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MODULE - 01
LASERS AND OPTICAL FIBERS
LASERS

The word Laser stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of

Radiation. It is a device which amplifies light. It has properties like Coherence,
Unidirectional, Monochromatic, Focus ability, etc.

Interaction of an electromagnetic wave with matter leads to transition of an

atom or a molecule from one energy state to another. If the transition is from
lower state to higher state it absorbs the incident energy. If the transition is from
higher state to lower state it emits a part of its energy.

Emission or Absorption takes through quantum of energy called photons. h is

called quantum energy or photon energy.

h = 6.626×10-34 Joules Second is Planck’s constant and ‘’ is the frequency.

If ∆E is the difference between the two energy levels,

Then ∆E = (E2 - E1) Joule

According to Max Planck, ∆E = h = (E2-E1)

 = (E2 - E1)/h Hz.

Three types of interactions, which are possible, are as follows:

1)Induced Absorption:
Induced absorption is the absorption of an incident photon by system as a result
of which the system is elevated from a lower energy state to a higher state,
wherein the difference in energy of the two states is the energy of the photon.

Consider the system having two energy states

E1 and E2, E2 > E1. When a photon of energy
h is incident on an atom at level E1, the atom
goes to a higher energy level by absorbing the
energy.

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When an atom is at ground level (E1), if an electromagnetic wave of frequency 
is applied to the atom, there is possibility of getting excited to higher level (E2).
The incident photon is absorbed. It is represented as

Atom + Photon → Atom*

2) Spontaneous Emission: The emission of a photon by the transition of a

system from a higher energy state to a lower energy state without the aid of an
external energy is called spontaneous emission.

Let ‘E1’ and ‘E2’ be two energy levels in a material, such that
E2>E1. E1 is ground level and E2 is the higher level. h=E2-E1
is the difference in the energy. The atom at higher level (E2) is
more unstable as compared to that at lower level (E1).

The life time of an atom is less in the excited state, In

spontaneous emission atom emits the photon without the aid of any external
energy. It is called spontaneous emission. The process is represented as

Atom* → Atom + Photon

The photons emitted in spontaneous emission may not have same direction and
phase similarities. It is incoherent.

Ex: Glowing electric bulbs, Candle flame etc.

3) Stimulated Emission:
Stimulated emission is the emission of a photon by a system under the influence
of a passing photon of right energy due to which the system transits from a
higher energy state to a lower energy state.

The photon thus emitted is called stimulated photon and will have the same
phase, energy and direction of movement as that of the passing photon called
the stimulation photon.

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Initially the atom is at higher level E2. The incident photon of energy h forces
the atom to get de-excited from higher level E2 to lower level E1.

i.e. h=E2–E1 is the change in energy.

The incident photon stimulates the excited atom to emit a photon of exactly the
same energy as that of the incident photons. The emitted two photons have same
phase, frequency, direction and polarization with the incident photon and results
in coherent beam of radiation. This kind of action is responsible for lasing action.

Atom* + Photon → Atom + (Photon + Photon)

Expression for energy density in terms of Einstein’s Coefficients

Consider two energy levels E1 and E2 of a system of atoms with N1 and N2 are
population of energy levels respectively.

Let U be the energy density of incident beam of radiation of frequency γ.

Let us consider the absorption and two emission process

1) Induced absorption:

Induced absorption is the absorption of an incident photon by system as a result

of which the system is elevated from a lower energy state to a higher state.

The rate of absorption is proportional to N1U

Rate of absorption = B12N1U …………….. (1)

Where ‘B12’ is the proportionality constant called Einstein Coefficient of induced

absorption.

2) Spontaneous emission:

The emission of a photon by the transition of a system from a higher energy state
to a lower energy state without the aid of an external energy is called
spontaneous emission.

Spontaneous emission depends on N2 and independent of energy density.

The rate of spontaneous emission = A21N2 …………….(2)

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Where ‘A21’ is called proportionality constant called Einstein coefficient of
spontaneous emission.

3) Stimulated emission:

Stimulated emission is the 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

The rate of stimulated emission is directly proportional to N2Uγ.

The rate of stimulated emission = B21N2U …………….. (3)

Where ‘B21’ is the proportionality constant called Einstein’s Coefficient of

stimulated emission.

