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Chapter 2


OPTICAL FIBER

Fiber-Optic Communications Systems, Third Edition.
Govind P. Agrawal
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Chapter Goals
Describe the details of Geometrical-Optics: Step-Index Fiber,
Graded-Index Fibers
Describe Refraction and Reflection rays
Derive Total Internal Reflection Conditions
Determine Numerical Aperture
Describe propagation rays in Multi-Mode Step-Index Fiber and
in Multi-Mode Graded-Index Fiber
Determine BL product Limitation of Graded-Index Fiber
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Determine Dispersion in Single-Mode Fibers: Group-Velocity,
Material, Waveguide, Higher-Order, Polarization-Mode
Determine Fiber Losses: Attenuation Coefficient, Material
Absorption, Rayleigh Scattering, Waveguide Imperfections.
Describe Fiber Manufacturing: Design Issues, Fabrication
Methods, Cables
Investigate Dispersion Compensation in Fiber by OptiWave
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Geometrical-Optics Description
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Geometrical-Optics Description
MM-SI Fiber
n
2
n
2
n
1
1

MM-GI Fiber
1
n
2
n
2
n
1
SM Fiber
n
2
n
2
n
1
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Refraction and Reflection
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Refraction and Reflection
n
1
n
2
reflected
ray
refracted
ray
1
|
2
|
1
|
incident
ray
2 2 1 1
sin . sin . | | n n =
Assuming:
2 1
n n >
Laws Snell:
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Total Internal Reflection
n1
n2
refracted
ray
reflected
ray
c
| | =
1
1
|
2
2
t
| =
increase then increase
2 1
| |
angle critical
n
n
c c
: , sin
1
2
| | =
2
2 1
t
| | | = = then
c
Total Internal Reflection conditions?
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Total Internal Reflection Conditions
n1
n2
refracted
ray
reflected
ray
c
| | =
1
1
|
2
2
t
| =
Conclusion: The total reflection occurs when:

>
>
c
with rays all
n n
| |
1
2 1
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Numerical Aperture (NA) of the Fiber
) ( sin
2
2
2
1 0
n n n NA
i
= = u
In analogy with lenses, is known as
the numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber. It represents
the light-gathering capacity of an optical fiber.
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Numerical Aperture (NA) of the Fiber
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07 . 1 1 46 . 1
2 2 2
2
2
1
~ = = n n NA
0.2091 45 . 1 465 . 1
2 2 2
2
2
1
~ = = n n NA
Example 1
Determine Numerical Aperture of the Fiber?
(i) n
1
= 1.46 and n
2
= 1 (air)
(ii) n
1
= 1.465 and n
2
= 1.45.
Application of Eq:

(i)
(ii)
) ( sin
2
2
2
1 0
n n n NA
i
= = u
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Numeric Aperture (NA) of the Fiber
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Numeric Aperture (NA) of the Fiber
) ( sin
2
2
2
1 0
n n n NA
i
= = u
1
2 1
n
n n
= A

