Ain Shams University

Faculty of Engineering
Electronics and Electrical Communications Eng. Dept.

ECE431 Optoelectronic lab

4th Year Electrical Communications and Electronics
Lab of Lasers and Optical Communications

Experiment 2
Optical Couplers Characterization
1. Objectives:
At the end of this experiment, you should be:
1) Familiar with the main components used in optical communications such
as fibers, laser diodes and detectors, and the optical fiber coupler: its
operation and WDM capability.
2) Familiar with the fiber connectors and their use in the systems.
3) Able to measure the insertion loss, coupling, and directivity of a directional coupler
4)
2. Equipment:
IR optical detector and power meter 1
90/10 directional coupler @ 1550 nm 1
WDM directional coupler 1310/1550 nm 1
Laser source 1550 nm 1
Laser source 1310 nm 1
Fiber coupled NIR FTIR spectrometer 1

3. Introduction
Implementation of optical fiber communication links in the world has been growing fast in
the last years. Long haul communication transmission is nowadays completely managed by
optical fiber transmission. In addition, the great demand on bandwidth, especially for video
and data networks [Internet demand] have pushed the fiber to take its place in the last mile
communications and local area networks. The Fiber to the Home [FTTH] is deployed in many
countries and its service rate is growing exponentially. The availability of large bandwidth low-
loss fibers with components operating at suitable wavelengths is corner stone in this
development.
A great demand is specially raised on optical components used for splitters and couplers
fabricated on optical fibers as they are naturally compatible with the fiber and thus have lower
insertion loss and high production yield. The fiber directional coupler is one of these
components extensively used in optical networks either as a power splitter or a wavelength
division multiplexer. Moreover, optical fiber couplers are required in applications as sensors and
medical equipment.
This experiment aims to introduce the domain of optical fiber components from an
engineering point of view. It consists of measurement of the main optical directional coupler
characteristics which include Insertion loss, coupling, directivity as well as the demonstration of
its WDM capability, and optical fiber attenuation.

4. Theoretical background:

4.1 Directional couplers

4.1.1 Coupling between optical guides
Due to the open nature of the dielectric optical waveguides, when two guides are brought close to
each other, optical field propagating in one of them could be coupled to the other. This coupling
phenomenon is very well known and can be explained by the existence of a tail to the optical field
outside the guide core. This tail excites the modes of the adjacent guide and thus results in the
power transfer from one guide to the other. This coupling can also be explained by the modal interference
in the overall guides consisting of the two single mode guides. To illustrate this approach let us
consider two single mode (SM) planar guides gl and g2 as shown in Figure 1.
The system of the two guides could be considered as a single wide guiding structure having 5
layers. This wide guiding structure will have at least two guided modes, an even fundamental
mode, and a higher order odd mode. These two modes are illustrated in Fig. 1, in the plan z=0 at the
waveguide input. When one of the individual SM guides (say gl) is excited by its fundamental
mode we excite the two modes: the even mode and the odd mode of the 5-layer guiding structure,
with nearly equal amplitudes and the same phase at z=0. When the optical field propagates in the
structure, the two modes propagate with different velocities according to their propagation constants
βe and βo. The phase difference between the two modes results in a power redistribution in the guiding
structure such that at a certain length L they could be out of phase. The sum of the two modes when
they are out of phase results in a field localized in the second guide g2 as shown in Figure 1 at the
plan z=L.

Figure 1: Optical directional coupler

This length corresponds to the coupler coupling length. This could be mathematically formulated
as follows. The field in guide gl can be considered as the sum of the two modes while the field in g2 is
the difference between them:

𝐸𝑔1 = 𝐸𝑒 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑒 + 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑜 (1)

𝐸𝑔2 = 𝐸𝑒 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑒 − 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑜 (2)

with 𝜙𝑒 = 𝛽𝑒 𝐿 and 𝜙𝑜 = 𝛽𝑜 𝐿.

For the case when Eg2=0 at z=0, Eo=Ee and hence:

𝐸𝑔1 = 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑎𝑣𝑔 (𝑒 −𝑗Δ𝜙 + 𝑒 𝑗Δ𝜙 )

(3)
= 2𝐸𝑜 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑎𝑣𝑔 cos(Δ𝜙)

𝐸𝑔2 = 𝐸𝑜 𝑒 𝑗𝜙𝑎𝑣𝑔 (𝑒 −𝑗Δ𝜙 − 𝑒 𝑗Δ𝜙 )

(4)
𝑗𝜙𝑎𝑣𝑔
= −𝑗2𝐸𝑜 𝑒 sin(Δ𝜙)

(𝜙𝑒 +𝜙𝑜 )
where 2Eo is the input field at guide g1 and guide g2 is not excited, and 𝜙𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 2
=
(𝛽𝑒 +𝛽𝑜 )𝐿 (𝜙𝑒 −𝜙𝑜 ) (𝛽𝑒 −𝛽𝑜 )𝐿
2
, and Δ𝜙 = 2
= 2
.

