Unit-III: Optical Fiber

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UID-23352
Room: 33-216
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Department of Physics
Div- Computer Science and Engg
Lovely Professional University, India
Email: goutam.23352@lpu.co.in
 Introduction
 In 1870, John Tyndall demonstrated light can be guided along curved stream of water.
 During 1930, other ideas were developed with this fiber optic such as transmitting images

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through a fiber.
 During the 1960s, Lasers were introduced as efficient light sources.

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 In 1970s, All glass fibers experienced excessive optical loss, the loss of the light signal as it

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traveled the fiber limiting transmission distance.

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 This motivated the scientists to develop glass fibers that include a separating glass coating.
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The innermost region was used to transmit the light, while the glass coating prevented the
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light from leaking out of the core by reflecting the light within the boundaries of the core.
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 Today, you can find fiber optics used in variety of applications such as medical environment
to the broadcasting industry. It is used to transmit voice, television images and data signals
through small flexible threads of glass or plastic.
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
• An optical fiber is a very thin, flexible and cylindrical shape
of structure which allow to guide light waves through them.
It is just like a human hair.
• The THREE principal section of optical fiber are:
 Core – inner most section made of glass (or silica, SiO2)

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or plastic

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 Cladding- surrounding of core section made of glass or

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plastic
 Jacket- outermost section made of plastic or polymer or

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others which protects from abrasion, moisture,
mechanical shocks, or any hazardous environment.

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• Most optical fibers used in communication have dimension
0.25mm to 0.5mm (including outer coating)
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• The working of fiber optics is based on Total Internal
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Reflection(TIR) principle.

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Total Internal Reflection
• When light travels from a medium with a Condition for TIR:
higher refractive index to lower refractive  RI of incident medium > RI of refracted medium

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index and it strikes the boundary at more  Angle of incident > Critical angle
than the critical angle all light will be reflected

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back to the incident medium. This
phenomenon is called as total internal

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reflection(TIR)

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• The angle at which the refraction angle is 900
and the refracted ray emerges parallel to the

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interface is called critical angle.
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Light propagation in Fiber
 Let us consider light propagation in an optical fibre. The end at which the light enters the fibre
is called the launching end. Let the refracting index of the core be n1 and the refractive index
of the cladding be n2 (n2 < n1). Let the outside medium from which the light is launched into

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the fibre have a refractive index n0. Let a light ray enter the fibre at an angle θi to the axis of
the fibre (shown in Figure). Let the refracted ray make an angle θr with the axis and strikes the

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core-cladding interface at an angle φ.

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 If φ > θc (critical angle), the ray undergoes total internal reflection at the interface. As long as
the angle φ > θc the light remains within the fibre.

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 Applying Snell's Law to the launching
face of the fibre, we get,
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 From triangle ABC,
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we have sin θr = sin (90° - φ) = cos (φ)

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Light propagation in Fiber
• When φ = θc (critical angle ), θi = θmax

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• But and

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• Then

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• If (n12 — n22)0.5 > n0, then for all values of θi TIR will occur.
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• If n0 = 1, the maximum value of sin θi for a ray to be guided is given by,

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Thus,

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 The angle θm, is called the acceptance angle of the fibre. Acceptance, angle may be defined as

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the maximum angle that a light ray can have relative to the axis of the fibre and propagates
down the fibre.

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 The light rays contained within the cone having a full angle 2θm , are accepted and transmitted

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along the fibre. This cone is therefore known as acceptance cone.

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 Fraction Refractive Index Change: This parameter is defined as the ratio of the difference
between the refractive indices of the core and the cladding to the refractive index of core. It is
denoted by ∆ and expressed as: ta
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 ∆ is always positive because refractive index of core is always greater than the refractive index
of cladding for the total internal reflection condition.

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

Numerical Aperture:

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 The Numerical aperture (NA) is defined as the sine of the acceptance angle. This angle is a measure of

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the light gathering power of the fibre. It is expressed as

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=

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Numerical aperture is a measure of the amount of light that can be accepted by a fibre, For a typical
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optical fibre n2=1.458, ∆ = 0.01 and the corresponding NA=0.2.
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 Thus the fibre would accept light incident over a cone with a semi-angle sin-1(0.2)=11.50 about the axis.

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Classification based on RI:
Based on refractive index profile, optical

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fiber are TWO types:

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 Step Index Optical Fiber: RI profile makes a
step change at core-cladding interface and

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n1 > n2

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 Graded Index Optical Fiber: RI of core is
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decreases with increasing radial distance
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from axis of core but RI of cladding is
constant. n1 > n2
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Classification based on Mode:
Based on modes, optical fibers are
classified into TWO types:

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 Single mode fiber(SMF)- supports only ONE
propagation path because very small core

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diameter. Core diameter is about 8 μm-10 μm.

