Chapter 3

A simple explanation of a Bragg grating can be seen by considering a qualitative picture

of diffraction using ray-optics.

1
n
n

m=0

m =-1
Figure 1 Diffraction of light by a grating in different diffraction orders
A fibre Bragg grating is an optical diffraction grating capable of directing light in
different directions (e.g. 1 and 2 in Figure 1). The diffraction can be described by the
grating equation
n sin 2 n sin 1 m

(1)

where 2 is the angle of the diffracted wave, is the incident wavelength and m is the
diffraction order. Eq. (1) predicts only the directions 2 into which constructive
interference occurs.
Different wavelengths are, however directed in different directions, and we need an
expression capable of predicting the wavelength at which a fibre Bragg grating most
efficiently couples light between modes.

1
2
m=-1

m=0

Figure 2 Ray-optic illustration of core -mode Bragg reflection

Figure 2 illustrates a ray-optic view of the reflection by a Bragg grating of a forward
propagating mode with a bounce angle 1 into the same order mode traveling in the
opposite direction with a bounce angle of 2 = - 1.
The mode propagation constant is simply given by

n eff

(2)

where neff = n1Sin is the effective refractive index seen by the mode. Using (2), we
can rewrite (1) for guided modes as:
2 1 m

(3)

For first-order diffraction, which usually dominates in a fibre Bragg grating, m = -1.
Negative values describe modes that propagate in the z direction. From (3) and
recognizing 2 < 0 we find that the resonant wavelength for reflection of a mode of index
neff1 into a mode of index neff2 is
( neff 1 neff 2 )

(4)
If the two contra-directional modes are identical, we obtain the well-known solution for
Bragg reflection
B 2 neff

(5)

where B is the wavelength at which the Bragg grating with a specific period will most
efficiently couple the light between modes. We continue our analysis of the Bragg grating
using coupled-mode theory.
Basic Theory of FBG
For the sake of simplicity, we will consider a single moded slab waveguide characterized
by the refractive index profile n12 x . If 1 x represents the fundamental mode of the
waveguide (with , as the corresponding propagation constant) then

d 2 1
(6)
k02 n12 ( x ) 12 1 ( x ) 0
dx 2
2
where k 0
, 0 is the free space wavelength.
c
0
We assume a small z-dependent periodic variation of the refractive index given by
n 2 ( z ) sin Kz

where K

(7)

(8)

and represents the period of the z-dependent variation. Thus the refractive index
variation will be given by
n 2 ( x , z ) n12 ( x ) n 2 ( z )

(9)

n12 ( x ) sin Kz

The scalar wave equation is

2 k 02 n 2 x , z x , z 0

(10)
Assuming no y-dependence of the fields we get

2
2

k 02 n12 x k 02 sin Kz x , z 0
2
2
x
z

(11)

We assume the solution to be given by

x , z A z e i z B z e i z 1 x
(12)

where the first term represents the forward propagating mode and the second term
represents the backward propagating mode. In the simplest form of the coupled mode
theory, because of the periodic variation of the refractive index [(see Eq, (9)] the forward
3

propagating mode gets coupled to the backward propagating mode.

differentiation gives us

Elementary

2
2
i z
i z d 1

A
(
z
)
e

B
(
z
)
e
x 2
dx 2
1

A z e i z B z e i z
1

2 2
0 n1

x 2 1 x

(13)

where we have used Eq. (6). Now

dB i z
dA i z

e
i 1 A z e i z
e
i 1 B z e i z 1 x
z
dz
dz

and
d2A

z2

2
dz

2 i 1

d 2B

dA
dB
12 A z e i z 1 x
2 i 1
12 B z e i z 1 x
2
dz
dz

dz

(14)
In the absence of any sinusoidal perturbation, A and B would be independent of z and
therefore dA/dz, d2A/dz2 , would be zero. We assume the sinusoidal perturbation to
be weak so that
d2A
dA
1
2
dz
dz

(15)

d 2B
dB
1
dz
dz 2

(16)

and

In this approximation, Eq. (14) would assume the form

2
z

dA
dB

2i 1
12 A( z ) 1 ( x )e i z 2i 1
12 B( z ) 1 ( x )e i z
dz
dz

(17)