At thermal equilibrium,

Rate of absorption = (Rate of spontaneous emission + Rate of stimulated emission)

B12N1U = A21N2 + B21N2U

U (B12N1 - B21N2) = A21N2

A21 N2
U = (B12 N1 −B21 N2 )

A21 N2
i.e. U= [ ]
B21 (B12 N1 −N2 )
B21

A 1
U = B21 [ B N ] → (4)
21 ( 12 1 ) −1
B21 N2

E2 −E1
By Boltzmann’s law, N2= N1 e−( )
KT = N1 e-h/KT

i.e., N1/N2 = eh/KT

 
 
A21  1 
Eqn. (4) becomes U    h 
 → (5)
B21  
 12  kT   1 
B  

 B e 
  21 

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 
 
By Planck’s law, U  8h3
3
 1 
  → (6)
 h 
c 
  
 e
 kT 
 1 

 

Comparing equation (5) & (6)

A21 B12
= 8πh3/c3 & =1 i.e. B12 = B21
B21 B21

The probability of induced absorption is equal to the stimulated emission.

Therefore, A12is written as A and B12, B21 written as B.

Equation (5) becomes

 
 
A 1 
U   h  
B  
  
 e kT  
1 
 
 

Above equation is the expression for energy density

Condition for laser action:

1) Meta Stable State:

It is the special type of excited state where in the life time of atom is more
than the normal excited state.

 This state plays an important role in lasing action.

 In metastable state, atoms stay for a time period of the order of 10-3 to 10-
2 second.

 In normal excited state other than metastable atom stay of the order of 10-
8 to10-9 seconds.

 It is possible to achieve population inversion condition in certain system

which possesses a metastable state.

2) Population Inversion:
It is the state of the system at which the population of a higher energy level is
greater than that of the lower energy level.
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Let E1, E2, E3 be the energy levels of the system E3>E2>E1.

E2 is the metastable state of the system. Atoms get excited
from the state E1 to E3 by means of external source and
stay there for short time. These atoms undergo
spontaneous transitions to E2 and E1. The atoms at the
state E2 stay for longer time. A stage is reached in which
the number of atoms at state E2 is more than the number
of atoms at E1 which is known as population inversion.

Requisites of a Laser System:

1) The pumping process:

It is the process of supplying energy to the medium in order to transfer it to
the state of population inversion is known as pumping process
Optical Pumping: It is the process of exciting atoms from lower energy level to
higher energy level by using high intensity light or by operating flash tube as
an external source called optical pumping.
Electrical pumping: It is the process of exciting atoms from lower energy
level to higher energy level by using dc power supply as an external source
called electrical pumping.

2) Active medium:
It is a medium which supports population inversion and promotes stimulated
emission leading to light amplification
Active centers: In a medium consisting of different species of atoms only small
fraction of the atoms of a particular type are responsible for stimulated emission
and consequent light amplification they are known as Active centers

3) Laser cavity.
An active medium bounded between two mirrors is called as a laser cavity.

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Gallium-Arsenide Laser Semiconductor laser:

A Semiconductor diode laser is one in which the active medium is formulated by

semiconducting materials.

Construction:

 Gallium-Arsenide Laser is a single crystal of GaAs consists of heavily

doped n-type and p-type.
 The diode is very small size with sides of the order of 1mm.
 The width of the junction varies from 1-100m.
 The top and bottom surfaces are metalized and Ohmic contacts are
provided for external connection.
 The front and rear faces are polished. The polished faces functions as the
resonant cavity. The other two faces are roughened to prevent lasing
action in that direction.

Working:

 The energy band diagram of heavily doped p-n junction is as shown. At

thermal equilibrium the Fermi level is uniform.

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 Because of very high doping on n- side, the Fermi level is pushed in to the
conduction band and electrons occupy the portions of the conduction
band that lies below the Fermi level and

 on p-side, the Fermi level lies within the valence band and holes occupy
the portions of the valence band that lies above the Fermi level.

Energy level diagram

(a) Before biasing (b) After biasing

 A suitable forward bias is applied to overcome the potential barrier. As a

result, electrons from n-region and holes from p-region injected into the
junction.

 The current begins to flow following which there will be a region in junction
in which the population inversion can be achieved.

 Initially concentration of electrons in the energy levels at the bottom of the

conduction band will be less than that of energy levels at top of valence
band. So that the recombination of electrons and holes result only in
spontaneous emission.

 When the current exceeds the threshold value, population inversion is

achieved in the active region which is formulated in the junction.

