Fiber Joints and Couplers;

Cable Design

Dr. Mohammad Faisal

Dept. of EEE, BUET

Fiber Joints and Couplers

For fiber-fiber connection we need joints
which are of two major types
Fiber splices: these are semipermanent or
permanent joint (like electrical soldered joints)
Demountable fiber connector or simple
connector: these are removable joints, easy and
fast coupling and uncoupling of fibers (like
electrical plugs and sockets)
Purpose: fiber to fiber joints are designed to couple
ideally all the light in one fiber to adjoining fiber

Why Fiber Joints and Couplers are

necessary?
Optical fiber links require connection in
order to make long fiber
or for fiber coupling to sources or amplifier
or termination to receiver
The number of intermediate fiber connections
or joints depends on link length between
repeaters

The Main Concern of Joints

Optical power loss at the joint is the main concern

The major categories of loss: Intrinsic joint loss:

1) Loss due to Fresnel reflection
Fresnel reflection loss is related to step changes in
refractive index at the jointed interface.
even when two jointed fiber ends are smooth and perpendicular to
fiber axis and two fiber axes are perfectly aligned, A small
portion of light reflects back into the transmitting fiber.
The amount of this partial reflection can be estimated by using
classical Fresnel formula:

n1 n
r

n1 n

r is the fraction of light reflected at a single interface

n1 is the core refractive index
n is refractive index of the medium between two
Jointed fibers, say for air n=1

The loss due to Fresnel reflection at a single interface

LossFres 10 log10 1 r dB

The effect of Fresnel reflection at a fiber-fiber

connection can
be reduced by using an index-matching fluid
between the gaps.
2. Loss due to deviations in the geometrical and optical
parameters of the two jointed fibers. The problems
may occur for
(i)Different core and/or cladding diameters;
(ii)Different NA and/or relative refractive index differences;
(iii)Different refractive index profiles;
(iv)Fiber faults: core ellipticity, core concentricity etc
Use same fibers to keep this loss minimum

Loss due to misalignment

A major source of loss at a fiber-fiber connection is caused by

a) Longitudinal misalignment
b) Lateral misalignment
c) Angular misalignment

Fiber Splices
Permanent and semi permanent joint between two optical
fibers:
(1)Fusion Splicing (Permanent)
(2)Mechanical splicing (semi permanent)

(1) Fusion splicing is accomplished by applying localized heat

(by flame or electric arc) at the interface between two
butted, prealigned fiber end causing them to soften and fuse.
Fibers are positioned and clamped with the help of inspection
microscope.
(2) In mechanical splicing fibers are held aligned by some
mechanical means, like, using tubes around fiber ends or Vgrooves into which butted fibers are placed.

(11 splice loss: 0.1 dB-0.2dB

weak in the vicinity of splice, tensile strength reduces

Mechanical Splices:

(i) tube splice and (ii)

groove splices

(i) tube splice:

Snug tube splice; Transparent

Injected through a transverse bore in the capillary to give

mechanical sealing and index matching of splice

Insertion loss: 0.1 dB 0.5 dB

(ii) groove splices
In V-groove two fibers are jointed
V-groove splices are formed by
sandwiching the butted fiber ends.
Insertion loss: 0.1 dB

 (i) tube splice and

Fiber Connectors
Demountable fiber connectors are more difficult to achieve
than fiber splices:
Because:
In order to maintain similar tolerance requirements to splices and it
is difficult to maintain in removable fashion
Require repeated connection and disconnection without problem of
alignment
To maintain optimum performance, fiber ends require to be
protected from damage due to frequent handling
To make insensitive to environmental factors (e.g. moisture and
dust)
Therefore THREE MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS:
(i) The fiber termination which protects and locates the fiber ends
(ii)End alignment to provide optimum optical coupling
(iii)Outer shell maintains the connection and fiber alignment,
protects the ends from environments and stress

Cylindrical Ferrule Connector:

Basic Ferrule Connector (The simplest
fiber connector)