? 2
1
A ~ n NA

With
Demonstrate:
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Typical Numerical Aperture values
of the MM Fiber
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Example 2
Determine BL of the MM-SI fiber which has these
parameters as follows: n
1
= 1.5 and n
2
= 1?
Determine Bit rate transferred through this fiber which
has length of 10 km?
BL < n
2
c/n
1
2
A
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Answer 2
This condition provides a rough estimate of a fundamental
limitation of step-index fibers. Consider an unclad glass
fiber with n
1
= 1.5 and n
2
= 1 BL < 400 (kb/s)-km.
Rb ~40 kb/s over L s 10 km. Considerable improvement
occurs for cladded fibers with a small index step.
Most fibers for communication applications are designed with
A < 0.01. As an example, BL < 100 (Mb/s)-km for A = 2
10
3
. Rb ~10 Mb/s over L s 10 km and may be suitable for
some local-area networks.
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Multimode Graded-Index Fiber
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The quantity AT /L, where AT is the maximum
multipath delay in a fiber of length L, is found to vary
considerably with o .
Figure 2.4 shows this variation for n
1
= 1.5 and A =
0.01. The minimum dispersion occurs for
o = 2(1 A) and depends on A as
AT/L = n
1
A
2
/8c.
Limitation BL
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The limiting bit ratedistance product is obtained by
using the criterion AT < 1/B and is given by
BL < 8c/n
1
A
2
.
The right scale in Fig. 2.4 shows the BL product as a
function of o . Graded-index fibers with a suitably
optimized index profile can communicate data at a bit
rate of 100 Mb/s over distances up to 100 km.
Limitation BL
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Figure 2.4: Variation of intermodal dispersion AT /L
with the profile parameter o for a GI fiber. The scale on
the right shows the corresponding BL product.
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Example 3
Determine BL of the MM-GI fiber which has these
parameters as follows: n
1
= 1.5 and A = 0.01.
Determine Bit rate is transferred through this MM-GI
fiber which has length of 10 km?
Compare this BL with that of MM-SI fiber which was
investigated in example 2?
BL < 8c/n
1
A
2
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Single Mode Step-Index Fiber
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E & H: the electric & magnetic field vectors,
D & B: the corresponding flux densities.
The constitutive relations:
D = c
0
E + P, (2.2.5)
B =
0
H + M, (2.2.6)
c
0
: the vacuum permittivity,

0
: the vacuum permeability,
P & M: the induced electric & magnetic polarizations

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Review Related Equations
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-
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) (
0
) , (
z t j
e H H
| e
|

=

) (
0
) , (
z t j
e E E
| e
|

=


Analysis in Cylindral Coordinates
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SMF Condition
2.405
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or
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2.405
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The single-mode condition: V < 2.405

o The smallest value of V which J
0
(V )= 0 is 2.405.
A fiber designed such that V < 2.405 supports only
the fundamental HE
11
mode.
o Using Eq. (2.2.35)

to estimate the core radius of single-mode fibers
used in lightwave systems.


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Example:
One SMF has n1 = 1,505 and n2 = 1,502
at = 1300 nm.
+ NA?
+ Determine core radius of the ?
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Example:
Determine core radius of the MM SI
fiber which has 1,000 modes at =1.3 m
if n
1
=1.5 ; n
2
= 1.48
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37.92 m
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Kinds of Dispersion in Fiber
Total Dispersion
Mode Dispersion
Material Dispersion Waveguide Dispersion
SMF
MMF
Polarisation Mode
Dispersion
Chromatic Disp.or
Group Velocity Disp
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Pulse Shapes versus distance
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Fiber Dispersion
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Example 2
Determine BL of the SM fiber which has these
parameters as follows: Spectrum width of optical
pulse: Af = 12.5 GHz, =1.55 m, and D =
19ps/nm.km
Determine Bit rate is transferred through this fiber
which has length of 50 km?
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e
e
d
n d
n n
g
+ =
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For pure silica these parameters are found to be B
1
=
0.6961663, B
2
= 0.4079426, B
3
= 0.8974794,
1
= 0.0684043
m,
2
= 0.1162414 m, and
3
= 9.896161 m, where j =
2tc/ej with j = 13.
The group index n
g
= n + e (dn/de ) can be obtained by
using these parameter values
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Index n
1
shape of DCF
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e
t
d
dn
c d
dn
D
g g
M
2 2
2
1 2
= =
(
(

+
A
=
dV
Vb d
d
dn
dV
Vb Vd
n
n
D
g g
W
) ( ) ( 2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
e e
t

(2.100)


Two parts of Chromatic Dispersion of SMF
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Polarizasion Mode Dispersion
Ideal
Reality
Core
Cladding

Fast axis
Slow axis
At
A t : Differential Group Delay
(DGD)
At
) (
1 1 1
| | | A = = = A L L
v
L
v
L
T
y x
gy gx
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2000s
Water
spike
Attenuation versus Wavelength
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Attenuation versus Wavelength
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Linear and Decibel (dB) optical power units
Optical power P expressed in W, mW, dBm
P
[dBm]
= 10 log
10
(P/
1mW
)
Typical sensitivity of a
10-Gbit/s receiver
Typical EDFA output power
Linear