𝜋
The coupling length is defined by letting Δ𝜙 = 2
which leads to:

𝜋
𝐿𝑐 = (5)
𝛽𝑒 − 𝛽𝑜

𝜋 𝛽𝑒 −𝛽𝑜
And the coupling coefficient 𝜅 is accordingly given by 𝜅 = 2𝐿 = 2
.
𝑐

By considering the case when Eg1 = 0 at z=0, where the input field is at guide g2 and guide g1 is
not excited and Eo = -Ee, the general relation between the ports of a 4-port coupler can be
derived as:

𝐸3 = 𝑎𝐸1 − 𝑗𝑏𝐸2 (6)

𝐸4 = −𝑗𝑏𝐸1 + 𝑎𝐸2 (7)

𝜋𝐿 𝜋𝐿
where 𝑎 = cos (2𝐿 ) , 𝑏 = sin (2𝐿 )and the suppression is assumed.
𝑐 𝑐

4.1.2 Optical coupler as a circuit element

A simple schematic presentation of the optical directional coupler is shown in Figure 2. It is a 4-
ports element that can be used as an optical beam splitter/combiner. An input optical signal at
port 1 (or 2) will be coupled to ports 3 and 4 only according to its coupling coefficient.
The output fields are expressed in equations (6), (7), where a2+b2=1 in the ideal case of a
lossless coupler. As an intensity divider, the above relations can be written in the form:

𝐼3 = 𝑎2 𝐼1 + 𝑏 2 𝐼2 (8)

𝐼4 = 𝑏 2 𝐼1 + 𝑎2 𝐼2 (9)
where a2 is the power coupling coefficient between the connected arms, b2 is the power coupling
coefficient between the coupled arms and the common phase shift between the two outputs
E3 and E4 is omitted. For a 3 dB coupler, the optical power injected in port 1 is divided
equally between ports 3 and 4 and the power coupled to port 2 is negligible (actually, it
represents the directivity or the isolation of the coupler). Similarly, a power injected at port
3 (or 4) will be divided equally between ports 1 and 2.

Figure 2: Schematic representation of optical coupler as a circuit element.

4.1.3 Fiber optic coupler specifications:

• Excess loss: in dB is determined by the ratio of the total input power to the total
output power:
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1 (𝑚𝑊)
𝐸𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log (10)
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡3 (𝑚𝑊) + 𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡4 (𝑚𝑊)
Assuming no input power at port 2.
• Optical return loss (ORL) / Directivity: refers to the fraction of input light that
exits the coupler through an input port (i.e., light exiting at port 2) instead of the
intended output port. It can be calculated in units of dB using the following
equation:
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1 (𝑚𝑊)
𝐷𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log (11)
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡2 (𝑚𝑊)
This output is the result of back reflection at the junction of the legs of the coupler
and represents a loss in the total light output at ports 3 and 4.
• Insertion loss: is defined as the ratio of the input power to the output power at one
of the output legs of the coupler. Insertion loss is always specified in decibels
(dB). It is generally defined using the equation below:
𝑃𝑖𝑛 (𝑚𝑊)
𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log (12)
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 (𝑚𝑊)
 The insertion loss specification is measured for each output. It inherently includes
both coupling (e.g., light transferred to the other output leg) and excess loss (e.g.,
light lost from the coupler) effects. The equation could be rewritten as follows for
specific output:
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1 (𝑚𝑊)
𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1→𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡3 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log (12-a)
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡3 (𝑚𝑊)
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1 (𝑚𝑊)
𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡1→𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡4 (𝑑𝐵) = 10 log (12-b)
𝑃𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡4 (𝑚𝑊)
• Coupling ratio: (in %) is the ratio of the optical power from each output port (A
and B) to the sum of the total power of both output ports as a function of
wavelength. It is calculated from the measured insertion loss after excluding the
effect of excess loss. It is not impacted by spectral features such as the water
absorption region because both output legs are affected equally.
4.1.4 Directional coupler as Mux/Demux optical device:
In fiber-optic communications, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is a
technology which multiplexes a number of optical carrier signals onto a single optical
fiber by using different wavelengths as shown in Figure 3. This technique
enables bidirectional communications over one strand of fiber, as well as multiplication
of capacity.

