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COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Abbottabad

Department of Electrical Engineering


Optical Fiber Communication Systems
Spring 2012

Mid-Semester Examination


Name.. Registration # ..

Program ........... Signature....

Instructions:
1. Please answer all the questions on the question paper, in the spaces provided.
2. The paper consists of 7 printed pages. No additional pages will be provided.
3. Total time (90 minutes) is the maximum time allowed to solve the paper.
4. Calculators are allowed but exchange/borrowing of calculators is not allowed.
5. Any body found using unfair means will get his/her paper cancelled.


Results:

Question 1
[10]
Question 2
[15]
Question 3
[15]
Question 4
[10]
Total
[50]
Marks Obtained










Course Instructor

Dr. Khurram Aziz


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Question 1: Max Marks: 10
Choose the best answer for the questions given
below:

I. In stimulated inelastic scattering, like Raman
scattering and Brillouin scattering, the optical
field transfers part of its energy to the nonlinear
medium. The main difference between
stimulated Raman (SRS) and Brillouin (SBS)
scattering is:
a.) SRS occurs only in the backward direction
whereas SBS can occur in both directions
b.) SBS occurs only in the backward direction
whereas SRS can occur in both directions
c.) SRS can occur at any power level while SBS
occurs only when the light launched into the
fiber exceeds a threshold power level
d.) A and C
e.) B and C
f.) There is no difference

II. The most important limiting effects for high-
capacity single wavelength optical signal
transmission that occurs in a single-mode fiber
are:
a.) Intra-modal dispersion
b.) Intermodal dispersion
c.) Four-wave mixing
d.) Stimulated Raman Scattering
e.) A and D
f.) A, C and D
g.) All of the above

III. Which of the following is true regarding
waveguide dispersion:
a.) It is the tendency that the effective refractive
index of a mode changes with frequency
b.) It does not depend on optical fiber parameters
like core radius and index difference
c.) It is small in single mode fibers because of their
small core diameter
d.) A and B
e.) A and C
f.) All of the above

IV. An optical signals power decreases due to
various kinds of losses as it travels through the
fiber. These losses are usually represented in
decibels (dB). What amount of power would be
lost in dBs if the signal transmitted is 1 W and
the signal received is 100 W?
a.) 20 dB
b.) 40 dB
c.) 80 dB
d.) 40 dB
e.) 80 dB
f.) 10,000 dB

V. An optical filter should have:
a.) a very flat passband
b.) high insertion losses
c.) an effective suppression of side lobes
d.) a stable central wavelength
e.) A, B and D
f.) A, C and D
g.) All of the above

VI. It is possible to realize a tunable Fabry-
Perot filter by the use of a specific
construction where the mirrors are
attached to piezoelectric crystals. The gap
between the mirrors is changed when:
a.) temperature is changed across the
piezoelectric crystals
b.) voltage is applied across the piezoelectric
crystals
c.) pressure is applied to the piezoelectric
crystals
d.) All of the above methods can be used
e.) None of the above methods can be used

VII. Immediately after power is applied to a
laser there is an abrupt change in the
carrier (electron and hole) flux density in
the cavity caused by the lasing operation
itself. This has the following effect:
a.) The wavelength shifts to a longer
wavelength than it was immediately at
the start of the pulse
b.) The wavelength shifts to a shorter
wavelength than it was immediately at
the start of the pulse
c.) Wavelength is not affected
d.) None of the above

VIII. Among the important characteristics of
light sources are the following:
a.) Light should be emitted at wavelengths
that lie within a low-loss and low-
dispersion region of optical fibers
b.) Spectral width of the generated optical
signal should be wide enough to contain
several modes of light
c.) Generate sufficient high optical power
within a small light-emitting area in order
to provide an effective launching of light
d.) A and B above
e.) A and C above
f.) All of the above

IX. Laser diodes are typically used as a
source for communication in single mode
fibers because:
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a.) Light emitted is due to stimulated
emission rather than spontaneous
emission
b.) Increased efficiency as energy from back-
reflections can be absorbed and re-
emitted a phenomenon known as
photon recycling
c.) Power produced is much more than that
possible in LEDs
d.) A and B above
e.) A and C above
f.) All of the above

X. Which of the following statements is true
regarding optical receivers
a.) Pre-amplifiers must always be used
before the receivers so that the input
power to the receiver is high enough to be
detected
b.) The input power to the receiver should be
higher than the minimum receiver
sensitivity
c.) The input power to the receiver should be
lower than the maximum receiver
sensitivity
d.) A and C above
e.) B and C above
f.) All of the above

Question 2: Max Marks: 15
(a) If the input power to ports 1 and 2 of a 2x2 coupler is 5 mW and 10 mW respectively. Find the output
power for a coupling coefficient () of 0.2 [3 marks]












(b) Consider an optical fiber with its cladding removed. If that fiber is used for signal transmission and
the maximum multipath delay that occurs in the fiber is 0.5s, find the length of that fiber. [3 marks]
















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(c) What is the maximum number of bits that can be used as a header in direct sequence code domain
coding technique employing a combination of the serial and parallel structure as shown below? Also
draw a path through the coder that the second bit of the header will take. [3 marks]






(d) Optical amplifiers can be used in various configurations as shown in the figure below. What are each
of these configurations known as and discuss the scenarios where these configurations are used.
Discuss the type of optical amplifiers required for each of these configurations in terms of their
optical gain and noise figure. [6 marks]


































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Question 3: Max Marks: 15
(a) What is an EDFA? Why gain flattening is required in EDFA? Show using diagrams; three methods that
help in gain flattening in EDFAs. [7 marks]
































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(b) Discuss the various properties of a Febry-Perot etalon (cavity) and show with the aid of diagrams,
how they are utilized in constructing filters and optical sources. What is the role of mirror reflectivity in these
devices? How reflectivity affects the various properties of the Febry-Perot etalon? [8 marks]






















































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Question 4: Max Marks: 10
Briefly describe the following properties of a laser diode. What should be their values for an ideal light
source? [10 marks]
i) Spectral width
ii) Turn-on delay
iii) Ringing
iv) Chirp
v) Relative Intensity Noise