 At this stage the photons emitted by spontaneous emission triggers

stimulated emission, over a large number of recombination leading to
build up laser.
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 Since the energy gap of GaAs is 1.4eV, the wavelength of emitted light is
8400 Ao .

Properties of laser:

1. Coherence: The emitted radiation after getting triggered is in phase with

the incident radiation.
2. Monochromaticity: The laser beam is highly monochromatic than any
other radiations.
3. Unidirectionality: Laser beam travels in only one direction. It can travel
long distance without spreading.
4. Focusability: A laser beam can be focused to an extremely fine spot.

Applications of Laser:

1. Laser barcode reading

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 A bar code consists of a series of strips of dark and white bands. Each
strip has a width of about 0.3 mm and the total width of the bar code is
about 3 cm.
 Laser light reflected off a mirror is shine on the label surface and its
reflection is captured by a sensor (laser photo detector) to read a bar code.
 Reflections are strong in white areas and weak in black areas. A sensor
receives reflections to obtain analog waveforms.

 Data retrieval is achieved when the photo detector captures the reflected
light and replace the black and white bars with binary digital signals.
 The analog signal is converted into a digital signal via an A/D converter.
 Data retrieval is achieved when a code system is determined from the
digital signal obtained. (Decoding process).

NOTE: Information such as the country of origin, manufacturer of

the product, the direction of scan, price, reading error checking,
weight of the product, and expiry date can be stored in the pattern
of dark and white strips. By a simple scanning, complete information
regarding the product can be obtained.
2. Laser Printing:
It is a digital printing device that are used to create the high quality text and
graphics on a plain paper. It reads the electronic data from your
computer and beam this information onto a drum inside the printer
which builds up a patron.

It mainly consists of six steps as follows

1. Image Processing: Once you click on print command on a certain
document the computer immediately send the information to laser
printer internal memory and prepare for image processing.
2. Charging: The printer starts warmer, the corona wire heats up and get
ready to transfer its positive static charge to the metallic drum.
3. Exposing: When the drum rotates it receives a negative charge
throughout its surface. A laser is then activated and reflected throughout
the drum surface. The reflected laser beam creates an outline of print
through the positive electric charge.
4. Developing: In the areas where the laser beam hits the drum, the charge
is changed from negative to positive using developer. The positive
charged areas now represent where toner particles (negatively charged

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particles) will adhere to the drum and be directly transferred onto the
paper. The ink roller now begins to coat the drum with toner.

5. Transferring: When a paper is now passed close to the drum, charged

toner particles adhere onto the page in the same pattern of the Image.
6. Fussing: The paper, now containing the inked content, is passed into
the fuser unit where the rollers fuse the toner particles to the paper. The
page is then passed through the other side of the copier and you now
have one successful printout.
Before Drum completes its revolution it is cleaned from residual toner using
cleaner.

Negatively charged Drum

Advantages of Laser Printer

 The main advantage of Laser printer is its speed & efficiency at which prints
high quality graphics & text.

 Laser printers produce high-quality output as compared to other printers.

 Laser printers are quite and does not produce disturbing sounds.

 They are also capable to produce color prints.

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3. Laser cooling

 This cooling is also called Doppler cooling. This works on the principle of
Doppler effect. In which there is an apparent change in the frequency when
there is a relative motion between source and observer.

 In this technique, heat can be removed optically with the help of laser. By
continuously reducing the momentum of the atoms.
 Atoms can be cooled using lasers because light particles from the laser
beam are absorbed and re-emitted by the atoms, causing them to lose
some of their kinetic energy.
 Reduction in the momentum results in the reduction in temperature of
𝐸 ℎ
atom i.e 𝑃 = = 𝜆.
𝐶
 After thousands of such impacts, the atoms will be chilled near to zero
Kelvin.

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OPTICAL FIBERS

An optical fiber is a cylindrical wave guide made of transparent dielectric material

(glass or plastic) which guides light waves along its length by total internal
reflection.

Principle

The propagation of light in an optical fiber from one end to the other end is based
on the principle of Total internal reflection(TIR). They are used in optical
communication.

When a light enters one end of the fiber, it undergoes successive total internal
reflections from side walls and travels down the length of the fiber along zigzag
path.

Construction
 A practical optical fiber is cylindrical in shape and has three regions.
 The innermost cylindrical region is the light guiding region called as core
which is usually made up of glass or plastic.
 The outer part which is a concentric cylinder surrounding the core is called
as cladding and is also made up of similar material but of lesser refractive
index.
 The outermost region is called a Sheath or Protective buffer coating,
nothing but the plastic coating providing a physical and environmental
protection for the fiber. Number of such fibers is grouped to form a cable.

