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.

Investigate Dispersion Compensation in Fiber by OptiWave

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Geometrical-Optics Description

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Geometrical-Optics Description
n2

n1

n2

MM-SI Fiber

1n
2

n1

n2

1
MM-GI Fiber

n2
n1
n2

SM Fiber
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Refraction and Reflection

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Refraction and Reflection

refracted
ray

2 Assuming: n1  n2
n2
Law’s Snell:
n1
1 1 n1. sin 1  n2 . sin 2
reflected
incident ray
ray

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 Total Internal Reflection

 1 increase then 2 increase

n2 2  refracted

2 ray
1  c then 2 
2
n1 n2
1  c 1 sin c  , c : critical angle
reflected
n1
ray

Total Internal Reflection conditions?

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Total Internal Reflection Conditions


n2 2  refracted
2 ray

n1
1  c 1
reflected
ray

Conclusion: The total reflection occurs when:

n1  n2

all rays with 1  c
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Numerical Aperture (NA) of the Fiber

NA  n0 sin  i  (n  n )
2
1
2
2

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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 Example 1
Determine Numerical Aperture of the Fiber?
(i) n1 = 1.46 and n2 = 1 (air)
(ii) n1 = 1.465 and n2 = 1.45.
Application of Eq:

NA  n0 sin  i  (n12  n22 )

(i) NA  n12  n22  1.462  12  1.07

(ii) NA  n12  n22  1.4652  1.452  0.2091

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Numeric Aperture (NA) of the Fiber

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Numeric Aperture (NA) of the Fiber

NA  n0 sin  i  (n  n )
2
1
2
2

n1  n2
With 
n1
Demonstrate:

NA  n1 2 ?

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Typical Numerical Aperture values
of the MM Fiber

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 Example 2
BL < n2c/n12

 Determine BL of the MM-SI fiber which has these

parameters as follows: n1 = 1.5 and n2 = 1?

 Determine Bit rate transferred through this fiber which

has length of 10 km?

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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 n1 = 1.5 and n2 = 1  BL < 400 (kb/s)-km.

  Rb 40 kb/s over L  10 km. Considerable improvement

occurs for cladded fibers with a small index step.

 Most fibers for communication applications are designed with

 < 0.01. As an example, BL < 100 (Mb/s)-km for  = 2 ×
10−3.  Rb 10 Mb/s over L  10 km and may be suitable for
some local-area networks.
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Multimode Graded-Index Fiber

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Limitation BL

•The quantity T /L, where T is the maximum

multipath delay in a fiber of length L, is found to vary
considerably with  .
• Figure 2.4 shows this variation for n1 = 1.5 and  =
0.01. The minimum dispersion occurs for
 = 2(1 − ) and depends on  as
T/L = n12 /8c.

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Limitation BL

•The limiting bit rate–distance product is obtained by

using the criterion T < 1/B and is given by
BL < 8c/n12 .
•The right scale in Fig. 2.4 shows the BL product as a
function of  . 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.

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Figure 2.4: Variation of intermodal dispersion T /L
with the profile parameter  for a GI fiber. The scale on
the right shows the corresponding BL product.
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 Example 3
BL < 8c/n12

 Determine BL of the MM-GI fiber which has these

parameters as follows: n1 = 1.5 and  = 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?

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Single Mode Step-Index Fiber

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  : divergence operation
 : curl operation

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 E & H: the electric & magnetic field vectors,
D & B: the corresponding flux densities.
The constitutive relations:
D = 0 E + P, (2.2.5)
B = m0 H + M, (2.2.6)
0 : the vacuum permittivity,
m0 : the vacuum permeability,
P & M: the induced electric & magnetic polarizations

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Analysis in Cylindrical Coordinates

  j (t  z )
E  E0 (  ,  )e
 
H  H 0 (  ,  )e j (t z )

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 Vector Identity

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-
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Analysis in Cylindrical Coordinates

  j (t  z )
E  E0 (  ,  )e
 
H  H 0 (  ,  )e j (t z )

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 (Ordinary Differential Equations)

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SMF Condition

2.405

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 2.405

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The single-mode condition: V < 2.405

o The smallest value of V which J0 (V )= 0 is 2.405.