 Two fibers are permanently bonded (with epoxy resin) in metal

plugs known as ferrules (two ferrules) which have an
accurately drilled central hole in their end faces where
stripped fiber is located
The two ferrules are placed in alignment sleeve which allows
fiber ends to be butt jointed
The ferrules are held in place via a retaining spring
Some ferrule connectors have incorporated a watch jewel in
the ferrule end face in order to have fiber alignment accuracy
In this case the fiber is centered with respect to the ferrule
through the watch jewel hole.
The use of watch jewel allows close diameter and tolerance
requirements of the ferrule end face hole to be obtained more
easily than simply through drilling of metallic ferrule end face
alone.
Insertion Loss: 1 ~ 2 dB

List of common fiber connector types

used for both multimode and singlemode fiber systems

Multimode connectors are generally used for data communication

(LANs), transport (automobiles and aircraft), test instrument
Single-mode connectors in optical fiber telecommunication

Fiber Couplers
Fiber Couplers are branching devices that split all
the light from a main fiber into two or more fibers
Or Alternately couple a proportion of light
propagating in the main fiber into a branch fiber
they can combine light from two or more branch
fibers into a main fiber
Optical fiber couplers are passive devices in which
power transfer takes place in two ways:
(i)Core-interaction type:
(ii) Surface-interaction type:

Power Transfer in Couplers

(i)Core-interaction type: through fiber core crosssection by butt jointing the fibers
(ii) Surface-interaction type: through fiber surface
and normal to its axis by converting the guided core
modes to both cladding and refracted modes

Optical Fiber Coupler Types

Functions of Multiport Couplers

(1)Three and four-port couplers: For signal
splitting, distribution and combining
(2)Star Couplers: for distributing a single
input signal to multiple outputs
(3)WDM devices: are specialized couplers
designed to permit a number of different
wavelength channels to be transmitted in
parallel in a single fiber
WDM MUX: combine/multiplex different
wavelength channels onto a fiber
WDM DeMux: separate different
wavelength channels output from a fiber

Three and Four-Port Couplers

(a) Lateral Offset Method:
-Fiber end faces are overlapped, Light
from input fiber is coupled to output
fibers according to degree of overlap.
-Input power can be distributed in a welldefined proportion by appropriate
control of lateral offset between
fibers.
-Suitable for multimode fibers but with
high excess loss.

(b) Semitransparent Mirror Method:

-A beam splitter element between the
fibers; A partially reflecting surface is
placed to the end face cut at an angle
45o to form a thin beam splitter
-The input power may be split in any
desired ratio between the reflected
and transmitted beams
- Typical excess loss: 1~2 dB, suitable for
both MMF and SMF

3-Port Coupler Based on Micro-optic

Components
These couplers utilize the beam
expansion and collimation properties
of graded index (GRIN) rod lens
combined with spherical retroreflecting mirrors (which reflects light
back to its source)
It consists of two quarter pitch lenses
with a semitransparent mirror in
between
Light rays from input fiber F1,
collimate in the first lens before
incident on mirror. A portion of
incident beam is reflected back and
is coupled to fiber F2.
The transmitted light is focused in 2nd
lens and then coupled to F3.
Parallel surface type is more
attractive because of ease of
fabrication, compactness, simplicity
and relatively low insertion loss
For both, insertion loss <1dB

Fused Biconical Taper (FBT)

Method

Most common method of manufacturing couplers

Fibers are twisted together and then spot fused
under tension such that the fused section is
elongated to form a biconical taper structure
A three port coupler is formed by removing one of
the input fibers

 Optical power launched into the input fiber propagates

in the form of guided core modes. The higher order
modes leave the fiber core because of its reduced size
in the tapered-down region and therefore guided as
cladding modes. These modes transfer back to guided
core modes in the tapered-up region of the output fiber
with approximately even distribution the two fibers
Various Loss Parameters Associated with Four-Port
Coupler
Excess Loss (Scattering loss): ratio of power input to power
output

Excess Loss 10 log10

P1
P3 P4

dB

Insertion Loss (optical loss through connection): loss

obtained for a particular port-to-port optical path

P1
P4
P
Insertion Loss (port 1 to 3) 10 log10 1
P3

Insertion Loss (port 1 to 4) 10 log10

dB

dB

 Cross talk: the ratio of back scattered power received at

the 2nd input port to input power

Crosstalk 10 log10

P2
P1

dB

Splitting or Coupling ratio: it indicates the percentage

division of optical power between the output ports

P3
Split Ratio
100%
P3 P4

P4
1
100%
P3 P4

Star Coupler
It distributes an optical signal from a single input fiber
to multiple output fibers
Two main techniques:
Mixer rod method
FBT method