Substituting for , 2/x2 and 2/z2 in Eq. (11) we obtain

2i 1

dA i z
dB i z
e
2i 1
e
k 02 sin Kz A( z )e i z B( z )e i z 0
dz
dz
1

If we multiply the above equation by

i
2 1

ei

(18)

, we would get

dA dB 2i z k 02 iKz

e e iKz
dz
dz
41
1

A( z ) B( z )e

2i 1 z

Or,
dA dB 2 i z

e
A( z )e iKz B( z )e i( K 2
dz dz
1

Where

)z

A( z )e iKz B( z )e i( 2

k 02
41

K ) z

(19)

(20)

If K is very nearly equal to 21 then, except for the last term in the above equation, all
the terms (on the RHS) are very rapidly varying and can be neglected; thus we obtain
(see also Appendix A)
dA
B( z )e i z
dz

(21)

Where 21 K

(22)

Similarly if we multiply Eq. (19) by

dB
A( z )e i
dz

would obtain

i
2 1

e i

and carry out a similar analysis, we

(23)

Equations (21) and (23) give us the basic coupled mode equations. In terms of the
effective index

neff 1 1 0
(24)
k0
2
The coupling coefficient is given by

k 0
4 neff

(25)

Further, the refractive index variation is often written as

n (x,z) = n1(x) + n sin Kz

(26)

If we square the above equation and compare with Eq.(9), we would get
2 neff n

(27)

Thus
5

n
1
k 0 n
2
0

(28)

We will first obtain the solutions for = 0 and then consider the more general case of
0 .
Case I : = 0
i.e 0 B .
We first consider the case = 0, which implies K 2 1 2 k 0 neff

(29)

B
Since, K 2 / , we get 2 n (Bragg condition)
eff

(30)

which is referred to as the Bragg condition.

For B 1.55 m , neff 1.45

0.534 m.

Now, for = 0, Eqs. (21) and (23) become

dA
B( z )
dz

(31)

dB
A( z )
dz

(32)

and
Thus
d 2B
dz

dA
2 B( z )
dz

(33)

If the grating is of length L then there is no backward propagating wave for z L

z=0
z =L
Figure 3. The schematic diagram of a uniform grating.
giving
B (z) = 0 for z L

(34)

Thus the solution of Eq.(33) is given by

B( z ) F sinh ( z L )

0zL

(35)

where we have incorporated the boundary condition given by Eq.(34). If we now use Eq.
(32) we could get
A( z )

1 dB
F cosh ( z L )
dz

(36)

If we assume A (z = 0) = 1, we would get

F

1
cosh L

(37)

The final solutions are therefore

A z

cosh ( z L )
cosh L

(38)

B z

sinh ( z L )
cosh L

(39)

B 0 tanh L

(40)

and

Thus

which represents the amplitude of the reflected wave. Thus the reflection coefficient is
given by
(41)
R tanh 2 L
Or
n L
R tanh 2
(42)
B
tanh 2

n L
2 neff

(43)

Figure 4 shows the variation of |A(z)|2 and |B(z)|2 with z for a FBG. We consider one
experimental data to select the parameters of the FBG for which the peak reflectivity is
measured to be 0.8. The parameters are n eff 1.447, B1550.97 nm and therefore

B
1.0
535.93 nm. Thus from equation (43), for R=0.8 and L=5mm we find
2neff
0.8

|A(z)|

0.6

n
0.000286
B

m 1

|A(z)| ,|B(z)|

n 0.00014 and the coupling coefficient thus can be found

0.4

|B(z)|

0.2

0.0
0

1000

2000

3000

z(micro meter)

z ( m )

4000

5000

Figure 4. Variation of |A(z)|2 and |B(z)|2 with z

We further note that

2

A( z ) B( z )

1
= a constant
cosh 2 L

(44)

The above equation represents conservation of energy, the negative sign arises due to the
fact that the two waves are propagating in opposite directions.
Case II: 0
We next consider the case when 0

i.e. 0 B .

