Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Technology,

Coimbatore – 10.

Introduction to Optical fibers

Ms.R.Kanmani
Assistant Professor
ECE Department
 UNIT-I

INTRODUCTION TO OPTICAL FIBERS

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 Evolution of fiber optic system
 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

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 Evolution of fiber optic system

An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or

plastic fiber that carries light along its
length.

Light is kept in the "core" of the optical

fiber by total internal reflection.
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 Fiber-optic communication

A method of transmitting information from

one place to another by sending light
through an optical fiber.
The light forms an electromagnetic
carrier wave that is modulated to carry
information.
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Fiber-optic communication

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 Fiber-optic communication
The process of communicating using fiber-
optics involves the following basic steps:
 Creating the optical signal using a
transmitter,
relaying the signal along the fiber, ensuring
that the signal does not become too
distorted or weak,
and receiving the optical signal and
converting it into an electrical signal.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum

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 Conditions for Determination of Critical Angle

There are two necessary conditions for

determining the critical angle.
•The ray of light must be traveling from a denser
medium to a rarer medium, i.e., from a medium
of higher refractive index to a medium of lower
refractive index.
•The angle of refraction must be 90° so that 
Snell’s law of refraction can be used to
determine the critical angle.

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Sin(32) =n2/n1
Sin(32) = 1/n1
n1 = 1.89
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 Advantages of optical fiber
communication
• Increased Bandwidth and Channel Capacity
• Low Signal Attenuation
• Immune to Noise
• No Crosstalk
• Lower Bit Error Rates
• Signal Security
• Electrical Isolation
• Reduced Size and Weight of Cables
• Radiation Resistant and Environment Friendly
• Resistant to Temperature Variations etc.

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 Applications of optical fiber
communication
• As fibers are very flexible, they are used in flexible digital
cameras.
• Fibers are used in mechanical imaging i.e. for inspection of
mechanical welds in pipes and engines of rockets, space
shuttles, airplanes.
• Fibers are used in medical imaging such as endoscopes and
laparoscopes.
• Fibers can be used under sea communication.
• Fibers are used in military applications such as aircrafts,
ships, tanks etc.
• Nuclear testing applications use optical fiber phase sensors
and transducers

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 Applications of optical fiber
communication
• Nuclear testing applications use optical fiber phase
sensors and transducers
• Fibers are used in public utility organizations like
railways, TV transmission etc.
• Fibers are used in LAN systems of offices, industrial
plants and colleges etc.
• Fibers are used in telecommunication such as voice
telephones, video phones, telegraph services,
message services and data networks.

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Element of an Optical Fiber
Transmission link

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 Element of an Optical Fiber
Transmission link
 Transmitter :consisting of a light source and its associated drive circuit
 Cable : offering mechanical and environmental protection to the optical
fibers contained inside
 Receiver : consisting of a photodetector plus amplification and restoring
circuit
 Optical amplifiers
 Connectors
 Splices
 Couplers
 Regenerators
 Other passive components and active photonic devices
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• Once the cable is installed, a transmitter can
be used to launch a light signal into the fiber.
• LEDs and LASER diodes
• For these devices the light output can be
modulated rapidly by varying the input
current at the desired transmission rate, there
by producing optical signal.
• The electric input signal to the transmitter
circuitry for driving optical source can be
either of an analog or digital form.

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• In the 770 – 910 nm region the light sources
are generally alloys of GaAlAs.
• At longer wavelengths 1260 to 1675 nm an
InGaAsP is the principle optical source
material.

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 History of attenuation
 Initially in early 1970s due to technology limitation, the optical fiber
had a low loss window around 800nm. Also the semiconductor
optical sources were made of GaAs which emitted light at 800nm. Due
to compatibility of the medium properties and the sources, the optical
communication started in 800nm band so called the ‘First window' .
 As the glass purification technology improved, the true silica loss
profile emerged in 1980s. The loss profile shows two low loss
windows, one around 1300nm and other around 1550nm.

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 History of attenuation
 In 1980s the optical communication shifted to 1300nm band , so called
the ‘ Second Window' . This window is attractive as it can support the
highest data rate due to lowest dispersion.
 In 1990s the communication was shifted to 1550nm window, so called
‘Third Window‘ due to invention of the Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
(EDFA). The EDFA can amplify light only in a narrow band around
1550nm. Also this window has intrinsically lowest loss of about 0.2
dB/Km . This band has higher dispersion, meaning lower bandwidth.
However, this problem has been solved by use of so called ‘dispersion
shifted fibers'.

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History of attenuation

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Optical multiplexing

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Ray Theory Transmission

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Total internal reflection

Total internal reflection

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 Critical angle
• As n1 is greater than n2,the angle of refraction is always greater
than the angle of incidence.
• Thus when the angle of refraction is 90° and the refracted ray
emerges parallel to the interface between the dielectrics, the angle
of incidence must be less than 90°. This is the limiting case of
refraction and the angle of incidence is now known as the critical
angle φc (Fig. b),

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 Total internal reflection

 When light is incident on the dielectric of lower index from the

dielectric of higher index an at angles of incidence greater than
critical angle. (Fig. c)

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Propagation of light wave through
Optical fiber
Any light wave which travels along the core and meets the

cladding at the critical angle of incidence will be totally

internally reflected. Therefore light wave is propagated
along the fiber core by a series of total internal reflections.