 A thin platelet of glass (mixer rod) is used which

efficiently mixes the light from one fiber, dividing it
among outgoing fibers

 FBT method:

The fibers which constitute the star

coupler are bundled, twisted, heated and pulled to form
the coupler.
Highly mode dependent which results in a relatively wide
port-to-port output variation
In an ideal star coupler, the optical power from any input
fiber is evenly distributed among output fibers

Ladder Coupler:
-This is an
alternative
technique to
construct a star
coupler.
- The ladder coupler
comprises a number
of cascaded stages,
each incorporating
-three
88 or
coupler
consists of three stages which gives 8
four-port
output
ports
FBT
couplers
- If three port FBT coupler, then 1N coupler
- If four port FBT coupler, then NN coupler
- It has relatively low insertion loss
- Widely used for single-mode fiber star coupler

Wavelength Division
Multiplexing Couplers
WDM Couplers: are specialized devices which enable light from

two or more optical sources of differing nominal peak optical

wavelength to be launched into a single optical fiber
The spectral performance characteristic for a typical five-channel
WDM device is shown below

 The important parameters associated with WDM coupler:

Attenuation of light over a particular wavelength band: should
be low
The interband isolation to minimize crosstalk: should be high but
channel separation be as small as may be permitted
Wavelength band (channel BW)
Diffraction grating type WDM Coupler
Diffraction grating is an angularly dispersive element which
reflects light in a particular direction according to

spacing of the grating

The angle at which light is
incident on the grating
optical wavelength
In Littrow type grating, the
blaze angle is such that
incident and reflected light
beams follow virtually the
same path.

 A blazed grating is a special type of

diffraction grating.
Blazed gratings produce maximum efficiency at a
specified wavelength; that is, a diffraction grating that
is "blazed at 250nm" will operate most efficiently when
light with a wavelength of 250nm passes through the
grating.
Like standard diffraction gratings, blazed gratings
diffract incoming light using a series of grooves.
However, in blazed gratings the grooves have been
manufactured such that they form right angles with a
specified "blaze angle," which is the angular distance
from the surface normal of the diffraction plate. The
magnitude of the blaze angle determines the
wavelength at which the grating will be most efficient.

 A diffraction grating consists of a series of equally

spaced parallel grooves formed in a reflective coating
deposited on a suitable substrate. The distance
between adjacent grooves and the angle the grooves
form with respect to the substrate influence both the
dispersion and efficiency of a grating. If the
wavelength of the incident radiation is much larger
than the groove spacing, diffraction will not occur. If
the wavelength is much smaller than the groove
spacing, the facets of the groove will act as mirrors
and, again, no diffraction will take place.

d is the grating constant

(the distance between
successive grooves), i is the
angle of incidence measured
from the normal and i' is the
angle of diffraction measured
from the normal.

Two main structural type:

(i)Littrow device employing lens and a separate plane
grating
(ii)Concave grating
Littrow type grating demux (a) using a conventional lens
(b) using a GRIN-rod lens
Single input fiber and multiple output fibers are arranged
on the focal plane of the lens
Lens is used to collimate the optical beam. The input light
is collimated by lens and hence transmitted to the
diffraction grating which is offset at the blaze angle so
that the incoming light is incident virtually normal to the
groove faces.
On reflection from the grating the diffraction process
causes the light o be angularly dispersed according to
wavelength
Finally the diffracted s pass through the lens and are
focused onto different output collecting fibers.

WDM Devices
Arrayed
Waveguide
Grating (AWG):
passive optical MUX,
DeMUX coupler using
diffraction grating
mechanism.
Can perform
MUXing and
DeMUXing operation
in DWDM network
with narrow channel
spacing
An AWG comprises
of a number of
waveguides with
different lengths

 optical signal passing through each of these waveguides

interfere with the signals passing through their
neighboring waveguides at the convergence points
depending upon the phase difference of interfering
signals (constructive or destructive) an optical signal at a
desired wavelength can be obtained at device out put
AWG: Five elements:
Input/output waveguides (WG)
Arrayed waveguides of different lengths
Two focusing slab waveguides

The basic operation is carried out in the two focusing

slabs: each of them acts as a multimode interference
coupler or a free space propagation region
When a WDM signal is coupled to input WG, this signal
propagates through input WG slab region where it
illuminates the grating by splitting the optical signal into
each arrayed WG with Gaussian distribution.

