Optical Fiber Communications
Introduction
General Communication systems:
Transmission medium (channel):
Wireless: Atmosphere (TV, Radio, ..)
Wired:
Metal cable : carrying electrical signal
(copper wires: parallel wires, coaxial,…)
Optical Fiber cable: carrying optical signal
Optical Communication sys.
opt.
elect.
elect.
• Optical Source (LED, Laser diode): Convert electrical signal to optical signal.
• Photodetector (PIN, APD,): Convert optical signal to electrical signal.
• Optical Fiber: is a dielectric waveguide, normally cylindrical in form, made of
glass/plastic. Carrying optical signal (Light).
Advantages of optical fibers:
1. Very wide bandwidth
more information can be sent.
Large Information Capacity
2. Very lowe attenuation
- fiber attenuation is 0.2 dB/km.
- large distance between repeaters, reduce the cost and sys. complexity.
- allow data to be sent over longer distances.
3. Small Size and Low Weight
O.F dia 125μm, cable dia 2.5 mm and weight 6 kg/km.
A coaxial cable, outer dia 28.4 mm, and weight 1110 kg/km.
4. Electromagnetic Interference Immunity : (EMI)
The dielectric nature of optical fibers, no electrical signals
Doesn’t radiate or receive outside EM signals.
5. Electrical isolation:
Optic fibers glass/plastic, are insulators. No electric current flows through them.
No sparks or potentially high voltages
Greater safety
6. Abundant raw materials:
Silicon dioxide (silica) for glass fibers or transparent plastic are plentiful and
inexpensive.
7. Increased Signal Security:
due to tap difficulty and No signal radiation; any antenna or detector can not
detect it.
offer higher degree of security and privacy.
Applications of optical fibers :
Telecommunications
Long-Distance Transmission
medical applications
power stations
Military applications,Banks,..
Submarine , under sea cables
Satellite, Ships, computers,.
• Electromagnetic spectrum region used in optical fiber communications
Infrared (I.R)
Visible light
U.V (V.L) Microwave
1700 nm
400 nm 700 nm λ (nm)
optical fiber communications
Evolution of Optical fiber communication
Transmission windows O.F communication :
Low-loss wavelengths, centered at 850, 1310 and 1550 nm.
All Wave Fiber: Zero Water Peak Fiber
• Wavelength bands used in OFC: (Optical Spectral Bands )
O-Band E-Band S-Band C-Band L-Band U-Band
1260 1360 1460 1530 1565 1625 1675
Wavelength (nm)
• Original band (O-band):
– Region originally used for first single-mode fibers
• Extended band (E-band):
– Operation extends into the high-loss water-peak region
• Short band (S-band): (shorter than C-band)
• Conventional band (C-band): (EDFA region) .Long band (L-band): (longer than C-band) . Ultra-long band (U-band)
The nature of light
• There are three theories are used to explain light:
1. Ray Optics (Geometrical optics)
2. Wave Optics
3. Quantum Optics
1. Ray Optics (Geometrical optics):
light: is a stream minute particles and travel in a straight lines (Rays)
Describe: Reflection & Refraction.
failed to explain: interference, diffraction, polarization,..
2. Wave Optics:
light: electromagnetic wave (em wave)
Describe: interference, diffraction, ..
using Maxwell eqns.
3. Quantum Optics:
light: has a particle as well as wave nature.
Describe: interaction between light & material.
Emission, Absorption,..
Ray Optics: basic laws
• Refractive index: n
is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the medium.
C : speed of light in the vacuum, V : speed of light in the material
Snell’s law
• Refraction & Reflection
(TIR)
Optical fiber
• Critical angle :
The angle of incidence when the angle of refraction θ2 is 90o
• Total internal reflection: (TIR)
Optical fiber structure
• Core:
light propagate through it
• cladding:
- reduce scattering loss,
- add mechanical strength,
- protect core from absorbing surface
• buffer :
- add mechanical strength,
- isolate fiber from distortion
Acceptance Angle
• Is the maximum angle of a ray (against the fiber axis) hitting the fiber core to
produce TIR at the core-cladding interface. θ0.max
• From Snell’s law,
the minimum or critical angle φc that supports TIR is given by:
Where, n1 is the refractive index of core and n2 is refractive index of cladding.
From Snell’s law,
For air n0 = 1
Numerical Aperture (NA):
Describe the light acceptance capability of fibers
Calculate the source - to- fiber optical power coupling efficiencies
NA is a dimensionless, quantity that is less than unity,
values nominally ranging from 0.14 to 0.50.
Δ : The core-cladding index difference or simply the index difference.
• Typical values of Δ range from 1 to 3 percent for MMF and from 0.2 to 1.0 percent for
SMF.
