Unit-2

Optical Fibers:
Structures, Wave Guiding
and Fabrication
Subject: Fiber Optic Communication (3161005)
Semester-6th
Electronics & Communication Engineering Department
Government Engineering College, Bharuch
 “Students Should Be Made To Think,

To Doubt, To Communicate, To

Question, To Learn From Their

Mistakes, And Most Importantly Have

Richard Feynman
Fun In Their Learning.”
(1918 – 1988)
Professor & Physicist (U.S.A) 4/1/2023
Contents
▪ Basic Optical Laws and Definitions,
▪ Optical Fiber Modes and Configurations,
– Step Index and Graded Index (GI) fibers

▪ Mode Theory for Circular Waveguides,

▪ Fiber Materials,
▪ Fiber Fabrication,
▪ Mechanical Properties of Fibers,
▪ Fiber Optic Cables.
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Introduction
▪ The overall performance of a optical communication system largely depends on
characteristics of an optical fiber.
▪ While designing any optical fiber communication system we must concern about:
1. What is the structure of an optical fiber?
2. How does light propagate along a fiber?
3. Of what materials are fibers made?
4. How is the fiber fabricated?
5. How are fibers incorporated into cable structures?
6. What is the signal loss or attenuation mechanism in a fiber?
7. Why and to what degree does a signal get distorted as it travels along a fiber?
4/1/2023
The Nature of Light
▪ Light is a transverse, electromagnetic radiation that
can be seen by the human eye.
▪ Visible light have wavelengths ranging from 400
nm –700 nm (750 THz – 420 THz).
▪ In physics, the "light" is defined as electromagnetic
radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not.
– Gamma rays,
– X-rays,
– Microwaves,
– Radio waves etc.
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Dual Nature of Light
▪ The light has dual nature:
1. It behaves as a particle,
2. It behaves as a wave.

▪ The dual nature of light can be demonstrated by:

1. Photoelectric effect (light behaves as a particle)
2. Refraction (light behaves as wave)

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FIY: The 1921 Nobel Prize to Albert Einstein

▪ 1905: Albert Einstein drew the conclusion that

light sometimes behaves as particles.
▪ Einstein saw that his new idea would provide a
natural explanation of the photoelectric effect, i.e.
the emission of electrons from metal surfaces
illuminated by light.
▪ The wave theory of light was quite unable to do so.
▪ The motivation for the Nobel Prize to Einstein in
1922 was based on his discovery of the law of the
photoelectric effect.
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FIY: Einstein Attacks “Quantum Theory” May 4, 1935

4/1/2023
 FIY: The 1922 Nobel Prize (Quantum Entanglement)

Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon by which a pair of subatomic particles are allowed to exist in a shared state where
they have complementary properties, such that by measuring the properties of one particle, one can automatically know the
properties of the other particle. (This is true regardless of how far apart the two particles4/1/2023
are transported.)
FIY: John Clauser at Caltech in 1976

John F. Clauser in 1976 John F. Clauser in 2022

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Basic Optical Laws & Definitions
▪ Following are the basic optics laws and definitions related to optical fiber
communication:
1. Refraction,

2. Refractive index of material,

3. Reflection,

4. The Snell’s law,

5. Polarization.

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Refraction and Refractive Index
▪ Refraction: It is defined as the change in
the direction of a wave when it passes
from one medium to another medium.
▪ Refractive index: It is the ratio between
the speed of light in a vacuum (c) and the
speed of light in the medium (v).
▪ If the refractive index for a medium is
represented by n, then it is given by the
following formula:

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 Refraction and Refractive Index
Material Refractive ▪ Refractive index of various substances are shown in table:
Index
Acetone 1.356 ▪ Based on the refractive index of the medium, the light ray
Air 1.000 changes its direction.
Water 1.333 a) If the light ray travels from one medium to another of a higher
Diamond 2.419 refractive index, it bends towards the normal.
Ethyl alcohol 1.361 b) If the light ray travels from one medium to another of a lower
Glass 1.52–1.62 refractive index, it bends away from the normal.

4/1/2023
Reflection of Light
▪ Reflection: When a light ray
approaches a boundary separating
two different medium, part of the
light ray is bounced back into the
first medium, it is called the
reflection of light.
▪ The ray that bounces back is called
the reflected ray.
▪ The part of the ray is reflected back
into the first medium and the
remainder is bent (or refracted) as
it enters the second material.
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 The Snell’s Law (The Law of Refraction)
▪ Discovered by Willebrord Snell
in 1621, the laws of refraction
are also termed Snell’s law.
▪ The bending or refraction of the
light ray at the interface is a
result of the difference in the
speed of light in two materials
that have different refractive
indices.
Physicist ▪ The relationship at the interface
(Netherlands) is known as Snell’s law and is
given by:
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The Snell’s Law (The Law of Refraction)
▪ Angle of incidence (Φ1) : It is the
angle between the incident ray and the
normal to the surface.
▪ Law of reflection: The angle θ1 at
which the incident ray strikes the
interface is exactly equal to the angle
that the reflected ray makes with the
same interface.
▪ The incident ray, the normal to the
interface, and the reflected ray all lie
in the same plane, which is
perpendicular to the interface plane
between the two materials.
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The Snell’s Law: Example
▪ A light ray traveling in air (n1= 1.00) is incident on a smooth, flat slab of
crown glass, which has a refractive index n2 = 1.52. If the incoming ray
makes an angle of Φ1 = 30.0° with respect to the normal, what is the angle
of refraction Φ2 in the glass?