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Total Internal Reflection:

 When a ray of light travels from denser to rarer medium it bends away
from the normal.
 As the angle of incidence increases in the denser medium, the angle of
refraction also increases. For a particular angle of incidence called the
“critical angle” (θc), the refracted ray grazes the surface separating the
media or the angle of refraction is equal to 90°.
 If the angle of incidence is further increased beyond the critical angle, the
light ray is reflected back to the same medium. This is called “Total Internal
Reflection”.
 In total internal reflection, there is no loss of energy. The entire incident
ray is reflected back.

Let XXl is the surface separating medium of refractive index n1 and medium of
refractive index n2, n1 > n2. AO and OAl are incident and refracted rays. θ1 and
θ2 are angle of incidence and angle of refraction, θ2 > θ1. For the ray BO, θc is the
critical angle. OBl is the refracted ray which grazes the interface. The ray CO
l
incident with an angle greater than θc is totally reflected back along OC .

From Snell's law,

n1sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2

For total internal reflection, θ1=θc and θ2=90°

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n1sinθc = n2 (because sin90°=1)

In total internal reflection there is no loss or absorption of light energy. The entire
energy is returned along the reflected light. Thus is called Total internal
reflection.
Propagation mechanism

 The cladding in an optical fiber always has a lower refractive index than
that of the core.
 The light signal which enters into the core and strikes the interface of the
core and cladding with an angle greater than the critical angle will undergo
total internal reflection.
 Thus the light signal undergoes multiple reflections within the core and
propagates through the fiber.
 Since each reflection is a total internal reflection, there is no absorption of
light energy at the reflecting surface.
 Therefore, the signal sustains its strength and also confines itself
completely within the core during the propagation.
 After series of such total internal reflection, it emerges out of the core.
Thus the optical fiber works as a waveguide. Care must be taken to avoid
very sharp bends in the fiber because at sharp bends, the light ray fails to
undergo total internal reflection.
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Acceptance angle and numerical aperture

θ1
90-θ1
B C
θ1
θ0 0
n1
A n2

Surrounding medium (n0 )

 Consider a light ray entering into the core of an optical fiber with an angle
of incidence(θ0), such that after entering, the ray incidents on the core-
cladding interface with an angle of incidence equal to the critical angle.
 From figure it is clear that any ray which enters into the core with an angle
more than θ0, will have to be incident at an angle less than the critical
angle at the core-cladding interface.
 Therefore, the ray does not undergo total internal reflection and the ray
will be lost. Thus for any ray to propagate through the fiber it must enter
with an angle less than θ0. This maximum angle is called as ‘Acceptance
angle’ and the conical surface described by the ray when rotated about the
axis of the fiber is called ‘Acceptance cone’.
 Thus acceptance angle is defined as “The maximum angle that a light ray
can take relative to the axis of the fiber to propagate through the fiber”.
 Sine of the acceptance angle of an optical fiber is called as “Numerical
aperture”.

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Expression for Numerical aperture and condition for propagation

90-θ1
B
θ1
θ0 A
n1
n2
n0
Consider a light ray entering into the core of an optical fiber with an angle of
incidence(θ0), such that after entering, the ray incidents on the core-cladding
interface with an angle of incidence equal to the critical angle.

Let n0, n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of the surrounding medium, core and
cladding respectively.

Now, applying Snell’s law at the point of entry of the ray i.e., at A,

𝑛0 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = 𝑛1 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃1
𝑛
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = 𝑛1 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
0

Applying Snell’s law at B,

𝑛1 sin( 90 − 𝜃1) = 𝑛2 sin 90

𝑛1 cos 𝜃1 = 𝑛2 sin 90
𝑛
⇒ 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃1 = 𝑛2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
1

𝑛
From expression (1) 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = 𝑛1 √1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 𝜃1
0

Substituting for cos θ1 from (2)

𝑛 𝑛2
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = 𝑛1 √1 − 𝑛22
0 1

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𝑛1 𝑛12 − 𝑛22
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = √
𝑛0 𝑛12
√𝑛12 − 𝑛22
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 =
𝑛0

If 𝑛0 =1 i.e., surrounding medium if it is air

𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0 = √𝑛12 − 𝑛22

i.e., 𝑁. 𝐴. = √𝑛12 − 𝑛22

Condition for propagation:

If θi is the angle of incidence of the incident ray, then the ray will be able
to propagate,

if 𝜃𝑖 < 𝜃0

⇒ 𝑖𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑖 < 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃0

𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑖 < √𝑛12 − 𝑛22

𝑖. 𝑒. , 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑖 < 𝑁. 𝐴.

