Optical System Design: Unit - 5

UNIT – 5
Optical System
Design
A Sanyasi Rao
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of ECE
Allanki Sanyasi Rao 1
Factors for Evaluating Fiber Optic System Design
IDP: Integrated Detector Preamplifier

Many of these considerations are directly related to other
considerations. For example, detector choice will impact the receiver
sensitivity which will affect the necessary transmitter output power.
Output power impacts the transmitter light emitter type which will
affect the usable fiber type and connector type.
System Design Considerations:
In optical system design major consideration involves:

1. Transmission characteristics of fiber (attenuation & dispersion).
2. Information transfer capability of fiber.
3. Terminal equipment & technology.
4. Distance of transmission.
An optical communication system should have following basic
required specifications:
• Transmission type (Analog / digital).
• System fidelity (SNR / BER)
• Required transmission bandwidth
• Acceptable repeater spacing
• Cost of system
• Reliability
• Cost of maintenance.
System Consideration
Before selecting suitable components, the operating wavelength for
the system is decided. The operating wavelength selection depends
on the distance and attenuation.
For shorter distance, the 800-900 nm region is preferred but for
longer distance 1000 or 1550 nm region is preferred due to lower
attenuations and dispersion.
The next step is selection of photo detector. While selecting a
photo detector following factors are considered –
• Minimum optical power that must fall on photo detector to
satisfy BER at specified data rate.
• Complexity of circuit.
• Cost of design.
• Bias requirements.
Next step in system consideration is choosing a proper optical
source.
Important factors to consider are:
• Signal dispersion.
• Data rate.
• Transmission distance.
• Cost.
• Optical power coupling.
• Circuit complexity.
The last factor in system consideration is to selection of optical fiber
between single mode and Multimode fiber with step or graded index
fiber.
Fiber selection depends on type of optical source and tolerable
dispersion.
Some important factors for selection of fiber are:

• Numerical Aperture (NA), as NA increases, the fiber coupled
power increases also the Dispersion.
• Attenuation characteristics.
• Environmental induced losses e.g. due to temperature variation,
moisture and dust etc.
Operating wavelength selection:
First generation optical wavelength are in the range of 0.8μm to

0.9μm. Here the transmission loss is maximum and dispersion is
also maximum.
Now a days we are choosing the wavelength around 1.3μm to

1.55μm. Here the attenuation and dispersion are very small and
silica fibers are used for long distance transmission.
System performance:
• System performance is decided by three major blocks of the optical
fiber transmission. They are transmitter, optical fiber links and
receiver. The designer should choose proper light source, proper
optical fiber and proper photo detector to get high bit rate and high
S/N ratio.
• Regarding optical fiber, the single mode step index fiber is the
proper choice. Even in that to reduce dispersion, proper choice of the
refractive index profile is necessary. These single mode step index
fibers are preferable.
• Regarding optical sources, single mode laser diodes are suitable for
single mode step index fibers. For multi mode fibers, hetero junction
LEDs chosen based economy.
• Regarding optical receivers, the P-I-N photodiodes and Avalanche
photodiodes are preferable.
The maximum transmission distance is limited by the net less of
fiber cable such that
L = 10/α log10 (Pt/pr)
α = net loss (in dB/1cm)
Pt = average power from transmitter
Pr = average power detected at receiver
Np = minimum no of photons/bit required
Hν = energy of photon
B=bit rate
Component Choice
The system designer has many choices when selecting components

for an optical fiber system. The major components choices are:
Optical Fiber Type and Parameters

Multimode or single mode, size, refractive index, attenuation,
dispersion, mode coupling, strength, joints etc.
Source Type
Laser or LED, optical power launched into the fiber, rise and fall
time, stability etc.,
Transmitter Configuration
Design for digital or analog, input impedance, supply voltage,
dynamic range, feedback etc.
Detector Type and Characteristics
PN, PIN or Avalanche photodiode, response time, bias voltage, dark
current etc.
Receiver Configuration
Pre-amplifier design, BER, SNR, range etc.
Modulation and Coding
Source intensity modulation, pulse frequency modulation, PWM
and PPM transmission.
Digital transmission or analog transmission
Such as biphase scheme and FM respectively. These decisions will
be taken depending on the system performance, ready availability of
suitable components and cost.
The short comings of the components can be mentioned as follows:
• LED may appear ideally suitable for analog transmission. Most of