▪ Answer: 19.2°
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External V/S Internal Reflection
▪ External Reflection : When light traveling in a certain medium is reflected
from an material with a higher refractive index, the process is referred to as
external reflection. (e.g. light travelling from Air (n=1) to Water (n=1.333)).
▪ Internal Reflection: When light traveling in a certain medium is reflected
from an material with a lower refractive index, the process is referred to as
internal reflection. (e.g. light travelling from Water (n=1.333) to Air (n=1)).

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Total Internal Reflection & Critical Angle
▪ As the angle of incidence Φ1 in an optically denser material becomes larger, the refracted
angle Φ2 approaches π/2.
▪ Beyond this point no refraction is possible and the light rays become totally internally
reflected.
▪ Total Internal Reflection: It is defined as the complete reflection of a light ray within an
optically-denser medium from the surrounding surfaces of optically less dense media back
into the denser medium.

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Total Internal Reflection & Critical Angle
▪ If the angle of incidence Φ1 is increased, a point will eventually be reached where
the light ray in air is parallel to the glass surface (Φ2 = π/2). This point is known as
the critical angle of incidence Φc.
▪ Critical Angle of Incidence (Φc ): For a light ray passing from an optically denser to
a less dense medium, Critical Angle of Incidence (Φc) is defined as the angle of
incidence at which angle of refraction ,Φ2 = π/2 (light ray in air becomes parallel to
the glass surface).

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Total Internal Reflection & Critical Angle

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Critical Angle: Formula
▪ The formula of critical angle for glass–air interface can be derived as:
– From Snell’s law ;

– At total internal reflection, Φ2 = π/2 & Φ1 = Φc

– Now;

– Thus critical angle in the glass is:

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 Critical Angle: Example
▪ Consider the interface between a glass and air with refractive index of glass
and air is 1.48 and 1.00 respectively. What is the critical angle for light
traveling in the glass?

▪ Answer: 42.5°

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 Critical Angle: Example
▪ Consider the interface between a GaAs surface with refractive index n1 =
3.299 and air for which n2 = 1.000. show that the critical angle is 17.6°.

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Polarization Components of Light
▪ An ordinary lightwave consists of many
transverse electromagnetic waves that vibrate in a
various directions and is called unpolarized light.
▪ However, one can represent any random direction
of vibration as a combination of a parallel
vibration and a perpendicular vibration.
▪ Therefore, one can consider unpolarized light as
consisting of two orthogonal plane polarization
components.
▪ These are the parallel polarization and the
perpendicular polarization4/1/2023
components.
Polarization Components of Light
▪ Unpolarized light can be split into separate
polarization components either by:
1. Reflection from a nonmetallic surface
2. Refraction when the light passes from one
material to another.
▪ When an unpolarized light beam traveling in air
strikes on a nonmetallic surface such as glass,
part of the beam is reflected and part is refracted
into the glass.
▪ The refracted beam is partially polarized and the
reflected light is completely perpendicularly
polarized.
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Polarization-Sensitive Materials
▪ The polarization characteristics of light
are important when examining the
behavior of components such as optical
isolators and light filters.
▪ Three basic polarization-sensitive
materials or devices are:
1. Polarizers,
2. Faraday rotators,
3. Birefringent crystals.
▪ Polarizer: A polarizer is a material or
device that transmits only one
polarization component and blocks the
other as shown in diagram.
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Polarization-Sensitive Materials
▪ Faraday Rotator: A Faraday rotator is a
device that rotates the state of polarization
(SOP) of light passing through it by a
specific amount.

▪ For example, a popular device rotates the

SOP clockwise by 45° or a quarter of a
wavelength, as shown in diagram.
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Polarization-Sensitive Materials
▪ Birefringent or Double-Refractive Crystals:
They have a property called double refraction,
means that the refractive indexes are slightly
different along two perpendicular axes of the
crystal as shown in diagram.
▪ Ordinary ray obeys Snell’s law of refraction at the
crystal surface.
▪ Extraordinary ray refracts at an angle that deviates
from the prediction of the standard form of Snell’s
law.
▪ Each of the two orthogonal polarization
components thus is refracted at a different angle.
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Polarization-Sensitive Materials
▪ Table given below shows the ordinary index no and the
extraordinary index ne of some common birefringent
crystals that are used in optical communication
components and gives some of their applications.
Crystal Name no ne Applications
Calcite 1.658 1.486 Polarization controllers and
beam splitters
Lithium niobate 2.286 2.200 Light signal modulators
Rutile 2.616 2.903 Optical isolators and
circulators
Yttrium Vanadate 1.945 2.149 Optical isolators, circulators,
Calcite and beam displacers
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Basic Optical Fiber Structures
▪ An optical fiber is a dielectric waveguide
that "guides" a light wave by confining it to
travel along a certain desired path.
▪ Optical fibers are made from either glass or
plastic.
▪ An optical fiber consists of three basic
concentric elements:
1. The core,
2. The cladding,
3. The outer coating.
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Basic Optical Fiber Structures
1. The Core:
▪ It is the inner most part of optical fiber.
▪ The core is the light-transmitting portion of
the fiber.
▪ The core is usually made of glass or plastic.
▪ It has higher refractive index than cladding.
2. The Cladding:
▪ The cladding surrounds the core part.
▪ The cladding usually is made of the same
material as the core.
▪ It has a slightly lower refractive index than
core (usually about 1% lower).
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Basic Optical Fiber Structures
3. The Coating (Buffer Coating):
▪ The coating usually consists of one or more
coats of a plastic material.

