OPTICS AND OPTICAL

COMMUNICATIONS

Module 1
Engr. Sherwin N. Catolos, ME-ECE
 THE EVOLUTION OF OPTICAL
FIBERS AND LIGHT PROPAGATION
PROPERTIES
 Rationale

“The information-carrying capacity of any electronic

communications system is directly proportional to
bandwidth. Optical fiber cables have, for all practical
purposes, an infinite bandwidth. Therefore, they have
the capacity to carry much more information .”
 General Communication System

Information Transmitter
Source
(modulator)

Transmission Medium

Receiver
Destination
(demodulator)
 General Communication System

 The block diagram on the top shows the blocks common to all
communication systems
 Elements of Optical Link

Electrical Optical
Transmit Source

Information Destination
Optical Fiber Cable
Source

Optical Electrical
Detector Receive
Major Elements of Optical Link
 Evolution of Fiber Optics
 1880 – Alexander Graham Bell

 1930 – Patents on tubing

 1950 – Patent for two-layer glass wave-guide

 1960 – Laser first used as light source

 1965 – High loss of light discovered

 1970s – Refining of manufacturing process

 1980s – OF technology becomes backbone of long distance

telephone networks
 Motivations for Using Optical Fiber
Cable

 Wider Bandwidth and  Signal security

greater information
capacity
 Low transmission loss
 Small size and weight
 Safety and
 Environmental Convenience
immunity
 System reliability and
 Immunity to ease of maintenance
interference (EMI) and
crosstalk
 Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
Cable

 Interfacing cost  Optical fiber cables

are most susceptible
 Lower Tensile to losses introduced
Strength by bending the cable

 Remote electrical  Specialized tools,

power equipment, and
training
 Applications

 Telecommunications and telephony

 Most CATV networks
 Most LAN (computer network) backbones
 Security - closed-circuit TV and intrusion
sensors
 Fiber is the least expensive, most reliable
method for high speed and/or long
distance communications
 Utilities - management of power grid
 Military
 Opportunities

 Designing components
 Designing systems

 Manufacturing fiber, lasers, etc.

 Installing networks – Outside and Inside

Plants
 Training and Teaching
RELATED LIGHT PROPAGATION
PROPERTIES
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Visible Spectrum

700 nm 400 nm
 Subdivision
INFRARED - Band of Light wavelengths that are too
long to be seen by the human eye. (770 nm –
100,000 nm)
Uses: Cooking, Medicine, T.V. remote controls

VISIBLE LIGHT - Band of light wavelengths to which

the human eye respond. (390 nm – 770 nm)

ULTRAVIOLET - Band of light wavelengths that are

too short to be seen by the human eye. (10 nm – 390
nm)
Uses: food processing & hospitals to kill germs’ cells
Helps your body use vitamin D
Visible Light Wavelengths
Color Wavelength Representative
Band (µm) wavelength (µm)
Extreme 0.39 - 0.41 0.40
violet
Violet 0.39 - 0.45 0.43
Dark blue 0.45 - 0.48 0.47
Light blue 0.48 - 0.50 0.49
Green 0.50 - 0.55 0.53
Yellow-green 0.55 - 0.57 0.56
Yellow 0.57 - 0.58 0.58
Orange 0.58 - 0.62 0.60
Red 0.62 - 0.70 0.64
Deep red 0.70 - 0.76 0.72
 Dual Nature of Light

• Light energy can behave like a wave as it

moves through space.

• Light energy can behave a discrete particle

with a discrete amount of energy
(quantum) that can be absorbed and
emitted.
 Types of Waves

Transverse

Longitudinal
 Particle-like Nature of Light
The particle-like nature of light is modeled
with photons. A photon has no mass and no
charge. It is a carrier of electromagnetic energy
and interacts with other discrete particles (e.g.,
electrons, atoms, and molecules).

A beam of light is modeled as a stream of

photons, each carrying a well-defined energy
that is dependent upon the wavelength of the
light.
 Particle-like Nature of Light
Light as a Packet of Energy called Photons

Energy of a Single
Photon in Joules (J)

E(J) = hf
Energy of a Single
Photon in (eV)

E(eV) = 1.241 / λ
h = Planck’s constant = 6.625x10-34 J.s
1 eV = 1.602x10-19 J
 Particle-like Nature of Light

Example:

1. Photons in a pale blue light have a

wavelength of 500 nm. What is the energy
of this photon?

