optic fibers are:


    –absorption losses due to impurities in the fiber material
    –material or Rayleigh scattering losses due to microscopic irregularities in the
    fiber
    –chromatic or wavelength dispersion because of the use of a non-
    monochromatic source
    –radiation losses caused by bends and kinks in the fiber

    5
    –modal dispersion or pulse spreading due to rays taking different paths down the
    fiber

    –coupling losses caused by misalignment & imperfect surface finishes

    Absorption Losses In Optic Fiber

    6
    Rayleigh scattering
    5 & ultraviolet
    Loss (dB/km)

    4 absorption

    3 Peaks caused
    Infrared
    by OH- ions
    2 absorption
    1
    0
    0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7
    Wavelength (µm)

    Fiber Alignment Impairments

    Axial displacement Gap displacement

    Angular displacement Imperfect surface finish

    6
    Light Sources

    • Light-Emitting Diodes (LED)–made from material such as AlGaAs or GaAsP


    –light is emitted when electrons and holes recombine
    –either surface emitting or edge emitting

    • Injection Laser Diodes (ILD)–similar in construction as LED except ends are


    highly polished to reflect photons back & forth

    ILD versus LED

    •Advantages:
    –more focussed radiation pattern; smaller fiber
    –much higher radiant power; longer span
    –faster ON, OFF time; higher bit rates possible
    –monochromatic light; reduces dispersion

    •Disadvantages:
    –much more expensive
    –higher temperature; shorter lifespan

    Light Detectors

    •PIN Diodes
    –photons are absorbed in the intrinsic layer
    –sufficient energy is added to generate carriers in the depletion layer for current
    to flow through the device
    •Avalanche Photodiodes (APD)
    –photogenerated electrons are accelerated by relatively large reverse voltage
    and collide with other atoms to produce more free electrons

    7
    –avalanche multiplication effect makes APD more sensitive but also more noisy
    than PIN diodes.

    SAMPLE PROBLEMS

    1. A wave is propagated in a parallel-plane waveguide. The frequency is


    GHz, and the plane separator is cm. Calculate:
    a) The cutoff wavelength for the dominant mode.
    b) The wavelength in a waveguide.

    2. A rectangular waveguide is cm by cm. Calculate the cut-off


    frequency of the dominant mode.

    8
    3. A rectangular waveguide measures x cm and has a 9GHz signal
    propagated in it. Calculate the cut-off wavelength, the guide wavelength,
    the group and phase velocities and the characteristics impedance for the
    TE1,0 mode.

    4. A waveguide has an internal width a of cm, and carries the dominant


    mode of a signal of unknown frequency. If the characteristic impedance is
    Ω, what is the frequency?

    9
    5. Calculate the numerical aperture and the maximum angle of acceptance
    for a fiber with core and cladding refraction indices of and
    respectively.

    6. Determine the critical angle for a glass (n= )/quartz (n= )


    interface. If the angle of incidence is 38o determine the angle of
    refraction.

    10

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