Lasers and Optical Fibres Module 4

4.1 Lasers

Laser is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. It is a device for
producing very intense, almost unidirectional, monochromatic and coherent visible light beams. The laser
operation is based on the principle of stimulated emission. The lasers find applications in many fields. They
brought amazing changes in many areas and caused spectacular developments in the field of communications.

4.1.1 Interaction of radiation with matter

There are three possible ways through which interaction of radiation and matter can take place. Viz.,
(1) Induced absorption
(2) Spontaneous emission and
(3) Stimulated emission
All the above three processes are described as follows by considering an atom as a system.

(1) Induced absorption: The absorption of incident photon of appropriate energy by an atom as a result of
which it is excited from a lower energy state to a higher state is called “Induced absorption” (Stimulated
absorption).

Figure 1: Induced Absorption

Explanation: Consider two energy levels E1 and E2 such that E2>E1, as shown in the figure 1. If a photon of
energy hγ = E2  E1 is incident on an atom in the state of energy E1,then it will make a transition to the higher
energy state E2 by the absorption of the photon. This could symbolically be represented as,
Atom + Photon Atom*
where Atom* implies the atom in the excited state.

(2) Spontaneous emission: “Spontaneous emission” is the emission of a photon, when a system transits from a
higher energy state to a lower energy state without the aid of any external energy.
Explanation: Consider an atom in an excited state E2. Because of the universal tendency for any system to
attain the least possible energy state, the atom voluntarily emits a photon of energy  E = E2  E1. For this
emission, the atom does not require any external energy. Therefore the emission is known as spontaneous
emission. The process can be denoted as,

Atom* Atom + Photon

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Figure 2: Spontaneous Emission

By spontaneous emission process, photons may be emitted in any direction. They may not have any phase
similarities or same direction. Hence they are incoherent and the spontaneous emission is considered to be an
incoherent emission. The light from glowing electrical bulb and candle flame is generated by this process.

(3) Stimulated emission: The process of emission of a photon by a system under the influence of a passing
photon of just the right energy, due to which the system transits from a higher energy state to a lower energy
state, is called Stimulated emission.

Figure 3: Stimulated Emission

Explanation: Consider an atom in an excited state. Let a photon having an energy  E precisely equal to
(E2  E1) interact with the atom by passing in its vicinity. Under such stimulation, the atom emits a photon and
transits to the lower energy state. The two photons travel in exactly the same direction and with exactly the
same energy. The electromagnetic waves associated with the two photons will have identical phase and thus
are coherent. This process can be denoted as,

Photon +Atom* Atom + Photon + Photon

Population of Energy state (Boltzmann factor)

The number of atoms in an energy state is known as the population of that energy state. The populations of
different energy states are related to each other provided the system is in thermal equilibrium.

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Consider two energy states E1 & E2 with population N1 & N2 respectively, such that E2 > E1. The expression for
population, as given by Boltzmann equation,

E1

N1  e kT
...... (1)

E2

and N2  e kT
...... (2)

where k – Boltzmann equation, T – absolute temperature.

The relation between the two is given by the Boltzmann factor,

N2  E  E1  
 exp  2  ...... (3)
N1  kT 
where E2  E1 = ΔE and k is Boltzmann constant.

N2
ΔE is always positive since E2 > E1. Hence  1 or
N1
N2 < N1 (or) N1 > N2

Thus, under thermal equilibrium, the population of any higher state is less than the population of its lower
energy states.

4.1.2 Einstein’s coefficients: Expression for energy density

In 1917, Einstein proposed a mathematical expression for the existence of stimulated emission of radiation.
This expression is known as Einstein’s expression. Consider two energy levels E1 & E2 of an atomic system
such that E2 > E1. Let the population of E1 & E2 be respectively N1 & N2. Let radiations of energy density U
(energy/per unit volume of the frequency range) with frequency , be incident on the atomic system.

(i) Case of induced absorption : In the case of induced absorption, an atom in the level E1 can go to the level E2,
E 2  E1
when it absorbs a radiation of suitable frequency  . The number of such absorptions per unit
h
time, per unit volume is called rate of absorption.
The rate of absorption depends upon

(a) the number density of lower energy state, i.e., N1 and

(b) the energy density i.e., U

Therefore Rate of absorption  N1U

Or Rate of absorption = B12 N1U

where B12 is the constant of proportionality called ‘Einstein coefficient of induced absorption’.

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(ii) Case of Spontaneous emission : An atom in the higher energy level E2 undergoes transition to the energy
state E1, voluntarily by emitting a photon. Since it is a voluntary transition, it is independent of the energy
density of any frequency of radiation. Thus, the rate of spontaneous emission depends only on number of
atoms (N2) in the energy state E2.

Rate of spontaneous emission is proportional to N2 (or)

Rate of spontaneous emission = A21N2

where A21 is called ‘Einstein’s coefficient of spontaneous emission’.

(iii) Case of Stimulated emission: The system requires an external photon of appropriate frequency
E 2  E1
 to stimulate the atom for the downward transition causing the emission of stimulated photons.
h
Hence, the rate of stimulated emission is proportional to the number of atoms (N2) in the energy state E2, and
the incident energy density Uγ.