Figure 3: WDM fiber optic network

DC can be used as 2x1 Mux/Demux making use of the periodic output. The coupler is
designed to satisfy the following conditions:
𝐿 = 𝑛𝐿𝑐1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝜆1 (10)
𝐿 = 𝑚𝐿𝑐2 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝜆2 (11)
With (n even, m odd) or (n odd, m even).

Figure 4: 2x1 Mux/Demux using directional coupler.

5. Practical
❖ Before connection, be sure that the laser sources are turned off.
❖ DO NOT DIRECT THE LASER BEAM TOWARDS YOUR EYE.
❖ Do not remove the patch cords connected to the sources or alter the detector alignment.
❖ Be sure that the fiber connectors are properly connected.

5.1 Directional coupler characterization:

1) Connect the output of the 1550nm laser to the detector and record its output power.
2) Connect the output of 1550nm laser to one of the inputs of the coupler.
3) Measure the optical powers at the other three outputs of the coupler.
4) Compare the total output power of the coupler with the input power.
5) Use these results to compute the insertion loss, coupling coefficient and directivity of the
coupler at the 1550 nm wavelength.
6) Compare these results to the values indicated on the coupler.
7) Connect the output of the 1310nm laser to the detector and record its output power.
8) Connect the output of 1310nm laser to one of the inputs of the coupler.
9) Measure the optical powers at the three outputs of the coupler.
10) Compare the total output power of the coupler with the input power.
11) Use these results to compute the insertion loss, coupling coefficient and directivity of the
coupler at 1310nm.
12) Observe the difference in the power splitting ratio between the two outputs at λ1 and λ2.
This indicates the wavelength dependence of the directional coupler coefficients. Such
difference is the basis for the coupler use as a WDM element in network applications.

(a)

(b)
Figure 5: Directional coupler characterization measurement setups
5.2 WDM directional coupler Mux/Demux:
1) Using the coupler as a multiplexer, connect the output of 1550nm and 1310nm laser
sources to both inputs of WDM coupler using single mode fibers.
2) Measure the output using MEMS NIR FTIR spectrometer.
a. Open Neospectra SpetroMost software.
b. In PSD tab, Adjust the following parameters:
i. Measurement time: 20 sec.
ii. Resolution: 8 nm, then 16 nm.
iii. Zero padding: 7
3) Save the measured graphs.

Figure 6: Directional coupler as a multiplexer

4) Using the coupler as a demultiplexing element to separate both wavelengths, connect the
1550nm laser only to the multiplexed input and measure the power at both outputs using
IR detector.
5) Connect only the 1310nm laser to the multiplexed input and measure the power at both
outputs using IR detector.
6) Compute the crosstalk value for both wavelengths.

Figure 7: Measuring cross talk of WDM coupler.

7. Report
Part 1:
a. Report the Measured Insertion loss of each measured Coupler.
b. Report the Insertion loss and the crosstalk of the WDM coupler at 1550nm and 1310nm.
Part 2, Answer the following questions:
1. Directional coupler analysis problem:
The IO circuit shown in Figure is based on the use of two coupled waveguides as a
directional coupler with a coupling length Lc = 1 mm at the wavelength λ=1.55
µm.
a ) Calculate the lengths L1, L2, and L3 of the three couplers used, such that the
four outputs of the circuits have the same optical power at λ=1.55 µm?
b) What will be the output powers (as a percentage of the input power) at the
wavelength λ=1.3 µm assuming that the effective refractive indices of the
modes do not change significantly between these two wavelengths.

2. WDM coupler design problem:

It is required to design an 1310/1550 WDM coupler with minimum cross talk at both
outputs.
a. Calculate an optimum value for the coupler fabrication length that doesn’t
exceed 5mm, if the coupling length at 𝜆 = 1550 𝑛𝑚 is 𝐿𝑐 = 0.5 𝑚𝑚
b. Calculate the cross talk at both wavelengths 1310 nm & 1550 nm using the
same procedure done in the experiment.

Deliverables and Notes:

• Single PDF including the 2 parts. The measured results are included in part 1.
• Answers of questions of Part 2.
• Cover Page with your names, section and group.
• Show clear figures with labelled axes.