UNIT 3

OPTICAL SOURCES &

DETECTORS
CONTENTS
3.1 Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s)
structures, materials, quantum efficiency, power modulation, power
bandwidth product.
3.2 Injection laser diodes
modes, threshold conditions, external quantum efficiency, laser diode rate
equations, resonant frequencies, Reliability of light emitting diodes (LED) &
Injection Laser Diodes (ILD).
3.3 Source to fiber power launching
output patterns, power coupling, power launching, equilibrium numerical
aperture, laser diode to fiber coupling. Transmission distance,
3.4 Line coding in optical links
3.5 Pin and avalanche photo diodes (APD),
detector response time, temperature effect on avalanche gain, comparison of
photo detectors.
INTRODUCTION
• An optical fiber source, often referred to as a light source or optical transmitter, is a critical
component in optical communication systems.
• It is responsible for generating and launching light signals into optical fibers for data
transmission.
Some of the critical parameters of optical sources include:
1. Wavelength and Spectral Range: The wavelength of the emitted light and the
spectral range covered by the source are critical for compatibility with the optical fiber's
transmission window and the specific application. The source's wavelength determines
its interaction with optical components and its ability to transmit data over long
distances without excessive attenuation or dispersion.
2. Output Power: The output power of the optical source is essential for ensuring that the
generated optical signal has sufficient strength to propagate through the optical system,
including fibers, connectors, and other components, while maintaining an acceptable
signal-to-noise ratio.
3. Spectral Linewidth: For laser sources, the spectral linewidth refers to the range of
wavelengths present in the emitted light. A narrow spectral linewidth is crucial for
minimizing chromatic dispersion and improving signal quality, especially in high-speed
communication systems.
4. Stability: The stability of the output power and wavelength over time is
essential for maintaining consistent signal quality and minimizing the need
for frequent recalibration or adjustments.
5. Modulation Speed and Bandwidth: In optical communication systems,
the modulation speed (modulation bandwidth) of the light source determines
the achievable data transmission rates. High-speed modulation capability is
crucial for supporting advanced modulation formats and increasing data
capacity.
6. Noise Characteristics: Low noise levels are critical for maintaining a
high signal-to-noise ratio, especially in sensitive applications such as optical
sensing and coherent communication systems.
7. Polarization Characteristics: Some applications require a specific
polarization state of light. Polarization stability and control are crucial in such
cases.
8. Reliability and Lifetime: The source's reliability, operational lifetime, and
mean time between failures (MTBF) are important factors for reducing
maintenance requirements and ensuring long-term system performance.
9. Spatial Profile: The spatial distribution of the light beam emitted by
the source, known as the spatial profile or beam profile, can impact the
coupling efficiency into optical fibers and the performance of optical
components.
10. Temperature Stability: The source's performance under varying
temperature conditions is critical, especially in outdoor or harsh
environments.
11. Size and Form Factor: For integration into compact or portable
systems, the physical size and form factor of the source are important
considerations.
12. Cost: The cost-effectiveness of the source is a significant factor,
especially for high-volume applications or budget-constrained projects.
Possible sources with above parameters are LEDs and LASER
DIODEs
LIGHT MATTER INTERACTION IN
SEMICONDUCTORS
Light-matter interaction in semiconductors refers to the interaction
between photons (light) and electrons or holes (charge carriers) within
a semiconductor material.
Here are some key aspects of light-matter interaction in
semiconductors:
• Absorption: When photons of energy matching the bandgap of the
semiconductor are incident on the material, they can be absorbed,
exciting electrons from the valence band to the conduction band.
This process is crucial in photodetectors where the absorbed
photons generate electron-hole pairs that contribute to a
photocurrent.
• Emission: Excited electrons in the conduction band can recombine
with holes in the valence band, releasing energy in the form of
photons. This process is utilized in LEDs and lasers to produce light
emission. In lasers, stimulated emission leads to coherent and
intense light emission.
Emission can be classified as:
• Spontaneous Emission:
• This emission occurs randomly in all directions and is not synchronized with
any external source. Spontaneous emission is a fundamental phenomenon in
light sources like LEDs.
• The emitted photons have various wavelengths and phases, leading to
incoherent light.
• Spontaneous emission is relatively weak and leads to lower optical power
output compared to lasers.
• Stimulated Emission:
• Stimulated emission is a process where an incoming photon triggers an
already excited electron to transition to a lower energy level, emitting a
second photon. The emitted photon has the same energy, direction, phase,
and polarization as the triggering photon. This process forms the basis of laser
operation.
• Stimulated emission is the dominant process that leads to intense, coherent,
and monochromatic light emission.
 INTERNAL QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
• Carrier injection in the active region of a semiconductor device,
such as a light-emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode, is a
fundamental process that leads to the generation of light or laser
emission.
• Carriers occupy conduction band leaving behind holes in valence band
• Population inversion created
• After injection of carriers,
ⅆ𝑛 𝑛
• Recombination rate of e-h pair: = −
ⅆ𝑡 𝑡 𝜏
• Carrier density decay as : 𝑛 = 𝑛0 ⅇ− Τ𝜏
• All e-h recombination need not lead to generation of photons
 INTERNAL QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
• Radiative Recombination:
➢ Electrons and holes recombine to emit photons
➢Recombination life time : 𝜏𝑟
𝑛
➢Recombination rate : 𝑅𝑟 =
𝜏𝑟
• Non Radiative Recombination:
➢ Electrons and holes recombine to emit photons
➢Recombination life time : 𝜏𝑛𝑟
𝑛
➢Recombination rate : 𝑅𝑛𝑟 =
𝜏𝑛𝑟
Internal Quantum Efficiency :