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 Multimode fiber(MMF)- supports many
propagation path because they have large core

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diameter. Core diameter is about 50 μm-100 μm.
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 Multimode is again TWO types:
• Multimode step index fiber
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• Multimode graded index fiber

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Single mode fibre Multimode fibre
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1. Single-mode fibre sustains only one mode of 1. Multimode fibre can propagate hundreds of modes.
propagation. 2. Large radii of-multimode fibres make it easier to launch
2. Small radii of single mode fibres make it difficult to optical power into the fibre

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launch optical power into the fibre. 3. Light can be launched into a multimode fibre using a
3. Single mode fibres must generally be excited with laser light emitting diode (LED).

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diode (LD). 4. Multimode fibres suffer intermodal dispersion

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4. Single mode fibres are free from intra-modal 5. Attenuation in multimode step index fibre between 2.6
dispersion. to 50 dB/km at a wavelength of 850 nm and in

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5. Attenuation in single mode fibre is between 2 to 5 multimode graded index fibre is between 2 to 10 dB/km
dB/km with a scattering limit of around 1 dB/km at a at a wavelength of 850nm

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wavelength of 850 nm. 6. Multimode step index fibre is used for short-haul
6. Single mode fibre is used for very long-haul application and multimode graded index fibre is suited
communication. ta for medium haul application.
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7. Single mode fibre have higher bandwidth (> 500 MHz- 7. Bandwidth in multimode step index fibre is 6 to 50
km). MHz-km and in multimode graded index fibre is 800
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8. V-number for single mode fibre V< 2.405. MHz-km to 3 GHz-km

9. Single mode fibre is best designed for longer 8. V-number for multimode fibre V>2.405.
transmission distances making it suitable for long- 9. MIultimode fibre is best designed for short transmission
distance telephony and multi-channel television distances, and is stilted for use in LAN systems and
broadcast system. video surveillance.
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
 V-number:
 An optical fiber is characterized by one  The max number of modes supported by step
more important parameter, known as V-
index fiber is

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number which is more generally

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 The max number of modes supported by graded
normalized frequency of the fiber. It is

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given by the relation: index fiber is

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 For single mode fiber V < 2.405 and for multimode

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fiber V >2.405
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Where a is radius of the core and λ is free  The wavelength correspond to the value V=2.405
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space wavelength. is called as cut off wavelength of the fiber and is
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 In terms of NA, it is given as,

given by .

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

Losses in Optical Fiber
Attenuation:

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• Attenuation means loss of light energy as the light pulse travel from one end of the cable to the

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other end.

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• It is also called as signal loss or fiber loss
• It also decides the number of repeaters required between transmitter and receiver.

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Defn-. Attenuation is defined as the ratio of optical power output to the optical power input in the
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fiber , of length L.
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[in db/km] (or) [in db/km]

where, Pi= Input Power, Po= Output Power and α = attenuation constant
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
 Types of losses

The various losses in the cables are

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due to

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 Absorption Loss

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 Bending Loss

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 Dispersion Loss
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 Scattering Loss

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 ABSORPTION LOSS:
 Absorption of light energy due to heating of ion impurities results in dimming of light at
the end of the fiber.

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Two types:

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• Intrinsic Absorption
• Extrinsic Absorption

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1.Intrinsic Absorption: 2.Extrinsic Absorption:

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• It is caused by the interaction with one • It is also called impurity adsorption.
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or more components of the glass.
• Results from the presence of
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• It occurs when photon interacts with transition metal ions like iron,
an electron in the valence band & chromium, cobalt, copper and from
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excites it to a higher energy level near OH ions i,.e in water.

the UV region.

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

BENDING LOSS:
The loss which exists when an optical fiber undergoes bending is called bending losses. There are

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two types of bending:

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 Macroscopic bending: Bending in which  Microscopic Bending : Either the core or
complete fiber undergoes bends which

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cladding undergoes slight bends at its surface.
causes certain modes not to be reflected It causes light to be reflected at angles when

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and therefore causes loss to the cladding. there is no further reflection.

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(Microscopic bending)
(Macroscopic Bending )
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
DISPERSION LOSS:
 As an optical signal travels along the fiber, it becomes increasingly distorted. This distortion is
a sequence of intermodal and intramodal dispersion.