 Curved arrayed waveguides are preferred to produce

waveguide channels over a suitable distance
Optical signals travel down the WG array to the other
WG slab
Since each arrayed WG exhibits a different path length
then the optical wavefronts reach the input ports of 2 nd
slab out-of-phase with one another
2nd slab (output slab) performs as a combiner the overall
AWG becomes a WMD demultiplexer
Each input signal from arrayed WG interferes with all
others within the output slab WG. As a consequence of
constructive interference each single wavelength signal
present in the original WDM signal will be coupled into
exactly one of the output waveguides.

AWG is a passive device which can be operated

as a multiplexer when operating in opposite
direction

Optical
Isolator

It is essentially a passive device which allows the flow

of optical signal power (for a particular wavelength
or a wavelength band) in only one direction
preventing reflection in backward direction.
Optical isolators can be implemented by using FBGs
(FBGs are wavelength dependent which can be
designed to allow or block the optical signal at a
particular or a range of wavelength/s)
or by using Magneto optic devices

FBG: Fiber Bragg Grating

is an optical fiber component

having a periodic variation in the refractive index of its core
along the fiber length.
An FBG acts as a highly wavelength selective reflector, with a
high reflectivity at a given central wavelength.
The central wavelength, the peak value of reflectivity and the
bandwidth of reflection spectrum depends on the period of
refractive index modulation, on strength of index modulation
grating and length of grating

Circulator
An optical circulator is a multiport device with
non-reciprocal transmission characteristics.
When light enters port 1
of circulator, it exits
through port 2. If light
enters port 2, instead of
emerging from port 1, it
emerges from port 3.
Isolators can be
connected to form
P2
Insertion
loss,
IL

10
log
circulator
;(dB)
P1

P3
Cross talk, CT 10 log ;(dB)
P2

Isolators are interconnected to form a 3-port device which

does not discard backward reflections but directs them to
another isolator.
No connection is usually permitted between port 3 and port 1.
Commercially available circulators have 1dB insertion loss
and high isolation in the range of 40 to 50 dB centered at
1.3 and 1.5 m

Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer

(OADM)

OADM is used for adding and dropping of optical

channels in a fiber link while preserving the
integrity of other channels
2
1

An FBG is placed with a central wavelength 1 at port 2, if light

at 1 and 2 are incident on port 1 of circulator, then out of 2
wavelengths exiting from port 2, FBG reflects back 1. this
wavelength propagates back towards port 2 of circulator and
exits from port 3 while the wavelength 2 continue to

1 is dropped in circulator 1, then another optical

signal at this wavelength can be added at
circulator 2.
Multiple channels can be dropped and/or added by
using a combination of an FBG and optical
circulators.

Cable Design
Optical fibers are required to be safely
installed and maintained in all environmental
conditions.
Unprotected optical fibers (only core and
cladding) have many disadvantages with
regard to strength and durability
Bare glass fibers are brittle and very
susceptible to damage due to environment or
mechanical stress and strain.
So it is necessary to cover them to improve
tensile strength, to protect them against
external influences

The Function of Fiber Cable and

Related Concerns

Fiber protection: to protect against damage, and

breakage during installation and maintenance

Stability of fiber characteristics: Cabled fiber

must maintain good stable characteristics
compared with uncabled fiber

Cable strength: Must maintain similar mechanical

strength as electrical power cable. Mechanical
properties like tension, torsion, compression,
bending, squeezing, and vibration. Cable strength
may be improved by using extra strength member

These can be achieved by surrounding the

fiber with a series of protective layers which
is referred to as coating and cabling.

Cable Design
Considerations
A number of major considerations:
(i)Fiber Buffering: primary coating during production
(typically 5 to 10 m Teflon) in order to prevent
scratch of glass surface and subsequent flaws in
material. Primary coated fiber is given secondary or
buffer coating (jacket) to provide protection against
external mechanical and environmental influences, to
reduce microbending losses

 Tight buffer jacket: consists of hard plastic (nylon, hytrel,

tefzel) and is direct contact with primary coated fiber with a
typical diameter of 250 m.

