Experiment 1

Aim: To establish analog link using Optical Fiber.

Objectives: i)To get familiar with Optical fiber trainer kits.

ii)To observe transmission & reception of analog signals through OF.

iii) To measure analog bandwidth of OFC link.

Equipments/Components: kit 1 and kit 2, CRO, Function generator, 1 Meter

fiber cable, etc.

Circuit/Block Diagram:

Theory: Fiber Optic Link can be used for transmission of analog as well as digital

signals. Basically fiber optic link contains three main elements, a transmitter, an

optical fiber and a receiver. The transmitter module take the input signal in

electrical form and then transform it into optical (light) energy containing the

same information. The optical fiber is a medium which carries this energy to the

receiver. At the receiver, light is converted back into electrical form with the same

pattern as originally fed to the transmitter.

Transmitter: Fiber optic transmitters are typically composed of a buffer, driver &

optical source. The buffer electronics provided both an electrical connection &

isolation between the transmitter & the electrical system supplying the data. The

driver electronics provides electrical power to the optical source in a fashion that

duplicates the pattern of data being fed to the transmitter. Finally to the optical

source (LED) converts the electrical current to light energy with the same pattern.

The LED SFH450V supplied with kit operates outside the visible light spectrum. Its

optical output is centered at near infrared wavelength of 950nm. The emission

spectrum is broad, so a faint red glow can usually be seen when the LED is on in a

dark room. The LED SFH450V used in the kit 1 is coupled to the transistor driver in

a common emitter mode. The driver is preceded by the amplifier buffer. The

amplifier in this case is a LM741 operational amplifier configured as a voltage

follower. Thus LED emits constant intensity of light. When the signal is applied to

the amplifier it overrides the DC level at the base of the transistor which cause

the Q point of the transistor to oscillate above the midpoint. So the intensity of

the LED varies about its previous constant value. This variation in the intensity has

linear relation with the input electrical signal. Optical signal is then coupled to

optical fiber by means of connector.

Receiver: The function of the receiver is to convert the optical energy into

electrical form which is then conditioned to reproduce the transmitted electrical

signal in its original form. The detector SFH250V used in the kit 2 has a diode type

output. The parameters usually considered in the case of detector are its

responsively at peak wavelength & response time. SFH250V has responsively of

about 4µA per 10 µW of incident optical energy at 950nm and it has rise & fall

time of 0.01µSec.PIN photodiode is normally reverse biased. When optical signals

falls on the diode, reverse current start flow, thus diode acts as closed switch and

in the absence of light intensity, it act as an open switch. Since PIN diode usually

has low responsively, a trans impedance amplifier is used to convert this reverse

current into voltage. This voltage is then amplified with the help of another

amplifier circuit. This voltage is the duplication of the transmitted electrical signal.

Procedure:
1. Slightly unscrews the cap of IR LED SFH 450v from kit 1. Do not remove the cap

from the connector. Once the cap is loosened, insert the fiber into the cap and

assure that the fiber is properly fixed. Now tighten the cap by screwing it back.

2. Connect the power supply cables with proper polarity to kit 1 and kit 2 while

connecting this, ensure that the power supply is off.

3. Connect the signal generator between the AMP input and GND posts in kit 1 to

feed the analog signal to the preamplifier.

4. Keep the signal generator in sign wave mode and the select the frequency of

1KHz with amplitude of 2VP-P ( Max input level is 4 VP-P).

5. Switch on the power supply and signal generator.

6. Check the output signal of the pre-amplifier at the post AMP output in kit 1. It

should be same as that of the applied input signal.

7. Now rotate the Optical Power Control pot P1 located below power supply

connector in kit 1 in anticlockwise direction. This ensures minimum current flow

through LED.

8. Short the following posts in kit 1 with links provided.

a ) -9V and -9V . This ensures supply to the transmitter.

b) AMP Output and Transmitter Input.

9. Connect the other end of the fiber to detectorSFH250V in kit 2 very carefully as

per the instruction in step 1.

10. Ensure that the jumper located just above IC U1 in kit 2 is shorted to pin 2 and

pin 3. Shorting of the jumper allows the connection of PIN diode to trans

impedance amplifier stage.

11. Observe the output signal from the detector at DETECTOR output post on CRO

by adjusting optical power control pot P1 in kit 1 and you should get the

reproduction of the original transmitted signal. Note: same output signal is

available at post AC output in kit 2 without any DC component.

12. To measure the analog bandwidth of the link, keep the same connection and

vary the frequency of the output signal from 100 Hz onwards. Measure the

amplitude of the received signal for each frequency reading.

13. Plot a graph of gain v/s frequency .Measure the frequency range for which the response is flat.
Experiment 2
Experiment 4
 Experiment 5

Aim: The aim of this experiment is giving the skills for splice the glass optical fibers.