the LED, display some degree of non-linearity in their output.
• The thermal behaviour of LED and Lasers can limit their

operation. Significant increase in junction temperature may cause
loss of lasing and reduction in optical output power.
Finite spectral width can cause pulse broadening due to material

dispersion on an optical fiber communication link.
In long-haul communication applications repeaters are inserted
at regular intervals
Multiplexing
Multiplexing of several signals on a single fiber increases

information transfer rate of communication link. In Time Division
Multiplexing (TDM) pulses from multiple channels are interleaved
and transmitted sequentially, it enhance the bandwidth utilization of
a single fiber link.
In Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) the optical channel

bandwidth is divided into various no overlapping frequency bands
and each signal is assigned one of these bands of frequencies. By
suitable filtering the combined FDM signal can be retrieved.
When number of optical sources operating at different wavelengths
is to be sent on single fiber link Wavelength Division Multiplexing
(WDM) is used. At receiver end, the separation or extraction of
optical signal is performed by optical filters
Another technique called Space Division Multiplexing (SDM)

used separate fiber within fiber bundle for each signal channel.
SDM provides better optical isolation which eliminates cross-
coupling between channels. But this technique requires huge
number of optical components (fiber, connector, sources, detectors
etc) therefore not widely used.
Point-to-Point Links
A point-to-point link comprises of one transmitter and a receiver

system. This is the simplest form of optical communication link and
it sets the basis for examining complex optical communication
links. For analyzing the performance of any link following
important aspects are to be considered.
Distance of transmission
Channel data rate
Bit-error rate
The design of an optical link involves many interrelated variables
such as the fiber, source, and photodetector operating characteristics,
so that the link design and analysis may require several iterations
before they are working satisfactorily.
The repeaters may be on to electronic (or) optical repeaters. In this
system, the repeater spacing is a major design factor. Spacing
between repeater increases, it reduces the system cost. Spacing
between transmitter & receiver increases, it will also increase
system cost.
If L increases then bit rate reduces because of dispersion thus,

product of B(bit rate) and transmission distance(L) is a measure of
system performance and its depends on operating wavelength
Operating wavelength BL product

0.85µm 1Gb/s-Kn
1.35μm 1 Tb/s-Km
1.55μm 100Tb/s-km
Design Considerations
• Link Power Budget
– There is enough power margin in the system to meet the
given BER
• Rise Time Budget
– Each element of the link is fast enough to meet the given bit
rate
These two budgets give necessary conditions for satisfactory

operation

In the link power budget analysis, one first determine the power
margin between the optical transmitter output and the minimum
receiver sensitivity needed to establish a specified BER. This margin
is allocated to connectors, splices, fiber losses etc.
A rise time budget analysis is a convenient method for determining

the dispersion limitation of an optical fiber link. This is particularly
useful for digital systems.

Link Power Budget
In optical fiber communication system, the total loss in the system

is the addition of losses taking place because of all components.
The loss produced in each element is calculated in terms of (dB)

and is given by
 Pout 
Loss(dB)  10 log 
 Pin 
Here, Pout is the o/p power of element

Pin is the i/p power of element

For optimizing link power budget an optical power loss model is to
be studied as shown:
lc denotes the losses occur at connector.

Lsp denotes the losses occur at splices. (No. of Splices, n=[(L/l)-1])
αf denotes the attenuation of fiber
24
Here other losses are considered in system margin (6-8 dB)
Total power loss in point – to – point link is
(Allowed loss) PT=PS-PR
Here, PS=Power of Source
PR=Receiver Sensitivity
Total Loss also given by
PT = 2LC + αL + nLSP + System Margin

Components chosen for a digital fiber link of overall length 10km
and operating at 20 Mbps are as follows:
i) LED capable of launching an average power 0.1 mW at 0.85µm
ii) Fiber attenuation 2.5 dB/km
iii) Requires Splicing every 2 km with a loss of 0.3 dB per splice.
Connector loss is 1.5 dB
iv) The receiver power needed of -46dBm in order to get 10-10 BER
v) Predicted safety margin 6 dB
Find link power budget for this given problem.
L = 10 km Data Rate = 20 Mbps PS=0.1mW=10-4W=-40 dB