Rate of stimulated emission is proportional to N2 Uγ (or)

Rate of stimulated emission = B21N2Uγ

where B21 is called ‘Einstein’s coefficient of stimulated emission’.

Let the system be in thermal equilibrium, i.e., the total energy of the system remains unchanged in
spite of the interaction that is taking place between itself and the incident radiation. Under such a condition,
the number of photons absorbed by the system per second must be equal to the number of photons it emits per
second by both the stimulated and the spontaneous emission processes.
 At thermal equilibrium,
Rate of Induced absorption = Rate of spontaneous emission + Rate of stimulated emission

 B12UN1 = A21N2 + B21UN2

(Or) U (B12N1 - B21N2) = A21N2

 
A21 N 2 A  1 
U  , i.e U   21  
B12 N1  B21 N 2 B21  B12 N1 
 B N  1
 21 2 
h
N1
But, by Boltzmann’s law, we have  e kT
N2

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 
 
A21  1 
Therefore U  

B21 B12 h 
 e  1
kT
 B21 

According to Planck’s law, the equation for energy density is given by,

 
8h 3  1 
U 
c 3  h 
 e kT  1
Comparing above two equations term by term on the basis of positional identity, we have,

A21 8h 3 B12

 3
and 1 (Or) B12 = B21
B21 c B21
This implies that the probability of induced absorption is equal to the probability of stimulated emission.
Because of the above identity, the subscripts could be dropped, and A21 and B21 can be represented as A and B.
Thus the expression for energy density, Uγ , in terms of Einstein’s coefficients can be expressed as,

 
A 1 
U 
B  h 
 e kT  1

Conditions for Light amplification:

Stimulated transitions B N U B U
 21 2   (I)
Spontaneous transitions A21 N 2 A

Stimulated transitions B21 N 2U N

  2 (II)
Absorption transitions B12 N1U N1

(I)  In order to enhance the number of stimulated emission, the radiation density U is to be made larger.

(II)  Stimulated emissions will be larger than absorption only when N2 > N1. As long as N2 < N1, the
absorption dominates.

Light amplification takes place only when the above two conditions are fulfilled. These two conditions can be
achieved by the help of

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(a) Population Inversion & (b) Metastable states.

4.1.3 Conditions for Laser action

(a) Population Inversion: At thermal equilibrium, the number of atoms in the lower energy state is always
larger than the upper energy state (N1>N2, from Boltzmann equation). As a result, the rate of downward
stimulated transitions is much less than that of the upward transitions between the same two levels due to
absorption of photons. In order to increase the rate of stimulated emission from E2 to E1, it is necessary to
make N2> N1, i.e., a non-equilibrium state is to be produced in which , the population of the upper energy level
exceeds to a large extent the population of the lower energy level. This state is called “Population Inversion”.

‘Population inversion is the state of a system at which, the population of a particular higher energy
state is more than that of a specified lower energy state’.

(b) Metastable state: When an atom is excited to an ordinary excited state, it normally stays there only for a
very short lifetime of about 10-8 - 10-9s (or) the lifetime of the atom in an ordinary excited state is 10-8 - 10-9s.
Due to this short lifetime, all the atoms return to the ground state immediately after the excitation. Hence
population inversion can’t be achieved in the higher energy states.

‘Metastable state’ is an intermediate energy state between an excited state and the ground state of the
atomic energy levels, in which the atoms stay for a long period of the order 10 -2 to 10-3 s. Thus, if the atoms are
continuously raised to metastable states, its population may exceed the population of its lower energy state,
which again is necessary for laser action.

Achieving population inversion by metastable state:-

The process of achieving population inversion can be explained in the following way. Consider three energy
levels E1, E2 and E3 of an atomic system, in such a way that E1< E2< E3. Let E2 be the metastable state. Under
normal conditions the atoms remain in lower energy state E1. But when suitable amount of energy is supplied
to them they start undergoing excitation to the state E 3. The excited atoms in the state E3 stay for a period of
10-9 s and then undergo non-radiative transition to the metastable state E2, where they stay for a long duration
of the order 10-3 s.

If the pumping of atoms from E1 to E3 is maintained

10-9 continuously, then the population of E1 decreases
E continuously. The atoms excited to the state E3 undergo
immediate downward transition to E2, as a result of which the
E population of E2 increases more. Due to this process a stage
will reach at which, the population of E2 will be more than that
of E1. This stage of operation is known as population
inversion.
E

Figure 4: Metastable States

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4.1.4 Requisites of a Laser system

The three requisites of a laser system are

a) An Active medium
b) An Excitation source and
c) A Resonant cavity

a) Active medium: A material medium with suitable set of energy levels (metastable states), in which the
population inversion and hence the lasing action can be achieved is called active medium. The number of
energy states of the active medium contributing for the lasing action can be either three or four in number.
Accordingly the laser system is named as three level laser system or four level laser system.

