EE/OCT 2010/ECM640

CONFIDENTIAL

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FINAL EXAMINATION

COURSE

FIBER OPTIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

COURSE CODE

ECM640

EXAMINATION

OCTOBER 2010

TIME

3 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
1.

This question paper consists of five (5) questions.

2.

Answer ALL questions in the Answer Booklet. Start each answer on a new page.

3.

Do not bring any material into the examination room unless permission is given by the
invigilator.

4.

Please check to make sure that this examination pack consists of:
i)
ii)

the Question Paper

an Answer Booklet - provided by the Faculty

DO NOT TURN THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO

This examination paper consists of 5 printed pages
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EE/OCT2010/ECM640

QUESTION 1
a)

There are several advantages and disadvantages in fiber optic communication

system. List two (2) advantages of using fiber optic compared to coaxial cable.
(2 marks)

b)

Using appropriate figure, explain an optical fiber system. What differences exist
between analog and digital input to optical fiber systems.
(8 marks)

c)

Describe refraction and reflection of a ray at a plane boundary between two media.
(2 marks)

d)

Can you distinguish the velocity of electromagnetic waves in free space and through
a solid media. Prove with appropriate equation.
(5 marks)

QUESTION 2
a)

A multimode step index fiber with a core diameter of 80 urn and a relative index
difference of 1.5 % is operating at a wavelength of 0.85 jj.m. If the core refractive
index is 1.48, calculate;
i)
ii)

the normalized frequency for the fiber

the total number of guided modes
(4 marks)

b)

A graded index fiber with a parabolic refractive index profile has a normalized
frequency of 31.4 and refractive index of core and cladding are 1.6 and 1.45
respectively. It shows that the fiber is operating at 0.85 urn. Determine ;
i)
ii)
iii)

c)

the maximum core diameter of the fiber,

the maximum core diameter in order that it may be suitable for single mode
operation,
the maximum core diameter for single mode operation when the relative
refractive index difference is reduced by a factor of 10.
(6 marks)

List three (3) possible techniques would you implement if there is pulse spreading
occurring in your fiber optic system which can reduce your bandwidth and data
capacity.
(3 marks)

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d)

EE/OCT2010/ECM640

Fiber to fiber connections are needed for a variety of reasons. Splicing and
connecting fibers must be in sufficient care. How would you proceed if you were
going to do a connection of fibers which have different core diameters in a network.
Show also the loss between the fibers if the transmitting and receiving core
diameters are 55 |im and 50 |xm respectively.
(10 marks)

QUESTION 3
a)

Compare the process of emission of light in Light Emitting Diode (LED) and Light
Amplification Stimulated Emission Radiation (LASER).
(3 marks)

b)

Two most common sources in fiber optic communication are LED and LASER which
have major requirements of emitter to fulfill in the system. Explain what will happen in
the system when the major requirements of these sources are not comply.
(7 marks)

c)

Describe the external photoelectric effect of photo detection mechanism in a detector

and give one example.
(3 marks)

d)

Avalanche Photodiode (APD) is a semiconductor junction detector that has internal

gain, which increases the responsitivity over PN or PIN device. Sketch diagram of
APD and explain the multiplication process in APD.
(8 marks)

e)

A photodiode has a quantum efficiency of 65 % when photons of energy 1.5x10"19J

are incident on it. Find the following:
i)
ii)

f)

at what wavelength is the photodiode operating,

the incident optical power required to obtain a photocurrent of 2.5 uA when
the photodiode is operating as described in (i).
(6 marks)

When 3x1011 photons each with a wavelength of 0.85 (xm are incident on a
photodiode, on average 1.2x1011 electrons are collected at terminal of the device.
Determine the quantum efficiency and the responsivity of the photodiode of 0.85 \irc\.
(5 marks)

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EE/OCT2010/ECM640

QUESTION 4
a)

List four (4) main characteristics of measurement in optical fiber.

(2 marks)

b)

A system consisting of an LED emitting 10 mW at 0.85 um, a fiber cable with 20 dB

loss, and a PIN photodetector of responsivity 0.5 A/W. The detector's dark current is
2 nA. The load resistance is 50 Q; the receiver's bandwidth is 10 MHz with
temperature is 300 K. The system losses, in addition to the fiber attenuation, include
a 14 dB power reduction due to source coupling and a 10 dB loss caused by various
splices and connectors. Compute;
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

the received optic power

the detected signal current and power
the shot noise
thermal noise power
signal to noise ratio
(13 marks)

c)

The numerical aperture (NA) is defined by;

NA =

sm0a=(n?-n22)}i

Explain the relationship of numerical aperture to the performance of optical fiber

system.
(5 marks)

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EE/OCT2010/ECM640

QUESTION 5
a)

Define a full duplex system in optical fiber communication.

(2 marks)

b)

Boosting the signal electrically either involves a simple amplifier or a more complex
repeater. Briefly discuss the difference between repeater and optical amplifier used
in long haul optical fiber communication line.
(3 marks)

c)

A four port multimode fused biconical taper coupler has 60 (iW optical power
launched into port 1. The measured output powers at port 2, 3 and 4 are 0.004 ^W,
26 uW and 27.5 \i\N respectively. Find the following parameters:
i)
ii)
iii)

Excess loss
Insertion loss (port 1 to 4)
Split ratio
(5 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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