We rewrite the coupled mode equations

dA
B( z )e i
dz

(45)

and
dB
A( z )e i
dz

(46)

Thus
d 2B
dz

dA i
e
dz

iA( z )e i

Or
d 2B
dB
i
2 B( z ) 0
2
dz
dz

(47)

where we have used Eqs. (45) and (46). If we assume B z ~ e gz

we would obtain
g

(48)
1
4

where 2 2 and we have assumed

1 2
1
2 ; the case
4
2

will be

considered later. Thus the solution which will incorporate the boundary condition given
by Eq. (35) would be given by
B( z ) Fe

i
z
2

(49)

sinh ( z L )

Thus
i

A( z )

F 2 z i

e
2 sinh ( z L ) cosh ( z L )

(50)

The condition A(0)=1 would give

F

cosh L

i
sinh L
2

(51)

And the reflection coefficient will be given by

R B( 0 )

2 sinh 2 L
2
2 cosh 2 L
sinh 2 L
4

Now
2 1 K 2k 0 neff

(52)

1
1

0 B

4 neff

(53)
Thus the condition

1 2
2 implies
4
1

2 n eff

(54)
Similarly the condition

1 2
2 implies
4

2 neff

(55)
When this condition is satisfied,

i
i
2
1 2

2
4

Where

(56)
(57)

Thus the solution which will incorporate the boundary condition given by
Eq. (35) would be given by
B( z ) Me

i z
2

(58)

sin ( z L )

Thus
M
A( z )
e

i z
2

2 sin ( z L ) cos ( z L )

(59)

As before, we can use the condition A(0) = 1 to get the value of M; the reflection
coefficient would be given by
B( 0 )
R
A( 0 )

2
Obviously R=0 when L m , or

2 sin 2 L
2
2 cos 2 L
sin 2 L
4

4 2 2
L m 2 2
2
L

(60)

Or,

1
1
1

2 L2 m 2 2
B
2 neff L

(61)

Thus the wavelength at which R=0 will be given by

2B
2 L2 n 2 2
2 n eff L

(62)

The first minima on either side will correspond to m=1, and if we define the bandwidth of
the reflection spectrum as the wavelength difference between the first minima on either
side of the central peak, then it would be given by

10

B 2
2 L2 2
neff L

(63 )

To summarize :
R

2 sinh 2 L
2
2 cosh 2 L
sinh 2 L
4

2 sin 2 L
2
2 cos 2 L
sin 2 L
4
tanh 2 L

when

when

(Peak Reflectivity) when

2neff

2neff

0 B 2 neff

(64)

(65)

(66)

A simple algebra can leads to the expression of the reflectivity (eqn 64) in the following
compact from,
R

2 sinh 2 L
2
2 cosh 2 L
4

(67)

In the previous section we define the Bragg wavelength and derived the expression of
bandwidth. The expression of the peak reflectivity is also derived from the first principle
in that chapter. In the present section we apply these analytically driven results to explain
the practical problem. We start with the expression of reflectivity which we obtained in
previous section,

11

2 sinh 2 L
2
2 cosh 2 L
4

tanh 2 L

(Peak Reflectivity) when

0 B 2 neff

n L

2
= tanh 2 n
eff

Thus the reflectivity (at Bragg wavelength) depends on the product L; this is also
referred to as peak reflectivity of the FBG filter. Now from the expression of peak
reflectivity it is clear that in practice once a fibre is selected for grating writing the
parameter neff becomes constant and also once a specific Bragg wavelength is targeted the
parameter or the grating period is also a fixed parameter. In this circumstance the peak
reflectivity is thus be increased either by increasing n with a fixed L or by increasing L
with a fixed n.
Figure 5 (solid line) shows the variation of peak reflectivity with L. The variation of L
is shown from 0.3 to 4.0 and the corresponding peak reflectivity is ~0.08 (i.e. 8%) to
~0.999 (i.e. 99.9%). This is to mention at this point that L may be reduced (from 0.3) to
get even smaller peak reflection. But if it is increased further beyond 4.0 or so the peak
reflectivity almost remains unchanged as if it is saturated and asymptotically reaches to
unit value which is theoretically the highest value of reflectivity one can achieve.
However, some other characteristic parameters of the filter would change which we will
elaborate in subsequent sections.
It will be quite interesting to correlate this simulated result with some experimental data.
A few Bragg gratings were written where neff 1.447, B 1550.97 nm and thus the period
of the grating 535.93 nm. The length of the grating L=5mm. By changing the exposure
time the peak reflectivity of each grating is measured. From the experimentally
determined value of the peak reflectivity, we calculated [using Eq.(42) and Eq.(43)] the
values of and n. The star marks in Figure 5 shows the set of peak reflectivity and the
corresponding L values as found from the experimental data.