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Two types:

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1. Intermodal Dispersion : Pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion results from the

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propagation delay differences between modes within a multimode fiber.
2. Intramodal Dispersion : It is the pulse spreading that occurs within a single mode. It is

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TWO types

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 Material Dispersion:
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• It is also known as spectral dispersion or chromatic dispersion. Results because of
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variation due to Refractive Index of core as a function wavelength, because of which
pulse spreading occurs even when different wavelengths follow the same path.
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 Waveguide Dispersion:
• Whenever any optical signal is passed through the optical fiber, practically 80% of
optical power is confined to core & rest 20% optical power into cladding.
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
 SCATTERING LOSS:

• It occurs due to microscopic variations in the material density,

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compositional fluctuations, structural in homogeneities and

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manufacturing defects.

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1.Linear Scattering

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2.Non-linear Scattering
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty

LINEAR SCATTERING:
A. Rayleigh Scattering Losses:
 These losses are due to microscopic variation in the material of the fiber.

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 Unequal distribution of molecular densities or atomic densities leads to Rayleigh Scattering

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losses.
 Glass is made up of several oxides like Si02, P205,etc. compositions, fluctuations can occur

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because of these several oxides which rise to Rayleigh scattering losses.

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B. Mie Scattering Losses:

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 These losses results from the compositional fluctuations and structural in homogeneities &
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defects created during fiber fabrications, causes the light to outside the fiber.
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C. Waveguide Scattering Losses:

 It is a result of variation in the core diameter, imperfections of the core-cladding interface,
change in RI of either core or cladding.
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
NON LINEAR SCATTERING:
SBS Scattering SRS Scattering
• Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) may be • Stimulated Raman Scattering is similar to SBS

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regarded as the modulation of light through except that high frequency optical phonon
thermal molecular vibrations within the rather than acoustic phonon is generated in

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fiber. scattering processes.

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PR =5.9x10-2 d2 λ α dB watts

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PB = 4.4x 10-3 d2 λ2 α B watts • Phonon: Collective excitation in a periodic
arrangement of atoms or molecules in solid.

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where, λ = operating wavelength um,
d= fiber core diameter um
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and B = source bandwidth in GHz
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty

Applications:
• Communication and broadcasting

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• Healthcare industry

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• Traffic control and security

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• Military

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• Sensor
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty

 Sample MCQ
If 𝐹 = 𝑥𝑖 ̂ + 𝑦𝑗 ̂ + 𝑧𝑘 If V-number of the single mode step Dielectric are the substances which are
then its divergence is __. index fiber is 2.305, find the maximum a. Conductor

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number of supported guided mode ?
a. 𝑖 ̂ + 𝑗 ̂ + 𝑘 b. Insulator

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a. 4.5042
b. 3 c. Semiconductor

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b. 2.6565
c. x + y + z d. None
c. 1.6556

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d. None
d. 1.2383

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The Stoke’s theorem is A non-polar molecule is the one in which the
a. ∬ 𝐴⃗. 𝑑𝑆 = ∮ 𝐴⃗. 𝑑𝑟 ta
The ratio of Einstein Co-efficient A
and B can be written as
center of gravity of +ve and –ve charges
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a. coincides
b. ∮ 𝐴⃗. 𝑑𝑟 = ∬ 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑙 𝐴⃗. 𝑑𝑆 a. (8πhc^3)/ν^3 b. gets separated by 1Å
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c. ∬ 𝐴⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = ∭ 𝑑𝑖𝑣 𝐴⃗. 𝑑𝑉 b. (8πhc)/ν

c. gets separated by 10--8 m
c. (8πhc)/ν^3
d. ∬ 𝐴⃗ . 𝑑𝑆 = ∭ 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝐴⃗ 𝑑𝑉 d. None
d. (8πh ν^3)/c^3
Dr. Goutam Mohanty
 Sample MCQ
Spontaneous emission of two atoms produces Holography is an ______ phenomenon.
Temporal coherence is
radiations a. Dispersion

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a. Longitudinal
a. have random phase and random direction b. Diffraction

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b. Transverse
b. have same phase and same direction c. Interference

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c. both a & b
c. have random phase and same direction d. None
d. None

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d. have same phase and random direction

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Each part of hologram contains the
Nd: YAG Laser is
a. 2-level is ___.
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The V-number of the single mode fiber information about
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a. Particular part of the object
b. 3-level a. V < 2.405
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b. Entire object
b. V > 2.405
c. 4-level
c. V = 2.405 c. Important part of object
d. None d. None d. Front side of object

Dr. Goutam Mohanty

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Thank You

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ALL THE BEST
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Dr. Goutam Mohanty