▪ Its purpose is to protect the core and cladding

from damage or physical environment.

▪ Sometimes metallic sheaths are added to the

coating for further physical protection.

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How Light Propagates in Fiber?
▪ Light injected into the fiber optic core and striking the core-to-cladding
interface at an angle greater than the critical angle is reflected back into the
core.
▪ Since the angles of incidence and reflection are equal, the light ray continues to
zigzag down the length of the fiber.
▪ The light is trapped within the core and propagates further inside core portion.
▪ Light striking the interface at less than the critical angle passes into the cladding
and is lost.

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 Types of Optical Fiber
▪ Optical fiber can be classified based on
following two parameters:
Optical Fiber
1. The refractive index
2. The number of modes
Refractive Number of ▪ Based on the refractive index optical fiber is
Index Profile Modes
classified as:
a) Step-index optical fiber,
Step Graded Single Multi
b) Graded index optical fiber
Index Index Mode Mode
Fiber Fiber Fiber Fiber ▪ Based on the number of modes optical fiber
is classified as:
a) Single-mode fiber,
b) Multi-mode fiber
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Types of Optical Fiber
▪ Based on the variation in the material
composition (refractive index) of the core,
optical fiber can be categorized in following two
types:
1. Step-index fiber,
2. Graded-index fiber.
1. Step-index fiber: The refractive index of the
core is constant throughout the core and the
refractive index changes abruptly at the core-
cladding interface.
2. Graded-index fiber: The refractive index of the
core is varying as a function of the radial
distance from the center of the core.
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Modes in Optical Fiber
▪ It is defined as the pattern of electric and
magnetic field distribution that can be
transmitted along the optical fiber.
▪ It describes the distribution of light energy
across the fiber.
▪ Only a certain discrete number of modes
are capable of propagating through optical
fiber.
▪ The patterns depend on the wavelength of
light transmitted and on the variation in
refractive index of the core and cladding.
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Types of Optical Fiber
▪ Based on the number of modes supported by
optical fiber, they can be categorized in
following two types:
1. Single-mode fiber,
2. Multi-mode fiber.
1. Single-mode fiber: Only one type of ray
(pattern) of light can propagate through the
fiber.
2. Multi-mode fiber: Large number of modes
(pattern of light) for the light ray can propagate
through the fiber.

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Step-Index Optical Fiber
▪ The refractive index of the core is constant
throughout the core and the refractive index
changes abruptly at the core-cladding interface.
▪ Here, the refractive index of core and cladding
is constant.
▪ The refractive index of a cladding is slightly
lower then refractive index of core.
▪ The refractive index profile may be defined as:

– Where, a is the core radius & r is the radial distance

from core center 4/1/2023
Step-Index Optical Fiber
▪ Types of step-index fiber:
1. Step index single mode fiber
2. Step index multimode fiber
▪ Step index single mode fiber:
▪ The core diameter is extremely small, having a
diameter of 8 to 12 μm.
▪ Only a single mode (single light ray) can
propagate through it.
▪ Due to this the transmitted ray does not
experience distortion due to delay differences.
▪ LASER is used as a light4/1/2023
source.
Step-Index Optical Fiber
▪ Step index multimode fiber:
▪ The core diameter is sufficiently large, having a
diameter of 50 to 200 μm.
▪ Multiple modes (several light rays) can propagate
through it.
▪ Due to the propagation of multiple light rays
simultaneously, the fiber experiences distortion
due to delay in propagation time.
▪ LED is used as a light source.

4/1/2023
Application: Step-Index Multimode Fiber
▪ Due to the propagation of multiple light rays simultaneously, the fiber
experiences distortion due to delay in propagation time.
▪ Fiber dispersion does not only affect the data transmission capability of the fiber
but it also limits the maximum effective communication distance.
▪ Because of these limitations, the step-index multimode fiber is generally
considered for low-speed and short-distance applications only.
▪ This type of fiber is more suited to applications where higher power densities are
required such as:
1. Industrial Applications
2. Medical Applications
3. Local area network connection
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Graded-Index Optical Fiber
▪ The refractive index of the core is non-uniform
but the refractive index of the cladding is
constant.
▪ The refractive index is higher at the center of the
core and continuously reduces with the radial
movement away from the center of the core.
▪ The core has diameter of 50 to 100 μm.
▪ The large diameter of the core allows multiple
mode (rays) to propagate through the fiber.
▪ The light rays do not follow a straight line path but
they follow parabolic path due to non-uniformity
in the refractive index of the core.
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Graded-Index Optical Fiber
▪ This index variation may be represented as:

▪ Where,
– a is the radius of the core,
– r is the radial distance from the core axis,
– α shows characteristic of the refractive index profile
– n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of core and cladding
respectively.