1.0

Peak Reflectivity

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0.0

12
0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

kLL

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Figure 5. Variation of peak reflectivity with L. Solid line shows the theoretical trace
overlaid with some experimental data shown with star (*) marks.
The bandwidth is represented as
1
2
B 2 L2 2 2
neff L

(68)

Equation (68) can be represented as in the following useful from

B
neff

B
1

nL

(69)

Figure 6 below shows the reflectivity R vs. wavelength as found from Eq.(4.1). The FBG
parameters are chosen from an experimental data and are as neff 1.447, 535.93 nm
(B1550.97 nm), L=5mm. Now corresponding to the reflectivity of 0.44 we find n
0.000079 and the corresponding coupling coefficient 0.00016 m 1 . These values
are inserted in Eq.(67) and the reflectivity for varying wavelength is shown by the solid
line. The measured values for the same grating parameters are represented by open
0.5
circles.

Reflectivity

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

13

0.0

1550.6

1550.8

1551.0

1551.2

Wavelength (nm)

1551.4

Figure 6 Reflectivity vs. wavelength of a FBG. Solid line shows the simulated and the
open circles show the experimentally measured values.
The FBG parameters as mentioned above if inserted in Eq.(67) then the first zero
crossing bandwidth or the full bandwidth comes out to be 0.332 nm and is same with
the measured value.
Bandwidth issue:
From the expression of the bandwidth give in Eq.(69) it is apparent that the bandwidth of
a uniform grating filter, for a specific neff and B, can be controlled by changing L and n.
When the reflectivity of the grating is low (weak grating) then the effect of n does not
have much impact on the change of the full bandwidth. Then one needs to vary the length
for changing the bandwidth as per the design requirement.
On the other hand if the peak reflectivity of the grating is already in the saturation region
(strong grating) then n becomes a very useful parameter to tailor the bandwidth of the
filter for a fixed L.
This fact can nicely be understood by the expression given in Eq (69).

B
B
neff L

with the condition

B
1 , for weak grating condition
n L

with the condition

B
1 , for strong grating condition
n L

and

B
neff

This phenomenon can also be visualized with the simulation as given below in Figure7.
We have considered FBG with parameters L=10mm, neff =1.447, B=1550 nm. Figure 7(a)
shows the reflectivity for weak grating case with n=0.00003 and 0.00006. Even if we
double the n value (i.e. 100% change) it may be observed that the first zero crossing
points are almost unchanged in this case. Figure 7(b) similarly shows the reflectivity of
gratings in strong domain. Here the two n values considered are as n=0.0003 and
14

0.0004. In this case a change of about 33% in the n value shifts the first zero crossing
points appreciably. Within permissible limit the change of bandwidth is proportional with
the n value.

1.0

0.7
0.8

0.5

Reflectivity

Reflectivity

0.6

0.4
0.3

0.6

0.4

0.2
0.2

0.1
0.0
1549.6

1549.8

1550.0

wavelength (nm)

(a)

1550.2

1550.4

0.0
1549.6

1549.8

1550.0

1550.2

1550.4

Wavelength (nm)

(b)

Figure 7. (a) Reflectivity of two weak gratings with n=0.00003 (dashed curve) and
n=0.00006 (solid line). (b) reflectivity of two strong gratings with n=0.0003 (dashed
curve) and n=0.0004(solid line).

15