A fiber designed such that V < 2.405 supports only
the fundamental HE11 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 this Fiber (a) ?

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Example:

Determine core radius of the MM –SI fiber

which has 1,000 modes at =1.3 mm if
n1=1.5 ; n2 = 1.48

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 37.92 mm

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Kinds of Dispersion in Fiber

Total Dispersion

Mode Dispersion Chromatic Disp.or Polarisation Mode

Group Velocity Disp Dispersion

Material Dispersion Waveguide Dispersion

SMF

MMF

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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: f = 12.5 GHz, =1.55 mm, and D =
19ps/nm.km
 Determine Bit rate is transferred through this fiber
which has length of 50 km?

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 dn
ng  n  
d

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 For pure silica these parameters are found to be B1 =
0.6961663, B2 = 0.4079426, B3 = 0.8974794, 1 = 0.0684043
mm,2 = 0.1162414 mm, and 3 = 9.896161 mm, where  j =
2c/j with j = 1–3.

 The group index ng = n +  (dn/d ) can be obtained by

using these parameter values

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 Index n1 shape of DCF

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Different Index Profiles
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 Two parts of Chromatic Dispersion of SMF

2 dn2 g 1 dn2 g
DM   2 
 d c d
(2.100)

2 2 g Vd 2 (Vb ) dn2 g d (Vb) 

 2
n
DW   2   
  n2 dV 2
d dV 

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Polarizasion Mode Dispersion

Reality
Ideal
Cladding

Core

Fast axis
t

t
 t : Differential Group Delay
(DGD)
Slow axis

L L
T    L 1x  1 y  L(1 )
v gx v gy
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 Dispersion Compensation

Two popular Dispersion Compensation methods

1. By Fiber: DCF, DSF, NZDSF…
2. By MCU (Module of Compensation Unit): Grating,
micro thin film Filters…

D1L1+D2L2=0

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Attenuation versus Wavelength

Water
spike

2000s

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Attenuation versus Wavelength

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 Fiber losses
 The loss of fiber is about 0.2 dB/km in the wavelength
region near 1.55 mm. 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 mm

and several other smaller peaks.

 A secondary minimum is found to occur near 1.3 mm,

where the fiber loss is below 0.5 dB/km.

(Fiber dispersion is minimum near 1.3 mm).

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 Material Absorption

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 (SiO2) molecules, electronic resonances occur
in the ultraviolet region (< 0.4 mm),
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 whereas vibrational resonances occur in the infrared region
(> 0.7mm).

 Because of the (shapeless, formless, changeable)

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 0.6–1.6 mm.

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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

mm
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 Its harmonic and combination tones with silica produce
absorption at the 1.39, 1.24, and 0.95 mm 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 mm.

 The OH ion concentration is reduced to below 10 −8 in

modern fibers to lower the 1.39 mm 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 mm 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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Linear and Decibel (dB) optical power units

 Optical power P expressed in W, mW, dBm

 P[dBm] = 10 log10 (P/1mW)

Linear dBm

1W +30 dBm
Typical EDFA output power
100 mW +20 dBm
Typical output power
10 mW +10 dBm
of a semiconductor
1 mW 0 dBm DFB laser
100 mW -10 dBm
10 mW -20 dBm
1 mW -30 dBm Typical sensitivity of a
10-Gbit/s receiver

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 Typical loss value of optical components

Linear Decibel

1000 +30 dB Gain in the small signal regime of EDFAs

Gain

10 +10 dB Gain with saturating input signal

Loss

0.977 -0.1 dB Splice loss between two identical fibres

0.955 -0.2 dB Cable fiber loss per km

Loss of a 10% tap coupler
0.9 -0.5 dB Isolator, 1480/1550 nm multiplexer
0.5 -3.0 dB Bulk optical filter

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 Problem
1. 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.
2. Assuming that the optical power decreases as
exp(−L), calculate  (in cm −1) for the three
fibers with their lengths calculated in question1

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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 D1L1=D2L2, Rb=2.5 GB/s

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Complete Compensation D1L1=D2L2 Rb=5 GB/s

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Uncomplete Compensation D1L1D2L2 Rb=5 Gb/s

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 End of Chapter 2

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