Loose tube buffer jacket: it provides an oversized cavity in

which fiber is fiber is placed which mechanically isolates the fiber
from external forces. It is usually achieved by using a hard,
smooth, flexible materials (polyester or polyamide) in the form of
an extruded tube with an outer diameter of typically 1.4 mm.

Filled loose tube buffer:

the oversized cavity is filled with

a moisture resistant compound. The filling material must be soft,
self-healing and stable over a wide temperature range (-30 to +70
degree Celsius), e.g., specially blended petroleum or silicon-based
compounds. Buffer size could be larger like 1.8 to 3.5 mm to
accommodate multiple fibers

(ii) Cable Structural Member:

one or more
structural members are provided to serve as a cable core
foundation around which buffered fibers are wrapped or
slotted. Structural me may be nonmetallic with plastics,
fiber glass or Kevlar

(iii)Cable Strength Members: have high tensile

strength. The structural member may be strength
member if it consists of suitable material such as solid or
stranded steel wire, dielectric yarns or Kevlar (polyester).
In this case the central structural member is the primary
load-bearing element.

(iv)Cable Sheath:

cable is covered with Plastic sheath in

order to reduce abrasion and to provide the cable with
extra protection against external mechanical effects.
Polyethylene (PE) sheath is commonly used.

(v) Water Barrier:

The ingress of water may be

prevented by filling the spaces in the cable with moistureresistant compounds. Specially formulated silicon rubber

Typical Structure of SI SMF and

MMF

Core dia: 5 to 10 m
Cladding dia: ~ 125m
Buffer Jacket dia: 250 to 1000 m
NA: around 0.1
: 2 to 5 dB/km @ 0.85 m, 0.20 dB/km @ 1.55 m and 0.35
dB/km @1.3 m
Suited for high BW (>500 MHz-km), medium and long-haul
applications

Core dia: 50 to 400 m

Cladding dia: 125 to 500 m
Buffer Jacket dia: 250 to 1000 m
NA: around 0.16 to 0.5
: 2 to 50 dB/km @ 0.85 m, 0.25 dB/km @ 1.55 m
and 0.4 dB/km @1.31 m
Best suited for short-haul, limited BW (50 MHz-km) and
relatively low cost applications

Some Typical Cable

Structure

Multifiber cable with central steel wire

structural and strength member
Description/Characteristics:
Suitable for SMF or
MMF. High strength
loose tube made of a
high modulus plastic
Tubes are filled with
water-resistant filling
compound
Steel wire located at
the center as
structural and
strength member
Tubes are stranded
Polyethylene Steel Polyethylene (PSP) is longitudinally
around strength
applied over the cable core and then the core is filled with
member
filled with filing compound to protect it from water ingress.
The cable is then completed with a PE sheath.

Description/Characteristics:

Stranded Loose Tube

Cable with Aluminum
Tape and Steel Tape
(Double Sheath)

Suitable for SMF or MMF.

High strength loose tube
made of a high modulus
plastic
Tubes are filled with
water-resistant filling
compound
Steel wire (sometimes
sheathed with PE) located
at the center as structural
and strength member
Tubes are stranded
around strength member
An Aluminum
Polyethylene Laminate
(APL) is applied around
cable core which is filled
with filling compound to
protect water ingress. APL Application: Duct/Aerial

Stranded loose tube cable with aluminum

and steel tape plus non-metallic central
strength member (Double sheaths)

A piece of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) locates in the

center of core as a non-metallic strength member
Application: Duct/Aerial/Direct Buried

Loose Tube Corrugate Steel Armored Fiber

Optic Cable

It has high tensile strength for long spans

Stranded wires (71.6mm) are load bearing and gives high
tensile strength
Cable can carry up to 144 fibers
High stregth loose tube with special tube filling compound

 A steel wire or a piece of Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP)

locates in the center of core as a non-metallic central
strength member
HDPE jacket for weather and UV protection
Rip cord, of an optical cable, a parallel cord of strong
yarn that is situated under the jacket(s) of the cable for
jacket removal
Application: Best for Aerial and outdoor application.
Telecom data link, long-haul networking, or campus/office
building interconnections

Tube filling compound: Tubes are filled with

thixotropic Jelly and necessary plastic fillers to have
circular cable core. As a lubricant and water
resistant.
Cable core filling compound: Petroleum jelly, Paraffin
wax, Polyolefin wax etc.