Fractional index change(Δ)

The ratio of the difference in refractive index of core and cladding to the
𝑛 −𝑛
refractive index of core of an optical fiber. 𝑖. 𝑒. , 𝛥 = 1𝑛 2
1

Refractive index profile:

The curve which represents the variation of refractive index when it moves
radially outwards from the fiber axis is called refractive index profile.

Types of optical fibers

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Based on the refractive index profile and mode of propagation, there are three
types of optical fibers,

1. Single mode fiber

2. Step index multimode fiber
3. Graded index multimode fiber

(i) Single mode fiber

 Single mode fibers have a core material of uniform refractive index value.
 Cladding material also has a uniform refractive index but of lesser value
than that of core.
 Thus its refractive index profile takes a shape of a step. The diameter of
the core is about 8-10 µm and the diameter of the cladding is about 60-
70 µm.

 Because of its narrow core, it can guide just a single mode as shown in
above figure.
 Single mode fibers are the extensively used ones ant they are less
expensive. They need LASERs as the source of light.

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(ii) Step index multimode fiber

 A step index multimode fiber is very much similar to the single mode fiber
except that its core is of large diameter. A typical fiber has a core diameter
50 to 200 µm and a cladding about 100 to 250µm outer diameter.
 Its refractive index profile is also similar to that of a single mode fiber but
with a larger plane region for the core.
 Due to the large core diameter it can transmit a number of modes of wave
propagation.
 The step index multimode fiber can accept either a LASER or an LED as
source of light.
 It is the least expensive of all and its typical application is in data links
which has lower bandwidth requirements.

(iii) Graded index multimode fiber

 It is also called GRIN.
 The refractive index of core decreases in the radially outward direction

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from the axis of the fiber and becomes equal to that of cladding at the
interface but the refractive index of the cladding remains uniform.
 Laser or LED is used as a source of light.
 It is the expensive of all. It is used in telephone trunk between central
offices.

Signal attenuation in optical fibers

 Attenuation is the loss of optical power suffered by the optical signal as it
propagates through a fiber also called as the fiber loss.
 There are three mechanisms through which attenuation takes place.

Attenuation co-efficient
 The attenuation of a fiber optic cable is expressed in decibels.
10 𝑃 𝑑𝐵
i.e., 𝛼 = − 𝐿 𝑙𝑜𝑔 [ 𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡]
𝑖𝑛 𝑘𝑚

 The main reasons for the loss in light intensity over the length of the cable
is due to light absorption, scattering and due to bending losses.

Attenuation can be caused by three mechanisms.

(i) Absorption losses

 Absorption of photons by impurities like metal ions such as iron,

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chromium, cobalt and copper in the silica glass of which the fiber is made
of.
 During signal propagation photons interact with electrons of impurity
atoms and the electrons are excited to higher energy levels.
 Then the electrons give up their absorbed energy either in the form of
heat or light energy.
 The re-emission of light energy will usually be in a different wavelength;
hence it is referred as loss of energy.
 The other impurity such as hydroxyl (OH) ions which enters into the fiber
at the time of fabrication causes significant absorption loss.
 The absorption of photons by fiber itself assuming that there are no
impurities and in-homogeneities in it is called as intrinsic absorption.
(ii) Scattering losses
 Scattering of light waves occurs whenever a light wave travels through a
medium having scattering objects whose dimensions are smaller than the
wavelength of light.
 Similarly, when a light signal travels in the fiber, the photons may be
scattered due to the sharp changes in refractive index values inside the
core over distances and also due to the structural impurities present in
the fiber material.
 This type of scattering is called as Rayleigh scattering. Scattering of
photons also takes place due to trapped gas bubbles which are not
dissolved at the time of manufacturing.
 A scattered photon moves in random direction and leaves the fiber.
(iii) Radiation losses
Radiation losses occur due to macroscopic bends and microscopic bends.
 Macroscopic bending: All optical fibers are having critical radius of
curvature provided by the manufacturer. If the fiber is bent below that
specification of radius of curvature, the light ray incident on the core
cladding interface will not satisfy the condition of total internal
reflection. This causes loss of optical power.
 Microscopic bending: Microscopic bends are repetitive small scale
fluctuations in the linearity of the fiber axis. They occur due to non-
uniformities in the manufacturing and also lateral pressure built up on
the fiber. They cause irregular reflections and some of them leak

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through the fiber. The defect due to non-uniformity (micro-bending) can
be overcome by introducing optical fiber inside a good strengthen
polyurethane jacket.