▪ Diagram shows the variation in the refractive index

profile for various values of α.
▪ They are used for high-speed (34 Mb/s to 140 Mb/s)
and medium-distance (10km-20km) applications.
4/1/2023
 Fiber
Types
Based
on
Modes
4/1/2023
 Step Index V/S Graded-Index Optical Fiber

Sr. No. Step Index Fiber Graded Index Fiber

1 The refractive index of the core is uniform throughout The refractive index of the core is made to vary
and undergoes on abrupt change at the core cladding gradually such that it is maximum at the center of the
boundary. core.
2 The diameter of the core is about 50-200 μm in the The diameter of the core is about 50-100 μm in the
case of multimode fiber and 10 μm in the case of case of multimode fiber.
single mode fiber.
3 The path of light propagation is zig-zag in manner. The path of light is helical in manner.
4 Attenuation is more for multimode step index fiber Attenuation is less.
but for single mode it is very less.
5 This fiber has lower bandwidth. This fiber has higher bandwidth.
6 The light ray propagation is in the form of meridional The light propagation is in the form of skew rays and
rays and it passes through the fiber axis. it will not cross fiber axis.
7 Lower cost. Higher cost.
4/1/2023
 Single-Mode V/S Multi-Mode Optical Fiber
Sr. No. Single Mode Fiber Multi Mode Fiber
1 It supports only a single light mode. It supports multiple light modes simultaneously.
2 The core diameter is smaller (9 µm). The core diameter is large (50 µm).
3 LASER can be used as a light source. LED can be used as a light source.
4 Attenuation is lower. Attenuation is higher.
5 It supports short distance transmission and long It supports short distance transmission (300-400 m).
distance transmission (10 km).
6 Lower cable cost. Higher cable cost.
7 Overall higher system cost. Overall lower system cost.
8 Long distance applications : MANs and PONs. Short distance applications: enterprise, data centers,
LAN.
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Comparison: Multimode Fibers

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FYI: Minimum Dispersion in Graded-Index Fiber

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Meridional V/S Skew Rays

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Numerical Aperture (NA) of Optical Fiber
▪ It is the measure of the ability of an optical fiber to
collect or confine the incident light ray inside it.
▪ It shows the efficiency with which light is
collected inside the fiber in order to get
propagated.
▪ When the light is emitted from an optical source,
then the fiber must be highly efficient so as to
collect the maximal emitted radiation inside it.
▪ Light gathering efficiency of an optical fiber is the
key characteristic while transmitting a signal
through an optical fiber.

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Numerical Aperture (NA) of Optical Fiber
▪ Light through an optical fiber is propagated
through total internal reflection (TIR).
▪ Multiple TIR takes place inside the optical fiber for
the light ray to get transmitted from an end to another
through an optical fiber.
▪ NA is related to acceptance angle, Acceptance angle is
that max angle through which light enters the fiber.
▪ Hence the acceptance angle and numerical aperture are
related to each other.
▪ The numerical aperture is a dimensionless quantity
which is less than unity, with values normally ranging
from 0.14 to 0.50. 4/1/2023
Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)

▪ Consider a light ray XA, that incident inside the

optical fiber.

▪ The diagram shows an optical fiber inside which

light ray is focused.

▪ The ray XA is launched from Air to core by

making an angle α with the fiber axis.

▪ This angle α is known as the acceptance angle of

the fiber. 4/1/2023
Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)

▪ This incident ray propagates inside the fiber and

gets reflected completely by the core-cladding
interface.

▪ But for this, the angle of the incident should be

more as compared to the critical angle.

▪ Otherwise, if the incident angle is less the critical

angle then rather being reflected, the ray gets
refracted.
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Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)

▪ By applying Snell’s law at medium 1 (usually air)

and core interface:

▪ Also from the diagram, we can write:

▪ If we put the value of θ from eqn2 in eqn1, we get:

4/1/2023
Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)

▪ Since we know:

▪ Apply Snell’s law at core-cladding interface:

▪ Substituting the eqn6 in eqn4:

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Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)

▪ Substituting below value in eqn3, we get:

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Derivation: Numerical Aperture (NA)
▪ As medium 1 is air, ƞ will be 1.
▪ So more specifically from eqn-7 we get:

▪ Where, α is the acceptance angle, ƞ1 & ƞ2 is the

refractive index of core and cladding respectively.
▪ This is the expression for the numerical aperture of
an optical fiber.
▪ Equation of NA shows that, the higher the value of
NA, better will be the light collecting ability of the
optical fiber (better optical4/1/2023
fiber).
 Example: Numerical Aperture
▪ Consider a multimode silica fiber that has a core refractive index = 1.480 and
a cladding index = 1.460. Find
1. The critical angle,
2. The numerical aperture, and
3. The acceptance angle.