Depending upon the type of active medium used, the lasers are classified into four groups in the following
way.

i) Gas lasers: They consist of mixture of gases as the active medium. Eg: He-Ne laser& Co 2 laser.
ii) Solid-state lasers: They consist of crystals as the active medium. Eg: ruby laser, YAG laser (YAG =
Yttrium Aluminum garnet)
iii) Semiconductor Lasers: They consist of semiconductors like Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) as the material
medium.
iv) Chemical Lasers: They consist of chemicals as the active medium. Eg: Hydrogen fluoride laser.

b) Energy/Excitation source: For achieving and maintaining the condition of population inversion, the atoms
have to be raised to excited state. It requires energy to be supplied. The process of supplying energy to the
medium with a view to transfer it to the state of population inversion is known as ‘Pumping’.

There are several methods for achieving the condition of population inversion using the excitation source. The
source of energy used for this may be optical, electrical, thermal or chemical. Accordingly, the pumping action
is termed as ‘Optical pumping’, ‘Electrical pumping’, ‘Heat pumping’ or ‘Chemical pumping.

c) Resonant cavity: An arrangement used in a laser device to increase the emitted photon energy density is
called resonant cavity. This cavity helps to increase the stimulated emission thereby increasing the intensity of
laser beam.

In practice a resonant cavity consists of two

mirrors fixed on either side along the length of the
active medium. One of their mirrors is completely
silvered and the other is partially silvered. The
completely silvered mirror contributes only for
reflection whereas the partially silvered mirror acts as
exit for laser output apart from reflecting the
photons. The photons emitted during stimulated
emission process suffer multiple reflections between
the mirrors and get emitted after their number is
Figure 5: Resonant Cavity

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increased. Due to the continuous emission of photons, the number of photons is increased and an intense laser
light is emitted through the partially silvered mirror. In case of solid state and semiconductor lasers the edges
of the active medium along the length are polished to act as mirrors.

In the resonant cavity, the distance between the mirror is adjusted in a such a way that the photons undergoing
reflections should be in phase, so that they are coherent and thereby undergo constructive interference. The
condition for constructive interference is given by,

m
L ; m  1,2,3 , etc
2

where ‘L’ is the length of laser cavity (distance between the two mirrors) and ‘ ’ is the wavelength of the
emitted photons.

4.1.5 The Ruby Laser

Construction:

Figure 6: Construction of Ruby Laser

 Ruby laser belongs to the class of solid-state lasers. Ruby is basically Al 2O3 crystal containing about 0.05%
of chromium ions. The chromium ions give the characteristic colour (red) to the ruby crystal.
 A single crystal of ruby in the form of a cylindrical rod is chosen. The length of the rods can vary from 5 to
20 cm while their diameter can vary from 0.5 to 2cm
 The end faces of the rod are made optically flat and parallel to each other. One face of the rod is fully
silvered while the other face is partially silvered.
 The ruby crystal is placed along the axis of a helical Xenon flash tube. The xenon flash tube is connected
to a high voltage pulse generator. For each single voltage pulse, the Xenon tube gives out flashes of
powerful light which last for several milliseconds.
 Surrounding the flash tube is a cylindrical mirror whose function is to reflect light on to the ruby crystal.
 During the working of the laser a lot of heat is generated. This heat is dissipated by circulating cold water
in thin tubes which surround the crystal.

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Working:

Figure 7: Energy level diagram of Ruby Lser

The energy level diagram of a Ruby laser is described in the above figure. This system is a three level laser with
lasing transitions between E2 and E1. The excitation of the Chromium ions is done by light pulses from Xenon
flash lamp.

The Chromium ions absorb light at wavelengths around 545 nm (green light). As a result the ions are
transferred to the excited energy level E3. Ruby laser has another absorption band in the spectrum range: 350 -
450 nm [blue light], which pump the ions to E4.

From E3 and E4, the ions go to metastable energy level E2 in a non-radiative transition. The energy released in
this non-radiative transition is transferred to the crystal vibrations and changed into heat that must be removed
away from the system. The lifetime of the metastable level (E2) is about 5 msec. Therefore the Cr3+ ions
accumulate at E2 level. When more than half of the Cr3+ ion population accumulates at E2 level, the state of
population inversion is established between E2 and E1 levels. A chance photon is produced when a Cr3+ ion
makes a spontaneous transition from E2 to E1 level, which may trigger stimulated emissions. The laser emission
occurs in the visible region at a wavelength of 694.3 nm.

Salient Features:
 Uses three - level pumping scheme
 The active centres are Cr3+ ions
 Light from a xenon flash lamp is the pumping source (Optical pumping)
 Poor efficiency
 Operates in pulsed mode
Application of ruby laser:
1. It is used in holography; 2. As drilling requires pulsed laser, ruby lasers are the most suitable.

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The biggest disadvantage of this laser is that since the output is discontinuous, its use is limited to only special
applications.

4.1.6 Carbon dioxide Laser

Carbon dioxide was the first molecular gas laser developed by Indian born American scientist
Prof. C.K.N. Pillai. In this laser, transition takes place between the vibrational states of Carbon dioxide
molecules. It is a four level laser and it operates at 10.6 μm in the far IR region. It is a very efficient laser.