1 W
100 mW
10 mW
1 mW
100 W
10 W
1 W
dBm

+30 dBm
+20 dBm
+10 dBm
0 dBm
-10 dBm
-20 dBm
-30 dBm
Typical output power
of a semiconductor
DFB laser
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Typical loss value of optical components
Gain in the small signal regime of EDFAs
Splice loss between two identical fibres
Loss of a 10% tap coupler
Isolator, 1480/1550 nm multiplexer
Linear


1000
10

0.977
0.955
0.9
0.5
Decibel


+30 dB
+10 dB

-0.1 dB
-0.2 dB
-0.5 dB
-3.0 dB
G
a
i
n

L
o
s
s

Gain with saturating input signal
Cable fiber loss per km
Bulk optical filter
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Problem
Calculate the transmission distance over which the
optical power will attenuate by a factor of 10 for
three fibers with losses of 0.2, 20, and 2000 dB/km.
Assuming that the optical power decreases as
exp(oL), calculate o (in cm 1) for the three
fibers.
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The loss of fiber is about 0.2 dB/km in the wavelength
region near 1.55 m. This value is close to the fundamental
limit (~ 0.16 dB/km) for silica fibers.
The loss spectrum exhibits a strong peak near 1.39 m
and several other smaller peaks.
A secondary minimum is found to occur near 1.3 m,
where the fiber loss is below 0.5 dB/km.
(Fiber dispersion is minimum near 1.3 m).
Fiber losses
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Material absorption can be divided into two kinds:
+ Intrinsic absorption losses correspond to absorption by
fused silica (material used to make fibers)
+ Extrinsic absorption is related to losses caused by
impurities within silica.
Any material absorbs at certain wavelengths
corresponding to the electronic and vibrational resonances
associated with specific molecules.
For silica (SiO
2
) molecules, electronic resonances occur
in the ultraviolet region (< 0.4 m),
Material Absorption
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whereas vibrational resonances occur in the infrared region
(> 0.7m).
Because of the amorphous nature of fused silica, these
resonances are in the form of absorption bands whose tails extend
into the visible region.
Extrinsic absorption results from the presence of impurities.
Metal impurities such as Fe, Cu, Co, Ni, Mn, and Cr absorb
strongly in the wavelength range 0.61.6 m.

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Their amount should be reduced to below 1 part per billion
to obtain a loss level below 1 dB/km. Such high-purity silica
can be obtained by using modern techniques.
The main source of extrinsic absorption in state-of-the-art
silica fibers is the presence of water vapors.
A vibrational resonance of the OH ion occurs near 1.4 m
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Its harmonic and combination tones with silica produce
absorption at the 1.39, 1.24, and 0.95 m wavelengths. The three
spectral peaks seen occur near these wavelengths and are due to
the presence of residual water vapor in silica.
Even a concentration of 1 part per million can cause a loss of
about 50 dB/km at 1.39 m.
The OH ion concentration is reduced to below 10 8 in
modern fibers to lower the 1.39 m peak below 1 dB. In a new
kind of fiber, known as the dry fiber, the OH ion concentration is
reduced to such low levels that the 1.39 m peak almost
disappears.
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Rayleigh Scattering
Rayleigh scattering is a fundamental loss mechanism
arising from local microscopic fluctuations in density.
Silica molecules move randomly in the molten state and
freeze in place during fiber fabrication.
Density fluctuations lead to random fluctuations of the
refractive index on a scale smaller than the optical
wavelength .
Light scattering in such a medium is known as Rayleigh
scattering.
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Cable Construction
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Cross Section of a Fiber Cable
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Cable Construction
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Inside Plant Ribbon-Cable System
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Cross Section of Inside-Plant Cables
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Cross Section of Armored Outside-Plant Cables
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Lab 2- Dispersion Compensation by DCF
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Complete Compensation D
1
L
1
=D
2
L
2,
Rb=2.5 GB/s

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Complete Compensation D
1
L
1
=D
2
L
2
Rb=5 GB/s

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Uncomplete Compensation D
1
L
1
><D
2
L
2
Rb=5 Gb/s
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End of Chapter 2