▪ Answer: Critical Angle: 80.5°, NA = 0.242, Acceptance angle = 14°

4/1/2023
 Example: Numerical Aperture
▪ Consider a multimode fiber that has a core refractive index of 1.480 and a
core-cladding index difference 2.0 percent (Δ = 0.020). Find
1. Numerical aperture,
2. The acceptance angle, and
3. The critical angle.

▪ Answer: NA = 0.296, Acceptance Angle = 17.2°, Critical Angle = 78.5°

4/1/2023
 Example: Numerical Aperture
▪ Consider the interface between fiber core and cladding materials that have
refractive index of n1 and n2, respectively. If n2 is smaller than n1 by 1% and
n1 = 1.450, Show that:
1. n2 = 1.435.
2. Critical Angle = 81.9°.

4/1/2023
 Example: Numerical Aperture
▪ A step index fiber in air has a numerical aperture of 0.16, a core refractive
index of 1.45 and a core diameter of 60 μm. Calculate:
1. Refractive index of cladding,
2. Relative refractive index difference ( Δ ),
3. Acceptance angle.

▪ Answer: n2 = 1.441, Δ = 0.0061, Acceptance angle = 9.206°

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Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ The wavelength at which all higher-order modes are cut-off is called cut-off
wavelength (λc).
▪ V number (Normalized Frequency) is an important parameter connected with the
cutoff condition is defined by:
▪ Where;
– a = radius of fiber core
– λ = wavelength of the light
– n1 = refractive index of the core
– n2 = refractive index of the cladding
▪ V number is a dimensionless number that is related to the wavelength and the
numerical aperture.
▪ It is used to determine the number of modes a fiber can support.
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Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Number of Modes In A Step-Index Multimode Fiber:
▪ The numbers of modes that can propagate in a fiber depends on:
– The fiber’s numerical aperture
– Core diameter
– The wavelength of the light.

▪ When V is far larger than 2.405, (V >> 2.405), the estimate total number of
modes M can be calculated as:

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Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ V Number & Step-Index Single Mode Fiber:
▪ When V ≤ 2.405, only one mode (The HE11) can propagate in the step
index fiber, this is called the single mode operation.
▪ For a given fiber (n1, n2, a), there is a wavelength λc which makes
V = 2.405 (the largest V number to meet single mode operation).
▪ This λc is called the single mode fiber’s cutoff wavelength.
▪ For wavelengths shorter than λc, more modes will propagate in the fiber
and the fiber becomes a multimode fiber instead of single mode.
▪ If V > 2.405, more number of modes will propagate in optical fiber.
4/1/2023
 Drill Problem: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number

▪ Consider a fiber that has a core refractive index of 1.480, a cladding index of
1.476, and a core radius of 4.4 μm. Show that the wavelength at which this
fiber becomes single mode is λc = 1250 nm.

4/1/2023
Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ A step-index fiber has a normalized frequency V = 26.6 at a 1300-nm
wavelength. If the core radius is 25 µm, what is the numerical aperture?

▪ Answer: NA = 0.22,

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Consider a multimode step-index fiber with a 62.5-μm core diameter and a
core-cladding index difference of 1.5 percent.
▪ If the core refractive index is 1.480, estimate the normalized frequency of the
fiber and the total number of modes supported in the fiber at a wavelength of
850 nm.

▪ Answer: V = 59.2, M = 1752

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ A multimode step index fiber with a core diameter of 80 μm and a relative
index difference of 1.5% is operating at a wavelength of 0.85 μm. If the core
refractive index is 1.48, calculate:
1. Normalized frequency of fiber
2. Total number of guided modes.

▪ Answer: V = 75.69, M = 2864

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Suppose we have a multimode step index optical fiber that has a core radius
of 25 μm, a core index of 1.48, and an index difference Δ = 0.01.
▪ What are the number of modes in the fiber at wavelengths 860, 1310, and
1550 nm?

▪ Answer: M1 = 729, M2 = 315, M3 = 224,

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Suppose we have three multimode step-index optical fibers each of which has
a core index of 1.48 and an index difference Δ = 0.01.
▪ Assume the three fibers have core diameters of 50, 62.5, and 100 μm. What
are the number of modes in these fibers at a wavelength of 1550 nm?

▪ Answer: M1 = 224, M2 = 351, M3 = 898.

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ A manufacturing engineer wants to make an optical fiber that has a core
index of 1.480 and a cladding index of 1.478.
▪ What should the core size be for single-mode operation at 1550 nm?

▪ Answer: a ≤ 7.7 μm

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ An applications engineer has an optical fiber that has a 3.0-μm core radius
and a numerical aperture of 0.1.
▪ Will this fiber exhibit single-mode operation at 800 nm?

▪ Answer: V = 2.356 and as V ≤ 2.405, this fiber will exhibit single mode
operation at 800 nm.