Apparatus

1. Splice fusion set.

2. Two optical fibers.

3. Optical power meter

Theory

Fusion splicing is the most permanent and lowest loss method of connecting optic fibers. In essence, t he two fibers are
simply aligned then joined by electric-arc welding (The arc that occurs between the two electrodes is about7000 volts with
an adjustable current up to 25 mA). The resulting connection has a loss of less than 0.05 dB, about 1% power loss. Most
fusion splicers can handle both single mode and multimode fibers in a variety of sizes, but due to the losses involved, we
only splice multimode to multimode or single mode to single mode. There are also splicers that can automatically splice
multi-core and ribbon cable up to 12 fibers at a time.

Splicing fusion process

The fibers must first be stripped, cleaned and cleaved. To allow spare fiber for easy access and to allow for several
attempts, a length of at least five meters of jacket should be removed. The primary buffer is only stripped to about 25 mm.
The exact length is determined by the fusion splicer in use. After the fiber is cleaned and cleaved then the vee-groove is
cleaned by a lint free cloth, tissue or a ‘cotton bud’ moistened with isopropyl alcohol. The fiber is gently pressed into the
vee-groove by a magnetic or gravity clamp. Once the fibers are safely clamped into their vee-grooves, they are moved, vee-
grooves and all, until the fibers are aligned with each other and positioned directly under the electrodes from which the
electric arc will be produced. We are aiming to achieve positioning with an accuracy of better than 1 μm . All fusion splicers
are fitted with some means to observe the fiber positioning and the condition of the electrodes. This is achieved by either a
microscope or by a CCD camera (CCD = charge coupled device – a semiconductor light sensor) and a liquid crystal display
(LCD ). The trend is towards CCD cameras since they are more pleasant to use and have the safety advantage of keeping
our eyes separated from the infrared light which can, of course, cause irreparable damage to the eyes if we accidentally
observe an active fiber through the microscope. The main fusing arc is more powerful and lasts for a longer period of time,
between 10 and 20 seconds. Once fusing is completed, have a good look at the splice. If it is difficult to see where the splice
is, then it’s probably a good one (Figure below). Weare looking for the outer edges of the cladding to be parallel, just like a
new continuous length of fiber. Sometimes a small white line appears across the core but this is not important and can be
ignored.

If it is appear at shown in figure below, then it’s a worst one. In this case, it must be re-splice the optical fibers until we see
the spliced fibers as shown in fig above

Splice protector

In the preparation phase, we have stripped the fiber of all its mechanical and waterproof protection. Once the fiber has
been spliced, some protection must be restored since the splicing process will have reduced the fiber strength to less than
30% of its former value. This is achieved by a device called a splice protector. It consists of a short length (about 60 mm) of
heatshrink sleeving enclosing some hot-melt glue and a stainless steel wire rod as seen in Figure below

Prior to joining the fiber, the splice protector is slid onto the fiber. After the splice is completed, the protector is centered
over the splice and heated ,usually in a purpose-built oven although a hot-air gun can be used. The oven is a simple tray
with a lid, a heater and a timer which are normally built-in features of the splicers. The hot-melt glue keeps the protector in
position whilst the stainless steel rod provides proof against any bending that may occur. The outer sleeve offers general
mechanical and water protection to replace the buffer that has been removed. To ensure that the fiber is fully protected
along its length, at least 10 mm of the protector must overlap the primary buffer at each end of the splice.

Enclosure

After the splice is completed, we are left with a length of fiber deprived of its outer jacket. The fiber must be protected
from mechanical damage, and water. This is achieved by an enclosure. They are readily available indifferent sizes to hold
everything from 4 to 240 fibers. Each fiber must be identified; otherwise a simple job could become a real nightmare. This
is achieved by attaching labels to the fibers or splice protectors and by using colored splice protectors.
Procedure

1. Consult the instruction books of the splicer and the splice protector to find the recommended stripping lengths of the
primary buffer.

2. Strip off the outer jackets and the required length of the primary buffer.

3. Slip on a splice protector.

4. Clean the fiber.

5. Cleave it.

6. In a typical case, the fibers are inserted into the veegrooves and moved until the ends of the fibers meet guide

lines visible through the lens or camera.

7. Clamp fibers in position. Have a look at the standard of cleaves and, if necessary, take the fiber out and try again.

8. Set the splicing program to match the fiber in use. The handbook will provide guidance.

9. Press the start button and leave it to it. The program will run through its positioning and splicing procedure, and then
stop.

10.Carefully lift it out of the vee-grooves and slide the splice protector along the fiber until it is centered over the splice.
Make sure you have at least 10 mm of primary buffer inside the splice protector and place it gently in the oven.

11.Switch on the oven and in a minute or two it will switch off.

Experiment 6
Experiment 11
Experiment 12