Energy states of Carbon dioxide laser

A carbon dioxide molecule has a carbon atom at the centre with two oxygen atoms attached, one at both
sides. Such a molecule exhibits three independent modes of vibrations. They are

a) Symmetric stretching mode

b) Bending mode
c) Asymmetric stretching mode.

a. Symmetric stretching mode: In this mode of vibration,

carbon atoms are at rest and both oxygen atoms vibrate
simultaneously along the axis of the molecule departing or
approaching the fixed carbon atoms.

b. Bending mode: In this mode of vibration,

oxygen atoms and carbon atoms vibrate
perpendicular to molecular axis.

c. Asymmetric stretching mode: In this mode of

vibration, oxygen atoms and carbon atoms vibrate
asymmetrically, i.e., oxygen atoms move in one direction
while carbon atoms in the other direction.
Principle:
The active medium is a gas mixture of CO2, N2 and He. The laser transition takes place between the
vibrational states of CO2molecules.

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Construction:
It consists of a quartz tube 5 m long and 2.5 cm in the diameter. This discharge tube is filled with
gaseous mixture of CO2 (active medium), helium and nitrogen with suitable partial pressures. The
terminals of the discharge tubes are connected to a D.C power supply. The ends of the discharge tube are
fitted with NaCl Brewster windows so that the laser light generated will be polarized. Two concave
mirrors one fully reflecting and the other partially form an optical resonator.

Working:
Figure shows energy levels of nitrogen and carbon dioxide molecules.

When an electric discharge occurs in the gas, the electrons collide with nitrogen molecules and they are
raised to excited states. This process is represented by the equation

N2 + e* = N2* + e

N2 = Nitrogen molecule in ground state e* = electron with kinetic energy

N2* = nitrogen molecule in excited state e = same electron with lesser energy

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Now N2 molecules in the excited state collide with CO2 atoms in ground state and excite to higher
electronic, vibrational and rotational levels.
This process is represented by the equation N2* + CO2 = CO2* + N2

N2* = Nitrogen molecule in excited state. CO2 = Carbon dioxide atoms in ground state CO2* = Carbon
dioxide atoms in excited state N2 = Nitrogen molecule in ground state.

Since the excited level of nitrogen is very close to the E5 level of CO2 atom, population in E5 level
increases. As soon as population inversion is reached, any of the spontaneously emitted photon will
trigger laser action in the tube. There are two types of laser transition possible.

1. Transition E5 to E4: This will produce a laser beam of wavelength 10.6 μm.
2. Transition E5 to E3: This transition will produce a laser beam of wavelength 9.6μm. Normally 10.6
μm transition is more intense than 9.6 μm transition. The power output from this laser is 10 kW.

Characteristics:
1. Type: It is a molecular gas laser.
2. Active medium: A mixture of CO2, N2 and helium or water vapour is used as active medium.
3. Pumping method: Electrical discharge method is used for Pumping action.
4. Optical resonator: Two concave mirrors form a resonant cavity.
5. Power output: The power output from this laser is about 10kW.
6. Nature of output: The nature of output may be continuous wave or pulsed wave.
7. Wavelength of output: The wavelength of output is 0.6μm and 10.6μm.

Advantages:
1. The construction of CO2 laser is simple.
2. The output of this laser is continuous.
3. It has high efficiency.
4. It has very high output power.

Applications: High power CO2 laser finds applications in material processing like welding, drilling,
cutting, soldering etc., used in remote sensing, treatment of liver and lung diseases, neuro surgery and
general surgery, used to perform microsurgery and bloodless operations.

4.1.7 Applications of Laser

The laser beam being narrow, intense, parallel, monochromatic and highly coherent is finding increasing
applications in various fields.

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a) Holography

Holography is the technique for recording and reproducing the three dimensional image of an object using the
principle of interference (without the use of lenses or mirrors). Holography carries additional information than
conventional photography, as it records both the amplitude and the phase of the scattered radiation.

Holography is a two step-processes:

i) Recording of hologram & ii) Reconstruction of the image

i) Recording of hologram:

In this technique, laser beam falls on the inclined semi-silvered mirror. The beam is partly reflected towards
the object and partly transmits towards the film. The object diffracts the beam towards the film.

Thus film is illuminated by –

(i) light waves scattered or diffracted from the

Laser beam
object, called the Object beam and

(ii) a direct beam (from the mirror), called a

Mirror reference beam.

Reference beam The resulting pattern recorded on the

photographic film is due to interference between
the overlapping spherical wavelets of object
beam and the plane waves of the reference
beam. Since a spherical wave can intersect a
plane in a circular zone, the interference pattern
Object
consists of concentric circular rings pattern that
mark successive regions of constructive and
destructive interference. This ring pattern is
Object beam called ‘Gabor zones’.

Photographic plate

Recording of Hologram The recorded pattern consists of countless

number of such zone plates, formed by every set
of spherical wavelet from each point of the object. This film is referred to as ‘hologram’ or ‘Gabor zone plate’ in
honour of Dennis Gabor who conceived the principle of holography.

ii) Reconstruction of the image: To view the image, hologram H is illuminated by coherent beam from the laser
(identical with the reference beam used during the formation of hologram). The points on the hologram H act
as diffraction grating. The waves diffracted through H carry the phase and amplitude of the waves originally
diffracted from the object O during the formation of hologram. The object’s wavefronts are thus reconstructed.
The diffracted beams in general give rise to two images, one virtual IV and the other real IR. The real image can
be photographed.