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Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Number of Modes In A Graded-Index Fiber:
▪ The V number for graded-index fibers (for typically small values of △) is
defined in the same way as step-index fibers:

▪ The number of modes Mg in a graded-index multimode fiber is estimated

by:

▪ Where, α is shape of the refractive index profile (e.g. 1,2,4 etc)

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 Example: Cutoff Wavelength and V Number
▪ Suppose we have a 50-mm diameter graded-index fiber that has a parabolic
refractive index profile (α = 2).
▪ If the fiber has a numerical aperture NA = 0.22, what is the total number of
guided modes at a wavelength of 1310 nm?

▪ Answer: V = 26.4, Mg = 174

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Optical Fiber Materials
▪ In selecting materials for optical fibers, a number of requirements must be
satisfied. For example:

1. It must be possible to make long, thin, flexible fibers from the material.

2. The material must be transparent at a particular optical wavelength in order

for the fiber to guide light efficiently.

3. Physically compatible materials that have slightly different refractive indices

for the core and cladding must be available.

▪ Materials that satisfy these requirements are GLASSES and PLASTICS.

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Optical Fiber Materials
▪ Glass Optical Fibers:
– The majority of fibers are made of glass consisting of either silica (SiO2) or a
silicate.
– The variety of glass fibers are available ranging from short-distances
(moderate-loss) to long-distance (low-loss) applications.
▪ Plastic Optical Fibers:
– Plastic fibers are less widely used because of their higher attenuation than
glass fibers.
– The main use of plastic fibers is in short-distance applications (several
hundred meters) and in abusive environments, where the greater mechanical
strength of plastic fibers offers an advantage over the use of glass fibers.
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 Glass Optical Fibers
▪ Glass optical fibers are constructed using tiny strands (wire) of glass that are
bundled together inside a protective case like stainless steel.
▪ Glass is made by fusing mixtures of:
1. Metal oxides, (e.g. ZnO, NiO, Fe2O3 etc)
2. Metal sulfides, (e.g. ZnS, NiS, FeS2 etc)
3. Metal selenides (e.g. ZnSe, NiSe, FeSe2 etc)

▪ The variety of glass fibers are available ranging from short-distances (moderate-
loss) to long-distance (low-loss) applications.

Fe2O3 FeS2 FeSe2

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Glass Optical Fibers
▪ When glass is heated ,it gradually begins to soften until it
becomes a viscous liquid.
▪ Silica (SiO2) glass is most popularly used to make optical
fiber. It has refractive index of:
1. 1.458 at 850 nm
2. 1.444 at 1550 nm

▪ To produce two similar materials that have slightly

different refractive indices for the core and cladding,
either fluorine or various oxides (dopants), are added to
the silica.
– Doping the silica with GeO2 / P2O5 increases refractive index,
– Doping the silica with fluorine/ B2O3 4/1/2023
decreases refractive index,
Glass Optical Fibers
▪ Some of materials combinations for core and cladding are as given below:
Sr. No. Core Cladding

1 GeO2–SiO2 SiO2

2 P2O5–SiO2 SiO2

3 SiO2 B2O3–SiO2

4 GeO2–B2O3–SiO2 B2O3–SiO2

▪ Here, the notation GeO2–SiO2, for example, denotes a GeO2-doped silica glass.
▪ The principal raw material for silica is high-purity sand.
▪ Glass composed of pure silica is referred to as either silica glass, fused silica, or
vitreous silica. 4/1/2023
 Active Glass Optical Fibers
▪ Active fibers are optical fibers which have one or more laser-active
dopants in the fiber core.
▪ Doping optical fiber with rare-earth elements (atomic numbers 57–
71) results in new optical and magnetic properties of optical fiber.
▪ These new properties allow the optical fiber to perform
Erbium
amplification, attenuation, and phase retardation on the light
passing through it.
▪ Two commonly used doping materials are erbium and neodymium.
▪ The concentrations of the rare-earth elements are low (on the order
of 0.005–0.05 mole percent).
Neodymium 4/1/2023
Plastic Optical Fibers
▪ Graded-index Plastic Optical Fibers (POF) are used for applications which
requires high-bandwidth /high-speed communication services.
▪ The core of these fibers is either poly-methyl-meth-acrylate or a per-fluorinated
polymer, so these fibers are referred as PMMA POF and PF POF, respectively.
▪ They have considerably high optical signal attenuations than glass fibers but
they are tough and durable.
Characteristic PMMA POF PF POF
Core diameter 0.4 mm 0.050–0.30 mm
Cladding diameter 1.0 mm 0.25–0.60 mm
Numerical aperture 0.25 0.20
Attenuation 150 dB/km at 650 nm < 40 dB/km at 650–1300 nm
Bandwidth 2.5 Gb/s over 200 m 2.5 Gb/s over 550 m
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FIY: Student’s Query
▪ Why don't we use mirror materials as optical fiber?
▪ In a sense, we do.
▪ The core/clad boundary of an optical fiber is a cylindrical zone that features an
Index of Refraction mismatch.
▪ At a sufficiently steep angle (exceeding the “critical” angle per Snell’s law),
this boundary acts as a mirror as it exhibits total internal reflection.
▪ If you are referring to “metalized” type mirror materials, it is unlikely that a
cost effective manufacturing method could be realized to deposit a cylindrical
layer of metal on the fiber, that has similar surface quality.
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Optical Fiber Fabrication
▪ Two basic techniques are used in the fabrication of all-glass optical waveguides.
1. Direct-Melt Methods
2. Vapor Phase Oxidation Process
1) Direct-Melt Methods (Solid Glass):
– It is a traditional glassmaking procedures in that optical fibers are made
directly from the molten state of purified components of silicate glasses.
2) Vapor Phase Oxidation Process (Glass Particles):
– Highly pure vapors of metal halides (e.g., SiCl and GeCl4) react with oxygen
to form a white powder of SiO2 particles.
– The SiO2 particles are collected on surface of bulk glass and then transformed
to form a glass rod called preform from which fibers are drawn.
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Double-Crucible (Direct Melt) Method
▪ The double-crucible method is the most common direct-melt
process.
▪ In double-crucible method two different glass rods for core and
cladding are used as feedstock for two concentric crucibles.
▪ The inner crucible contains molten core glass and outer one
contains the cladding glass.
▪ It combines the molten rods into a single preform using two
concentric crucibles.
▪ The fibers can be drawn from the molten state through small
aperture in the bottom of the two concentric crucible.
4/1/2023
FIY: Optical Fiber Fabrication Video
https://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=6CqT
4DuAVxs&ab_chann
el=MoeSal
OR