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Acceptance angle
 Meridional ray A enters the fiber core at an angle θa.

 Incident ray b at an angle greater than θa is refracted

into the cladding an eventually lost by radiation.

 An acceptance angle defined by the conical half angle

θa.
 θa is the maximum angle to the axis at which light

may enter the fiber in order to be propagated is called

acceptance angle for the fiber.
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Numerical Aperture (NA)
 Numerical aperture of the fiber is the light collecting
efficiency of the fiber and is the measure of the amount
of light rays that can be accepted by the fiber. It is
equal to the sine of acceptance.

NA = n0 sin θa = (n12 – n22)1/2

where, n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of core and

cladding respectively.
 Numerical aperture of step index fiber is given as
NA = n1 √2∆
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 Types of Rays
Meridional rays – confined to the Meridional planes of
the fiber, which are the planes that contain the axis of
symmetry of the fiber.
 Bound rays – propagates along the fiber axis

according to the law of geometric optics.

 Unbound rays – that are refracted out of the

fiber.
Skew rays- Skew rays are the rays following the helical
path around the fiber axis when they travel through the
fiber and they would not cross the fiber axis at any time.

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θa for skew rays

sin θas = (n12 – n22)1/2 / cos γ

sin θas = NA / cos γ

θa for meridional rays

sin θa = (n12 – n22)1/2

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Skew rays

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Meridional rays

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Structure of optical fiber

 Buffer coating
 Elastic, absorption resistant
material
 Use- add further strength to the
fiber

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 Core – central tube of very thin size made up of optically transparent
dielectric medium and carries the light form transmitter to receiver.
The core diameter can vary from about 5um to 100 µm.
 Cladding – outer optical material surrounding the core having
reflecting index lower than core. It helps to keep the light within the
core throughout the phenomena of total internal reflection.
 Buffer Coating – plastic coating that protects the fiber made of silicon
rubber. The typical diameter of fiber after coating is 250-300 µm.

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 Classification of optical fiber
Optical fiber is classified into two categories based on
1) The number of modes

2) The refractive index

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On the basis of number of modes
on the basis of number of modes of propagation the
optical fiber are classified into two types:

Single mode fiber (SMF)

Multi-mode fiber (MMF)

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Single-mode fibers
 In single mode fiber only one mode can propagate through
the fiber.
 This type of fiber has small core diameter(5µm) and high
cladding diameter(70µm) and the difference between the
refractive index of core and cladding is very small.
 There is no dispersion i.e. no degradation of signal during
travelling through the fiber.
 The light is passed through the single mode fiber through
laser diode.

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Multi-mode fiber
 Multi mode fiber allows a large number of modes for the
light ray travelling through it.
 The core diameter is (40µm) and that of cladding
is(70µm)
 The relative refractive index difference is also larger than
single mode fiber.
 There is signal degradation due to multimode dispersion.
 They are not suitable for long distance communication
due to large dispersion and attenuation of the signal.

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On the basis of Refractive index
There are two types of optical fiber

(i) Step-index optical fiber

(ii) Graded-index optical fiber

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Step index fiber
 The refractive index of core is constant
 The refractive index of cladding is also constant
 The light rays propagate through it in the form of
meridional rays which cross the fiber axis during every
reflection at the core cladding boundary.

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Graded Index fiber
 In this type of fiber core has a non uniform refractive
index that gradually decrease from the centre towards the
core cladding interface.
 The cladding has a uniform refractive index.
 The light rays propagate through it in the form of skew
rays or helical rays. They do not cross the fiber axis at any
time.

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 Comparison of Single mode fiber
and Multi mode fiber
► Core radius is small. ► Core radius is large.
► Supports one mode of ► Supports hundreds of modes.
propagation. ► Optical source- LED.
► Optical source- LASER. ► The launching of optical power
► The launching of optical power into fiber is easier as the core
into fiber is difficult as the core radius is large.
radius is small. ► Supports lesser bandwidth.
► Supports larger bandwidth. ► These fiber suffer from Intermodal
► Intermodal dispersion is absent. dispersion.
► Used for long distance ► Used for short distance
communication. communication.
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 Comparison of step index fiber
and graded index fiber
► The refractive index of the core is ► The refractive index of the core is
uniform throughout and made to vary in the parabolic
undergoes an abrupt (or) step manner such that the maximum
change at the cladding boundary. refractive index is present at the
► The diameter of the core is (50- centre of the core.