𝑅𝑟 𝜏𝑛𝑟
𝜂𝑖𝑛𝑡 = =
𝑅𝑟 + 𝑅𝑛𝑟 𝜏𝑟 + 𝜏𝑛
1 1 1
Carrier life time: = +
𝜏𝑐 𝜏𝑟 𝜏𝑛𝑟
3.1 Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
STRUCTURE
Homojunction structure
➢NO carrier and Optical confinement
Double Heterostructure (Hetero junction)
➢Carrier confinement- high level of radiative recombination in active region
➢Optical confinement – light confinement to prevent absorption
Dual confinement leads to high efficiency and high radiance
Double Hetero – structure Design
Surface emitting LED
• Key features and characteristics of Surface Emitting LEDs:
1.In a SLED, the light is emitted vertically from the top surface of the
semiconductor chip. This vertical emission allows for efficient coupling of
light into optical fibers or waveguides.
2.In the surface emitter, the plane of the active light-emitting region is
oriented perpendicularly to the axis of the fiber.
3.A well is etched through the substrate of the device, into which a fiber is
then cemented in order to accept the emitted light. The circular active area
in practical surface emitters is nominally 50 µm in diameter and up to 2.5
µm thick.
4.The emission pattern is essentially isotropic with a 120° half-power beam
width.
5.This isotropic pattern from such a surface emitter is called a lambertian
pattern.
6. In this pattern, the source is equally bright when viewed from any
direction, but the power diminishes as cos𝜃, where 𝜃 is the angle between
the viewing direction and the normal to the surface
Thus, the power is down to 50 percent of its peak when 𝜃 = 60°, so that the
total half-power beam width is 120°.
•
Edge emitting LED
• Key features and characteristics of edge-emitting LEDs:
1.In an edge-emitting LED, light is emitted laterally from the edges of
the semiconductor chip. The emitted light forms a beam that exits the
chip at the sides.
2. The emission pattern of the edge emitter is more directional than
that of the surface emitter
3.In the plane parallel to the junction, where there is no waveguide
effect, the emitted beam is lambertian (varying as cos 𝜃) with a half-
power width of 𝜃 | | = 120°.
4.In the plane perpendicular to the junction, the half-power beam
𝜃 ⊥has been made as small as 25–35° by a proper choice of the
waveguide thickness.
5.The lateral emission pattern allows for controlled and directional light
output, which is useful in optical communication.