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Iv
IR

Laser

The chief features of hologram are: Hologram

a) A three-dimensional (3D) view of the object is recorded on a two dimensional photographic film.

b) If a hologram is cut into pieces, each piece is capable of producing a complete virtual image of the object.
This is due to the fact that each part of hologram receives waves from the complete object.

Applications of Holography:

1. Microscopy: The very principle of holography which involves the measurement of path variation gives us a
tool in which depth measurements are involved of microscopic level. Image provided by hologram may be
viewed by focussing on any depth of unchanging field.

2. Ultrasonic hologram: The waves producing the hologram may not be necessarily electromagnetic in
nature. Holograms generated with the help of ultrasonic waves are very useful because of the ability of such
waves to penetrate the objects that are opaque to visible light, ranging from living tissues to metal structures.

3. Holographic data storage: Holography can be used to store large amount of digital data in the form of
‘optical memory’. In this technique the binary data is stored in the form of bright and darks spots in a array of
holograms. Each array can be viewed by reconstructing the image by illuminating the holograms with laser
light.

4. Medical Applications: Holography can be used to view the function of heart blood flow and foetus in the
womb. This technique is termed as ‘motion holography’.

b) Laser in defence:

Here are a few laser applications defence:

1) Range Finders – Utilizing lasers can help the military calculate important details such as the distance of a
specific target by measuring how long it takes for a small beam of light to reach the target.
2) Designating Bombs – By shining lasers at the target, the bomb is released at the precise location of the
target. This type of bomb is better known as a “smart bomb,” in that it has unique sensors that can detect the
laser.
3) Battle Simulation – Another successful application of lasers in the military is the use of light-laser guns on
battlefields. Through this, soldiers are able to practice on the battlefield to get a better sense of the terrain for
future use.

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4) Communicating Underwater – Since submarines often patrol in enemy territory, lasers have been able to
replace the use of radio communication underwater, which had a high risk of being picked up by enemy ships.
With the development of this special light beam, underwater communication has become a lot safer and easier.
5) Finding Bombs in Vehicles – Lasers x-rays are found to be able to detect and uncover trace amounts of
many radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium, even when the materials are being shielded by
thick steel.

c) LIDAR: Measurement of Pollutants

There are various pollutants in our atmosphere. These pollutants constitute dust, smoke, fly ash, oxides of
nitrogen, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, etc. Atmospheric optics uses lasers for remote probing of the
atmosphere, including the measurement of traces of pollutant gases, water vapour concentration, at range of 8-
15 km. The process of measurement of pollutants by lasers is called LIDAR – meaning LIght Detection And
Ranging. A LIDAR can be employed to evaluate the distance, altitude and angular coordinates of the object.

The operation of a simple laser pollutant detection system is schematically illustrated in the figure. The
LIDAR system consists of a laser source, a transreceiver optical system, a signal processing electronic unit,
and a retroreflector. The process involves two stages:-

a) Ranging: The technique is similar to RADAR. A laser pulse is sent to the area under investigation and the
scattered signal is received by a photo detector. The time delay between the two signals gives the distance of
the area.

Area being monitored for pollutants

Laser Source

Computer
Analyser
Retroreflector

Signal
processing Optical
Unit receiver

b) Detection of the pollutants: Either spectral absorption or Back-scattering can be used for detecting the
pollutants. The absorption technique is based on the principle that, different gases absorb laser energy at
different wavelengths and the amount of absorption by each wavelength indicates the amount of pollutant in

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the atmosphere. It uses a tunable carbon-dioxide laser source, i.e., the laser frequencies can be varied, which
are characteristics of the different pollutants. The reflected laser beam is then received by a photo-detector.

In Raman scattering of light, additional frequencies are obtained along with the incident frequency. These
additional frequencies are characteristic of the constituent element in the atmosphere. The attenuated beam
received at the detector and the beam energy is integrated and compared with the reference laser energy
source. Such systems are capable of detecting concentrations down to about 15 ppb (parts per billion) of
different gas molecules, and generally used for pollution monitoring in the urban and industrial areas.

***

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4.2 Optical Fibres

Introduction:
An optical fibre is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide that transmits light along its axis, by the process of Total
Internal Reflection (TIR). According to TIR, when a ray of light travels from a denser medium into a rarer
medium, incident at an angle greater than the Critical angle, then the light gets totally reflected back to the same
denser medium. (The angle of incidence which causes refracted ray to make an angle of refraction equal to 90°
is called Critical angle). This effect is used in optical fibres to confine light in the core. When light enters one
end of the fibre, it undergoes successive total internal reflection from side walls and travels down the length of
the fibre along a zig-zag path. Light travels along the fibre bouncing back and forth off of the boundary. A
small fraction of light may escape through side walls but a major fraction emerges out from the other end of
the fibre.

Sheath
Cladding
Core

n1
n2

Sheath

Cladding
Core 50 μm 100 μm 125 μm

Figure 1: Pictorial representation of Fibre structure

The structure of an optical fibre is shown in Figure1. The optical fibre consists of a central solid
dielectric cylinder called ‘Core’ (Light guiding region). The core is surrounded by a concentric
cylinder of similar material called ‘Cladding’ but of lower refractive index (n2) than that of core (n1).
The purpose of the cladding is to make the light to be confined to the core. The core and cladding are
made up of either glass or plastic (dielectric). The cladding is enclosed in a jacket called ‘Sheath’
made of polyurethane, which protects the cladding and the core from abrasions, contaminations and
the harmful influence of moisture. In addition, it improves mechanical strength of the fibre.