Applications of Optical fibers:

1. Optical fiber Networking:

 The ‘passive’ part of the nomenclature refers to the fact that while the optical
signal is traversing the network, there are no active electronic parts, and no
power is needed.
 A typical PON is comprised of multiple ONUs (optical network units) and an
OLTs (optical line terminations). Generally, an OLT is located at the central
office of the server provider, with as many as 32 ONUs situated close to the
end users.
 A PON uses non-powered optical splitters to separate signals as they progress
through the network, an optical splitter can take a single input and separate
the signal to transmit to multiple users, sharing strands of fiber optics for
different parts of network architecture.

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 PONs only require power at the transmitting and receiving ends of the network
and can serve up to 32 users with a single strand of fiber, they offer an option
that’s both cheaper to build and to maintain.
The advantages of PON
● Reduced operational costs
● Lower installation costs
● Reduced network energy costs
● A reduction in required network infrastructure
● No requirement for network switches

2. Point to point optical fiber communication System

Optical fiber communication system consists of transmitter, information
channel and receiver. Transmitter converts an electrical signal into optical
signal. Information channel carries the signal from transmitter to receiver.
The receiver converts optical signal to electrical form. The block diagram
of optical fiber communication system is shown in fig.

Message Carrier Channel

Modulator
Origin Source Coupler

Information
Channel

Message Signal Channel

Detector
output Processor Coupler

Message origin: It converts a non-electrical message into an electrical signal.

Modulator: It converts the electrical message into proper format and it helps to
improve the signal onto the wave which is generated by the carrier source.

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There are two types of format. They are Analog and digital. Analog signal is
continuous and it doesn’t make any change in the original format. But digital
signal will be either in ON or OFF state.

Carrier source: It generates the waves on which the data is transmitted. These
carrier waves are produced by the electrical oscillator. Light emitting diodes
(LED) and laser diodes (LD) are the different sources.

Channel Coupler: (Input) The function of the channel coupler is to provide the
information to information channel. It can be an antenna which transfers all the
data.

Information channel: It is path between transmitter and receiver. There are two
types of information channel. They are guided and unguided. Atmosphere is the
good example for unguided information channel. Co-axial cable, two-wire line
and rectangular wave guide are example for guided channel.

Channel Coupler: (Output) The output coupler guides the emerged light from
the fiber on to the light detector.

Detector: The detector separates the information from the carrier wave. Here a
photo-detector converts optical signal to electronic signal.

Signal processor: Signal processor amplifies the signals and filters the
undesired frequencies.

Message output: The output message will be in two forms. Either person can
see the information or hear the information. The electrical signal can be
converted into sound wave or visual image by using CRO.

Advantages of optical fibers:

 Optical fibers are cheaper, small in size, light weight, mechanically strong
and signal carrying capacity is high.
 They are immune to electromagnetic and RF interferences.
 The optical fibers have wider bandwidth so capable of carry more channels
of information than electrical cables.
 It is compatible with electronic systems and tapping of signal is not
possible.
 They have low loss per unit length (~2 dB/Km).
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 It does not get affected by nuclear radiations, corrosion and moisture.
 No sparks are generated because the signal is optical signal.
Limitations:

 Optical fibers undergo expansion and contraction with temperature which

upset little alignments that lead to loss in signal power.
 Because of some accidents or when fiber bent to circles of smaller radius,
signal loss takes place or the fiber may break.
 Joining of two strands of a fiber (i.e., splicing) needs skill full work.
 High end maintenance is required.

QUESTION BANK: MODULE-1

1) Obtain an expression for the energy density in terms of Einstein’s co-

efficient.
2) Explain the conditions and requisites of laser system
3) Explain the construction and working of Semiconductor laser
4) Explain any two applications of laser in detail
5) Obtain an expression for Numerical aperture and hence write the condition
for laser action
6) Explain the different types of optical fiber with neat diagrams
7) What is attenuation? Explain the different factors contribution g for the
attenuation.
8) Explain 1) point to point communication using optical fiber and
2) Fiber optic networking

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***********ALL THE BEST***********

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