λ = 0.85 µm α = 2.5 dB/km l=2 km LSP= 0.3 dB
LC = 1.5 dB PR = -46 dBm= -46-30 = -76 dB
Safety margin = 6 dB Allanki Sanyasi Rao 26
Total Allowed Loss, PT=PS – PR
= -40 – (-76)
= 36 dB
Total Loss = 2LC + αL + nLSP + Safety Margin

= 2(1.5) + 2.5(10) + [(10/2) -1](0.3) + 6
= 3 + 25 + 1.2 + 6
= 35.2 dB
Total loss 35.2dB is less than allowed loss 36dB, so signal can be
received with out problem.
Rise Time Budget Analysis
The rise time budget is used to determine the dispersion limitation

of an optical link.
Total rise time of optical system is given by
N
t sys  i
t 2
i 1
 t 2
tx  t 2
mat  t 2
mod  t 2
rx
Here, ti is the rise time by each different element of link.

There are four major basic elements, which limits speed of system.
These are as follows:
1. Transmitter rise time (ttx)
2. Group velocity dispersion rise time (tmat)
3. Modal dispersion rise time (tmod)
4. Receiver rise time (trx)
1. Transmitter Rise time:
- this type of rise time is contributed by the light source and its
driving circuitry
- this value is generally known to designer.
2. Group Velocity Dispersion Rise time:

- optical cable has group delay dispersion
- for length L of optical cable, it is given by tmat = DLλ
here, D=Dispersion of Optical link
L=Length of fiber
λ = Half power spectral width of light source
3. Modal Dispersion Rise time:
- Modal dispersion rise time is given by tmod = 440/Bm
here Bm is the Bandwidth of optical link of length L
4. Receiver Rise time:

- it is photodetector response with 3-dB electrical bandwidth,
Brx
Receiver rise time is given by trx = 350/Brx
- for length L of optical cable, it is given by tmat = DLλ

Total rise time of system is given by
N
t sys  i
t 2
i 1
 t 2
tx  t 2
mat  t 2
mod  t 2
rx
2
 440   350 

 ttx     DL     
2 2

 Bm   Brx 
For RZ (Return to Zero), total max.system bandwidth,

BT=0.35/tsys
For NRZ (Non Return to Zero), total max. system bandwidth,
BT=0.70/tsys
BW (Mbps) is inversely proportional to tsys


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UNIT – 5

IDP: Integrated Detector Preamplifier

In optical system design major consideration involves:

Important factors to consider are:

Some important factors for selection of fiber are:

First generation optical wavelength are in the range of 0.8μm to

Now a days we are choosing the wavelength around 1.3μm to

The system designer has many choices when selecting components

Optical Fiber Type and Parameters

• LED may appear ideally suitable for analog transmission. Most of

• The thermal behaviour of LED and Lasers can limit their

Finite spectral width can cause pulse broadening due to material

Multiplexing of several signals on a single fiber increases

In Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) the optical channel

Another technique called Space Division Multiplexing (SDM)

A point-to-point link comprises of one transmitter and a receiver

Channel data rate

If L increases then bit rate reduces because of dispersion thus,

Operating wavelength BL product

These two budgets give necessary conditions for satisfactory

Allanki Sanyasi Rao 21

A rise time budget analysis is a convenient method for determining

Allanki Sanyasi Rao 22

In optical fiber communication system, the total loss in the system

The loss produced in each element is calculated in terms of (dB)

Here, Pout is the o/p power of element

Allanki Sanyasi Rao 23

lc denotes the losses occur at connector.

Allanki Sanyasi Rao 25

L = 10 km Data Rate = 20 Mbps PS=0.1mW=10-4W=-40 dB

Total Loss = 2LC + αL + nLSP + Safety Margin

The rise time budget is used to determine the dispersion limitation

Here, ti is the rise time by each different element of link.

2. Group Velocity Dispersion Rise time:

4. Receiver Rise time:

Allanki Sanyasi Rao 30

For RZ (Return to Zero), total max.system bandwidth,

BW (Mbps) is inversely proportional to tsys

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