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Vapor Phase Oxidation Process
▪ Gaseous metal halide compounds, dopant material, and oxygen are oxidized
(burned) to form a white silica powder (SiO2) (known as SiO2 soot).
▪ This soot is deposited on the surface of a glass substrate (mandrel) or inside a
hollow tube by one of the following four methods:
1. Outside Vapor Phase Oxidation (OVPO)
2. Vapor Phase Axial Deposition (VAD)
3. Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD)
4. Plasma-Activated Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD)

▪ Soot deposited bulk glass is converted into a clear glass rod (preform).
▪ Fibers are made from the preform by using the equipment known as fiber
drawing apparatus. 4/1/2023
Fiber-Drawing Apparatus
▪ The fiber drawing process begins by feeding the
glass preform into the drawing furnace.
▪ The drawing furnace softens the end of the preform
to the melting point, where it can be drawn into a
very thin filament, which becomes optical fiber.
▪ An optical fiber thickness monitor is used in a
feedback loop for speed regulation, in turn, it will
determine the thickness of the fiber.
▪ To protect the bare fiber from external contaminants
(dust and water vapor), an elastic coating is applied
to the fiber immediately after it is drawn.
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Outside Vapor-Phase Oxidation(OVPO)
▪ First, a layer of SiO2 particles called a soot is
deposited from a burner onto a rotating graphite or
ceramic mandrel.
▪ The glass soot adheres to this bait rod and, layer by
layer, a cylindrical, porous glass preform is built up.
▪ When the deposition process is completed, the
mandrel is removed and the porous tube is then
vitrified in a dry atmosphere at a high temperature
(above 1400°) to a clear glass preform.
▪ This clear preform is subsequently mounted in a
fiber-drawing tower and made into a optical fiber.
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Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition(VAD)
▪ SiO2 particles emerging from the torches are deposited onto
the end surface of a silica glass rod.
▪ A porous preform is grown in the axial direction by moving
the rod upward.
▪ The rod is also continuously rotated to maintain cylindrical
symmetry of the particle deposition.
▪ As the porous preform moves upward, it is transformed into a
solid, transparent rod preform by zone melting with the
carbon ring heater.
▪ The resultant preform can then be drawn into a fiber by
heating it in fiber-drawing tower. 4/1/2023
Advantages: VAD
▪ The advantages of the VAD method are:

1. The preform has no central hole as occurs with the OVPO process.

2. The preform can be fabricated in continuous lengths, which can

affect process costs and product yields.

3. As the deposition chamber and the zone-melting ring heater are

tightly connected to each other in the same enclosure allows the
achievement of a clean environment.
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 Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD)
▪ The glass vapor particles flow through the inside
of a revolving silica tube.
▪ As the SiO2 particles are deposited, they are
sintered to a clear glass layer by an oxy-hydrogen
torch, which travels back and forth along the
tube.
▪ When the desired thickness of glass has been
deposited, the vapor flow is shut off and the tube
is heated strongly to cause it to collapse into a
solid rod preform.
▪ The fiber that is subsequently drawn from this
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preform rod through fiber-drawing tower.
Plasma-Activated Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD)
▪ A non-isothermal microwave plasma operating at
low pressure initiates the chemical reaction.
▪ A moving microwave resonator operating at 2.45
GHz generates a plasma inside the tube to
activate the chemical reaction.
▪ This process deposits clear glass material
directly on the tube wall; there is no soot
formation.
▪ After achieving the desired glass thickness, the
tube is collapsed into a preform and fiber is
drawn through fiber-drawing tower.
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Mechanical Properties of Fibers
▪ Fibers must be able to withstand the stresses and strains that occur during the
manufacturing process and cable installation process.
▪ Two basic mechanical characteristics of glass optical fibers are:
1. Strength: It is related to instantaneous failure under an applied load.
2. Static fatigue: It is related to the slow growth of the pre-existing flaws in the
glass fiber under humid conditions and tensile stress.
▪ A high assurance of fiber reliability can be provided by proof testing.
▪ In this method an optical fiber is subjected to a tensile load greater than that
expected at any time during the cable manufacturing, installations, and service.
▪ Any fibers that do not pass the proof test are rejected.
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Fiber Optic Cables
▪ Optical fibers are used in a form of cable structure in any practical application.
▪ The cable structure depends on kind of it’s installation:
1. Underground or intra-building ducts,
2. Buried directly in the ground,
3. Installed on outdoor poles,
4. Submerged underwater.