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4.2.1 Propagation mechanism: Optical fibre as a waveguide

A tubular structure through which energy of some sort could be guided in the form of wave is called
“wave guide”. Since light waves can be guided through the optical fibre, it is called “light guide”. It
is also called “fibre wave guide” or “fibre light guide”.

Light travels as an electromagnetic wave through an optical fibre. Light from a laser, a light
bulb or some other sources enters one end of the optical fibre. As the light travels through the core, it
strikes the interface of the core and cladding at large angles of incidence. Due to cylindrical
symmetry, the ray will suffer total internal reflection at the interface. Thus, the light will be guided
through the core due to repeated total internal reflection, even if the fibre is bent. Since each
reflection is a total internal reflection, the light signal sustains its strength and also confines itself
completely within the core during the course of propagation. At the other end of the fibre, the light is
received by a detector such as a photosensitive device.

Core
Cladding Outgoing
Light ray
Incident
Light ray

Figure 2: Fibre wave guide

The main function of the optical fibre is to accept and transmit as much light as possible. The light
gathering ability of a fibre depends on two factors, viz. core size and the numerical aperture. The
numerical aperture of fibre is determined by the acceptance angle and the fractional refractive index
change.

4.2.2 Propagation of light through an optical fibre: (Expression for Numerical Aperture, Acceptance angle and
Condition for Propagation)

Let us consider an optical fibre into which light is launched [Figure 3] (The end at which light enters
the fibre is called ‘launching end’). Let the refractive index of the core be n1 and the refractive index
of the cladding be n2 (n2 < n1). Let n0 be the refractive index of the medium from which light is
launched into the fibre.

Let a light ray enter the fibre at an angle θi to the axis of the fibre. The ray refracts at angle θr and
strikes the core-cladding interface at an angle Ф. If Ф is greater than critical angle Фc (critical
angle), the ray undergoes total internal reflection (TIR) at the interface, since n2 < n1. As long as the
angle Ф > Фc , the light is trapped within the fibre.

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Launching B

zone i  Core n1

A C Axis of the fibre

(n )
i
Cladding n2

Figure 3: Schematic representation of propagation of light through an optical fibre

Let us now find the maximum incident angle θi for which Ф  Фc such that light rebounds within the
fibre.
By applying Snell’s law to the launching face of the fibre, we get
no sin θi = n1 sin θr ………(1)

but, θr = 90o – Ф (From  ABC)

 no sin θi = n1 sin (90o – Ф)

n1
Or sin θi = cos Ф
n0

Since cos2 Ф + sin2 Ф = 1, we can write,

n1 ½
sin θi = (1 – sin2 Ф) ………(2)
n0

When i is increased beyond a limit,  will drop below the critical value c and the ray escapes from
the side walls of the fibre, through cladding.

Therefore, the largest value of i occurs when   c below which the light will be confined to the
core.

i.e. When   c ,  i   i max 

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Equation (2) becomes, sin  i max  

n1
n0

1  sin 2 
1/ 2
 … … …(3)

n2
But sin c  … … …(4)
n1

Substituting for sin c in equation (3), we get

1/ 2 1/ 2
n1  n2  n1  n1  n2 
2 2 2
sin  i max   1 
n0  n12  n0  n12 

sin  i max  

n1 n12  n2 2 
1/ 2


n1
2
 n2 2 
1/ 2

n0 n1 n0

2 2
n  n2
sin  i max   1
 n0 … … …(5)

Quite often the fibre surrounding medium will be air for which n0 = 1.

Designating  i max    0 , equation (5) can be written as,

sin  0  n12  n2 2

  0  sin 1 n1  n2
2 2 … … …(6)

This maximum angle 0 is called Acceptance angle or Acceptance cone half angle of the fibre.
It is the maximum angle at which the ray is capable of propagating inside the fibre (for all  0 ) .

The light rays contained within the come having a full angle 2  0 are accepted and
transmitted along the fibre. Therefore, the cone is called the “Acceptance cone”.

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Numerical Aperture (NA):

The ability of the fibre to collect incident light falling on one of its end faces to transmit by total
internal reflection is called as Numerical aperture (NA). It is defined as the sine of the acceptance
angle. Thus,

NA = sin  0  n1 2  n2 2 … … …(7)

When i is the angle of incidence of an incident ray, then the ray will be able to propagate,

If i   0

Or if sin i  sin  0

i.e. sin i  n12  n2 2 … … …(8)

This is the condition for propagation.

 sin  i  NA … … …(9)

Fractional refractive index change ():

The fractional difference between the refractive indices of the core and the cladding is known as
Fractional refractive index change . It is mathematically represented as,

n1  n2
 … … …(10)
n1

Relation between NA and :

n1 2  n2 2  n1 2

Or NA  n1 2 … … …(11)

This is the relation between Numerical aperture and fractional index change.