200µm)in the case of multimode ► The diameter of the core is 50µm

fiber and 10µm in the case of in the case of multimode fiber.
single mode fiber. Optical source- LED.
► The light rays propagating ► The light rays propagating through
through it are in the form of it are in the form of skew rays.
meridional rays.
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 Comparison of step index fiber
and graded index fiber
► Attenuation is more for ► Attenuation is less.
multimode step index fibers but ► The bandwidth is from 200MHz-
for single mode step index fiber, km to 600MHz-km.
it is very less. ► Numerical aperture is less.
► The bandwidth is 50MHz-km for
multimode fiber and 1GHz-km in
the case of single mode fiber.
► Numerical aperture is more for
multimode step index fibers but
for single mode step index fiber,
it is very less.
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Mode theory of Circular Wave guides
 The mode theory, along with the ray theory, is used to
describe the propagation of light along an optical fiber
 The mode theory uses electromagnetic wave behavior to
describe the propagation of light along a fiber

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E-field distributions for various modes

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 Modes in SI Fibers
To describe the modes, the behavior of J type Bessel functions Jv are

examined and they are plotted for the first 3 orders. (v = 0,1,2)

As these functions are oscillatory in nature there will be m roots of modal

equation for a given value of v. These roots are designated as βvm

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The modal equation is given as
( Jv +Kv) ( K12Jv + K22Kv) = ( βv/ a) 2 ( 1/u2 + 1/ w2) 2 (1)

Jv = Jv’(ua) / uJv (ua) ( 2)

Kv = kv’(wa) / w Kv(wa) (3)

The different roots are designated as βvm and the corresponding modes are
represented as TEVM, TMVM, HEVM or EHVM
For the dielectric fiber waveguide, all modes are hybrid modes expect for
those for which v = 0.
If v = 0 then the R.H.S of (1) becomes 0 and therefore two equations result
which are given as
J0 + K0 = 0 (4)
J1(ua ) / uJ0 (ua) + K1 (wa) / wK0 (wa) =0 (5)
which corresponds to TEOM mode

K12J0 + K22K0 = 0 (6)

K12 J1 (ua ) / u (J0 wa) + K22 K1(wa) / wK0 (wa) =0 (7)
which corresponds to TMOM mode
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An important parameter connected with the cutoff condition is the
normalized frequency V given as

V2 =( u2 +ω2 ) a2
V 2 = ( k 1 2 – β 2 + β 2 – k2 2 ) a 2
V2 = ( k12 – k22 ) a2
V2 = ( (2Π/λ)2n12 – (2Π/λ)2 n22) a2
V2 = (2Πa/λ)2 (n12 – n22)
V2 = (2Πa/λ)2 (NA)2

The normalized propagation constant

b = a2 ω2 / V2

substituting for ω and V, we get

b= (β/k)2 – n2 2/ (n12-n22).

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 Linearly Polarised Modes
In SI fibers, Δ<<1 which is the basis for weakly guiding fiber approximation. In
this approximation the electromagnetic field patterns and propagation
constants of the modes HEV+1,m and EH V-1,m are the same
when Δ<<1, K12 ≈ K22 ≈ β2 then equation (1) becomes
[(Jv + Kv ) (K12Jv + K22Kv)] = (βv/a)2 (1/u2 + 1/ w2)2
[(Jv + Kv ) (K12Jv + K12Kv)] = (βv/a)2 (1/u2 + 1/ w2)2
(Jv + Kv )2 = (v/a)2 (1/u2 + 1/ w2)2
Jv + Kv = (v/a) (1/u2 + 1/ w2) (8)
Thus equation (5) for TEom modes & (7) for TMom modes are the same.
Using the relations of Jv’ + Kv’ we get two sets of equations for (8) for the + ve &
the – ve signs.
The positive sign yields
Jv+1(ua) / uJv (ua) + Kv+1(wa)/w Kv(wa) = 0 (9)
The solution of (9) gives a set of modes called EH modes.
similarly the negative sign yields
Jv-1(ua) / uJv (ua) – Kv-1(wa)/wKv(wa) = 0 (10)

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 Linearly Polarized Modes
The solution of (10) correspond to HE modes. A new parameter is defined
j = { 1 for TE or TM modes}
{ v + 1 for EH mode } (11)
{ v – 1 for HE mode }
Equation (5), (9), (10) can be written in the form
UJj – 1 (ua)/ Jj(ua) = w Kj – 1 (wa)/ K j (wa) (12)
Equation (11) & (12) show that within the weakly guiding approximation, all
the modes characterized by a common set of ‘j’ & ‘m’ satisfy the same
equation. This means that these modes are degenerate. Thus if an HE v-1,m
mode is degenerate with EHv-1,m mode then their combination becomes a
guided mode.
These degenerate modes are called as linearly polarized modes LP jm modes.

Each LPom mode is derived from an HE1m mode.

Each LP1m mode comes from TEom , TMom , & HE2m modes.
Each LPvm mode (v ≥ 2) is from an HEv+1,m mode & on EHv-1,m mode.

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The Composition Of Lower Order
Linearly Polarized Modes

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Four possible transverse electric field and magnetic field
directions and the corresponding intensity distributions for
the LP11 mode

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