2. Find the number of photons incident on

a detector in 1 second if the optic power is
1µW and the wavelength is 0.8 µm.
 Particle-like Nature of Light

Electron transitions in the Bohr model of

the atom and the subsequent emission of
light provides an example of when light
should be viewed as a photon. There are
two further pieces of evidence of this
particle-like nature of light:

• photon scattering
• photoelectric effect
 Scattering SHECAT

One experiment which provides conclusive proof of

a particle nature of objects is to scatter two objects
off of each other, as in the collision of two billiard
balls. This experiment with light and small atoms
has been done, and is called Compton scattering.
 Scattering

Measurements show that the frequency of

the scattered wave is changed, which does
not come out of a wave picture of light.
However, when the light is viewed as a photon
with energy proportional to the associated
light wave, excellent agreement with
experiment is found.
 Photoelectric Effect

Another compelling proof for the photon nature of

light is the photoelectric effect. In this effect, light
is shone at a metal plate and it is found that
electrons are ejected. These electrons then get
accelerated to a nearby plate by an external
potential difference, and a photoelectric current is
established.

This effect, which arises in devices such as

automatic door openers, burglar alarms, light
detectors, and photocopiers, cannot be explained
using a wave picture of light.
 Photoelectric Effect
• Only light with a frequency
greater than a certain
threshold will produce a
current
• Current begins almost
instantaneously, even for light
of very low intensity
• Current is proportional to the
frequency of the incident light
Photoelectric Effect Blue light
kicks out
electrons

Red light is “inert” to

kicking out electrons
 Energy of the Released Electron

E(e-) = (hc / X) - p

Where E(e-) = the kinetic energy for the

metal

(hc / X) = the energy of the photon

of wavelength X
p = characteristic escape energy for the
metal
 Example

Calculate the threshold wavelength of light

needed to just release electrons from
gold. (This corresponds to Ee– equal to
zero.)
Note: pgold = 7.68 x 10-19 J

Ans.: 259 nm
 Wave Properties - Reflection
Phenomenon of wave in which a wave is returned
after impinging on a surface. When energy such
as light, traveling from one medium encounters a
different medium, part of the energy usually
passes on while other is reflected.
 Wave Properties - Reflection

Law of Reflection:

Angle of Incidence = Angle of

Reflection
Wave Properties - Reflection

• In specular reflection
each incident ray
bounces off in a single
direction.
Wave Properties - Reflection

• A surface that is not shiny

creates diffuse reflection.

•In diffuse reflection, a single

ray of light scatters into
many directions.
 Wave Properties - Refraction
Light refracts, which means that when a ray
passes from one medium to another, it changes
direction (bends) at the interface because of the
difference in speed of the wave in the media.

Incident
ray
Refracted ray
 Wave Properties - Refraction
The ratio of this speed difference is called the
index of refraction (n). The ratio of the
indices of refraction and the direction of the
two rays of light for the two media are
expressed in Snell’s Law:
n1 sin (θ) = n2 sin (ϕ)
Where n1 and n2 = the indices of refraction for
the two media
θ = angle of incidence
ϕ = angle of refraction
 Wave Properties - Refraction

• If n1 = n2, then θ = ϕ

• If n1 < n2, then θ > ϕ

• If n1 > n2, then θ < ϕ

n1 sin (θ) = n2 sin (ϕ)

 Wave Properties - Refraction
Example
Medium 1 is made of silicon and
Medium 2 is made of glass. Their
refractive indexes are 3.4 and 1.4,
respectively. For an angle of
refraction of 30 degrees, determine
the angle of incidence.
Ans.: 11.88o
 Wave Properties - Refraction

Refractive Refractive
Substance Substance
Index Index
Vacuum 1.0000 Magnesium Fluoride 1.38

Air 1.0003 Glass (fused quarts) 1.46

Ice 1.309 Glass (crown) 1.52

Sodium Chloride
Water 1.33 1.54
(salt)
Ethyl
1.36 Diamond 2.42
Alcohol
 Wave Properties - Diffraction

The bending or spreading out of waves as

they pass around the edge of an obstacle
or through a narrow aperture.
Wave Properties - Diffraction
 Wave Properties - Dispersion
If a beam of white light enters a glass prism, what emerges
from the other side is a spread out beam of many colored
light. The various colors are refracted through different
angles by the glass, and are ``dispersed'', or spread out.
 Wave Properties - Polarization

Light waves are complex. Light is composed

of one or more transverse electromagnetic
waves (TEM) that have both an electric field
(called the E field) and a magnetic field
(called the H field) components.
Wave Properties - Polarization

Light consists of a varying electric

and magnetic field
 Wave Properties - Polarization

UNPOLARIZED LIGHT
Light is unpolarized if it is composed of vibrations in
many different directions, with no preferred
orientation. Many light sources (e.g., incandescent
bulbs, arc lamps, the sun) produce unpolarized
light.
 Wave Properties - Polarization

Vertical polarization is
the one that lies in a
plane perpendicular to
the plane of incidence.
Horizontal polarization
(right figure) is the one
that lies in the plane of
incidence (the plane
containing the incident
 Wave Properties - Interference

This is a phenomenon that occurs when two light

beams meet.

If the two beams enhance each other to give a

brighter beam, it is called constructive
interference

If they beams interfere in a way that makes the

total beam less bright, it is called destructive
interference.
Wave Properties - Interference
END OF THE LECTURE

Thank You…

Sherwin N. Catolos, me-ece