4.2.3 Modes of Propagation

Light propagates as electromagnetic waves through the fibre. It is true that all the rays entering the
fibre with an angle of incidence less than or equal to angle of acceptance (θo) will be trapped within
the fibre due to total internal reflection. But it is not true that all such rays propagate along the

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fibre. In reality only certain ray directions are allowed to propagate. These allowed directions are
called Modes.

In other words, modes can be visualized as the possible number of paths of light in the optical fibre.

The number of modes supported for propagation in the fibre is determined by a parameter
called “V-number” denoted as V (which is generally identified as normalized frequency of the fibre).
If the surrounding medium is air, then the V-number is given by

d 2 2
V= n1  n2 … … …(12)

where d is the core diameter of the core, n1 and n2 are the refractive indeces of core and cladding
respectively.  is the wavelength of light propagating in the fibre

d
Or V= (NA) … … …(13)

If the fibre is surrounded by a medium of refractive index n o, than the expression is

d n12  n2 2
V= … … …(14)
 n0

The maximum number of modes N supported by an optical fibre can be determined by the relation,

V2
N  … … …(15)
2

4.2.4 Types of Optical fibres

Based on the dimension, refractive index profile* and the number of modes the optical fibres are
classified as,

[1] Single mode fibre

[2] Step index multimode fibre
[3] Graded index multimode fibre

* Refractive index profile: The curve which represents the variation of refractive index with
respect to the radial distance from the axis of the fibre is called refractive index profile.

(1) Single mode Step index fibre (SMF):

A single mode fibre has a core material of uniform refractive index value. Similarly cladding also
has a material of uniform index but of lesser value. This results in a sudden decrease in the value of
refractive index from core to cladding. Thus its refractive profile takes the shape of a step. Hence it is
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also referred to as Single mode step index fibre. The diameter value of the core is about 4 to 15 μm
and external diameter of cladding is 60 to 70 μm. Because of its narrow core, it can guide just a
single mode as shown in Figure 4. Hence it is called single mode fibre.

 These are extensively used (among the fibres used now a days, 80% is of this type)
 These need lasers as the source of light.
 It is characterized by a very small value of  (of the order of 0.002)
 Though these are less expensive, it is very difficult to join the strands of one optical fibre to
the strands of another (This process is called splicing).
 They find particular application in submarine cable systems.

n1 n1 n1
n2 n2 n2

Figure 4: Cross-section, refractive index profile and light path of different types of optical fibres.

(2) Step index multimode fibre:

The geometry of a step index multimode fibre is as shown in Figure 4. Its construction is similar to
that of a single mode fibre but for the difference that, its core has a much larger diameter by the
virtue of which it will be able to support propagation of larger number of modes as shown.

 These are the least expensive of all.

 Either laser or LED can be used as source of light.
 NA is larger of the order of 0.3.
 Its typical application is in data links which has lower bandwidth requirements.

(3) Graded index multimode fibre (GRIN):

Graded index multimode fibre is also denoted as GRIN. It is a multimode fibre in which, the
refractive index of the core is maximum at the centre of the core and decreases in the radially
outward direction from the axis and becomes equal to that of the cladding at the interface (Figure 4).
But the refractive index of the cladding remains uniform.

 It is the most expensive of all

 Either laser or LED can be used as source.
 Due to continuously varying refractive index across the core, the light rays bend smoothly and
converge repeatedly at points along the fibre.

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 Its typical application is in the telephone trunk between central offices.

4.2.5 Attenuation

The loss of power suffered by the optical signal as it propagates through the fibre is called
Attenuation.

The attenuation is measured in terms of a factor called attenuation co-efficient ( ) and

is given by

10 P
=  log out dB km-1 … … …(16)
L Pin

where L= the length of the fibre

Pout = Power of output optical signal

P in = Power of input optical signal

4.2.6 Attenuation Mechanisms

The optical power losses occurring in the fibres may be mainly attributed to three mechanisms, viz.
Absorption, Scattering and Radiation losses.

a] Absorption:
This arises due to the absorption of photons associated with optical signal. These losses may be
either due to the basic core material itself (intrinsic) or due to the presence of impurities (extrinsic).

Intrinsic absorption:- Even a highly pure glass (core material) absorbs light energy (photons) in
specific wavelength region. A strong electronic absorption occurs at UV wavelengths. These
absorption losses are called Intrinsic absorption.

Extrinsic absorption:- These are due to the absorption of light energy (photons) by the impurities
such as Hydroxyl ion (OH) and transition metal ions such as Iron, chromium, manganese,
vanadium and manganese etc.

The presence of impurities causes heavy losses. These losses can be minimized by restricting metals
ions content to less than few parts/billion and OH impurity to less than few parts per million.

b] Scattering:
The glass (core material) has a disordered structure having local variations in the refractive index.
While the signal travels in the fibre, the photons may get scattered due to the sharp changes in
refractive index values inside the glass over distances that are small compared to the wavelength of
light signal. This type of scattering is same as “Rayleigh scattering” (occurs when a light wave
travels through a medium having scattering objects whose dimensions are smaller than wavelength
of light).
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The Rayleigh scattering is inversely proportional to the fourth power of wavelength [ 4] which
means that light of smaller wavelength are scattered to a larger extent. Due to Rayleigh scattering,
the photons moves in random direction and leave the fibre, thus leading to loss. Thus, Rayleigh
scattering sets a lower limit on the wavelengths that can be transmitted by a fibre at 0.8 m, below
which the scattering loss is very high.

c] Radiation losses (Bending losses): The radiation losses can be caused by two mechanisms, namely,
macrobending and microbending of the fibre.