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Common Optical Fiber Cable Structure
▪ Individual fibers and optional copper wires for
powering in-line equipment are wound loosely around
the central buffered strength member.
▪ A cable wrapping tape and other strength members
such as Kevlar then encapsulate and bind these fiber
groupings together.
▪ A tough polymer jacket that handles any tensile
stresses applied to the cable so that the fibers inside
are not damaged.
▪ Yarn strength member used to enhance the strength of
optical fiber cable as the strength member.
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Types of Optical Fiber Cable structures
▪ The two basic fiber optic cable structures are:

1. The tight-buffered fiber cable design:

– Used for indoor applications

2. The loose-tube cable design:

– Used for outdoor applications.

▪ A ribbon cable is an extension of the tight-buffered cable.

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Tight-buffered Fiber Cable Design
▪ No room for fibers to move inside of cable.
▪ Here each fiber is individually encapsulated within
its own 900-μm diameter plastic buffer structure.
▪ This construction provides the excellent moisture
and temperature performance.
▪ A layer of yarn strength material surrounds the 900-
μm fiber structure.
▪ This configuration then is encapsulated within a
PVC outer jacket.

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Loose-Tube Fiber Cable Design
▪ One or more standard-coated fibers are loosely
placed enclosed in a thermoplastic tube.
▪ The fibers in the tube are slightly longer than the
cable itself.
▪ The tube is filled with either a gel that enables
the fibers to move freely within the tube, and
prevents moisture from entering the tube.
▪ Advantage is that with extra length of fiber
inside tube due to curling, less likelihood of
damage in sharp bends/ stretch.
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Underwater Fiber Cable Design
▪ They are used in rivers, lakes, and ocean
environments.
▪ They are specially designed as they are exposed to
high water pressure then underground cables.
▪ These cables have various water-blocking layers,
one or more protective inner polyethylene sheaths,
and a heavy outer armor jacket.
▪ Cables that run under the ocean must have
additional layers of armoring and contain copper
wires to provide electrical power for optical
regenerators. 4/1/2023
Important Formulas

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 Types of Optical Fiber
▪ Optical fiber can be classified based on
following two parameters:
Optical Fiber
1. The refractive index
2. The number of modes
Refractive Number of ▪ Based on the refractive index optical fiber is
Index Profile Modes
classified as:
a) Step-index optical fiber,
Step Graded Single Multi
b) Graded index optical fiber
Index Index Mode Mode
Fiber Fiber Fiber Fiber ▪ Based on the number of modes optical fiber is
classified as:
a) Single-mode fiber,
b) Multi-mode fiber 4/1/2023
GTU Asked Questions
Sr. No. Question Marks Year
1 Define: 1) Normalized frequency of fiber, 2) Mode volume for step index fiber, 3 S2022
3) Mode volume for graded index fiber.

2 Describe Fiber structure with neat diagram. 4 S2022

3 Discuss briefly numerical aperture. 3 S2022
4 Give the comparison of S.I. and G.I. fibers. 4 S2022
5 Draw the diagram of index profile, fiber cross-section and ray optics for the step 7 S2022
index and graded index mono-mode and multi- mode wave propagation. Also
indicate all dimensions of fiber cross-sections.
6 Give the comparison of S.M. and M.M. fibers. 3 W2021
7 Derive the relationship between acceptance angle and numerical aperture with 7 W2021
the use of ray theory.

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GTU Asked Questions
Sr. No. Question Marks Year
8 A multimode step index fiber with a core diameter of 80 μm and a relative index 7 W2021
difference of 1.5% is operating at a wavelength of 0.85 μm. If the core
refractive index is 1.48, calculate:
1. Normalized frequency of fiber
2. Total number of guided modes
9 Explain the fiber drawing process in brief. 3 W2021
10 Explain double crucible method of fiber fabrication. 4 W2021
11 Give in brief the comparison of S.I. and G.I. fibers. 4 W2022
12 Draw and explain schematic of a fiber drawing apparatus. 3 W2022
13 Define Numerical Aperture and derive its expression for the step index fiber. 7 W2022
14 A step index fiber in air has a numerical aperture of 0.16, a core refractive index 3 W2022
of 1.45 and a core diameter of 60 μm. Calculate refractive index of cladding,
relative refractive index difference ( Δ ) and acceptance angle.
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GTU Asked Questions
Sr. No. Question Marks Year
15 Explain double crucible method of fiber fabrication. 4 W2022

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