Macrobending: All the optical fibres have a minimum

Radiation loss bend radius specification that should not be exceeded.
A bend in the fibre more than this limit, may result in
the modification of the angle of incidence on the core-
cladding interface and hence may lead to signal loss as
shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Pictorial representation of

Radiation loss due to Macrobending

Microbending (Microscopic bending):

Cladding
Micro-bending

Core

Radiation loss
Figure 6: Pictorial representation of Radiation loss due to Micro-bending

Microbending is the small scale fluctuations in a localized region of the fibre (Figure 6). This may be
related to pressure, temperature, tensile stress or crushing force to which the fibre might have
subjected to. Microbending can be minimized by compressible jackets over the fibre, which will
withstand the stresses.

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4.2.7 Applications of Optical Fibres : Point to Point Communication

The optical fibres are extensively used in communication of optical signals i.e., in optical fibre
communication.

A basic communication system consists of a Transmitter, a receiver and an information channel. The
block diagram of point to point communication system is shown in Figure 7.

Output Signal
Transmitter Input Signal Receiver
Optical fibre (Voice)
(Voice)

Optical Source Transmission Optical

Demodulator
Modulator path detector
(Carrier)

Figure 7: Block diagram of point-to-point fibre optic communication system

At the starting point we have non-electrical signal (message) such as the voice of the telephone user.
This information comes out of the telephone receiver (transducers) in the form of electrical signals.
This electrical message is then impressed onto the carrier light waves which are emitted by LED or
laser diode. This process is called modulation, which is done by the device called modulator. This
unit constitutes transmitter.

The output of the optical transmitter is fed into one end of an optical fibre, which is the
transmission channel. The optical signal travelling through the fibre will become progressively
attenuated and distorted (because of various losses and distortion occurring in the fibre). Therefore
repeaters are used in the transmission line to amplify and reshape the signal.

Finally, at the receiving end, the optical signal from the fibre is fed into photo detector,
where the signal is converted into pulses of electric current. In the next step, the detector output is
filtered to extract the message. It is then fed to a suitable transducer like loudspeaker to convert into
audio form.

Advantages of optical communication system

1. The material used for making optical fibres are SiO2 and plastic both of which are easily
available at low cost.
2. The fibres are free from corrosion effect caused by salt, pollution and radiation. Hence they
are more reliable.
3. The signal generated from radio or telecom stations or radiation from lightning tend to cause
disturbance in the metallic cable but cannot do so for fibre cable.
4. Because of their compactness and light weight, fibres are much easier to transport.
5. The cost of fibre optic communication system is lower than that of an equivalent metallic
cable communication system.

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Disadvantages of optical communication system

1. The optical connectors used to connect (splicing) two fibres are expensive.
2. Fibres undergo expansion and contraction with temperature that upset some critical
alignments which lead to loss in signal power.
3. Attenuation loss is large as the length of the fibre increases. Hence, repeaters are required
to amplify the weak signal in long distance communication.
4. The bending will increase the loss of the signal. Hence, the fibre should be laid straight.

Other Applications of Optical fibres

a) Medical applications: Fibroscopes widely employed in endoscopic applications for visualization of
internal portions of human body.
b) Military applications: In aircrafts and ships, use of optical fibres in place of copper reduces much
weight.
c) Industrial applications: Optical fibres are used in fabrication of sensors to monitor various
physical quantities such as pressure, temperature, flow rate, current, etc.

Optical Fibre Sensors:

Fiber optical sensors are transducers, which generally consist of a light source coupled with an
optical fibre and a light detector held at the receiver end. The fibers used could be either multimode
or single mode type. The sensors can be used to measure pressure, temperature, strain, the acoustic
field, magnetic field, etc. The advantages of these sensors are that they are lighter, occupy lesser
volume and are cheaper. The optical fiber merely carries the light beam in some of the sensors and in
others the fiber itself acts as the sensor.

Temperature Sensors: Intensity modulated sensor

Principle: In this type of sensor, temperature is measured by the modulation of intensity of the
reflected light from a target, a silicon layer. The operation of the temperature sensor is based on the
1 µm wavelength light absorption characteristics of silicon as a function of temperature. Depending
on the temperature, the amount of light absorbed by the silicon layer varies. The change in intensity
of the reflected light is proportional to the change in temperature.

Construction: Figure illustrates a temperature sensor with a multimode fibre. The fibre is coated
at one end with a thin silicon layer. The silicon layer is in turn coated with a reflective coating at the
back. The silicon layer acts as the sensing element.

Working: The light from a light source is launched into the fibre from one of the ends of one of its
branches as shown in figure. Light passes through the fibre and then through the silicon layer. The
mirror of the silicon coating at the other end layer reflects the light back which again travels through
the silicon layer. The reflected light emerges out through another branch of multimode fibre and is
collected by using photodetector. The amount of the reflected light is converted into voltage by the

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photodetector. The absorption of light by the silicon layer varies with temperature and the variation
the intensity of the light received at the detector.

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