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Optical Fiber Communication 10EC72

Unit – 1

Overview of Optical Fiber communication

1. Historical Development
Fiber optics deals with study of propagation of light through transparent dielectric
waveguides. The fiber optics are used for transmission of data from point to point
location. Fiber optic systems currently used most extensively as the transmission line
between terrestrial hardwired systems.
The carrier frequencies used in conventional systems had the limitations in handling the
volume and rate of the data transmission. The greater the carrier frequency larger the
available bandwidth and information carrying capacity.
First generation
The first generation of light wave systems uses GaAs semiconductor laser and operating
region was near 0.8 μm. Other specifications of this generation are as under:
i) Bit rate : 45 Mb/s
ii) Repeater spacing : 10 km
Second generation
i) Bit rate: 100 Mb/s to 1.7 Gb/s
ii) Repeater spacing: 50 km
iii) Operation wavelength: 1.3 μm
iv) Semiconductor: In GaAsP
Third generation
i) Bit rate : 10 Gb/s
ii) Repeater spacing: 100 km
iii) Operating wavelength: 1.55 μm
Fourth generation
Fourth generation uses WDM technique.
i) Bit rate: 10 Tb/s
ii) Repeater spacing: > 10,000 km
Iii) Operating wavelength: 1.45 to 1.62 μm

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Fifth generation
Fifth generation uses Roman amplification technique and optical solitiors.
i) Bit rate: 40 - 160 Gb/s
ii) Repeater spacing: 24000 km - 35000 km
iii) Operating wavelength: 1.53 to 1.57 μm
Need of fiber optic communication
Fiber optic communication system has emerged as most important communication
system. Compared to traditional system because of following requirements:
1. In long haul transmission system there is need of low loss transmission medium
2. There is need of compact and least weight transmitters and receivers.
3. There is need of increase dspan of transmission.
4. There is need of increased bit rate-distrance product.
A fiber optic communication system fulfills these requirements, hence most widely
accepted
2. General Optical Fiber Communication System.
Basic block diagram of optical fiber communication system consists of following
important blocks.
1. Transmitter
2. Information channel
3. Receiver.
Fig. 1.2.1 shows block diagram of OFC system.

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Message origin
Generally message origin is from a transducer that converts a non-electrical message into
an electrical signal. Common examples include microphones for converting sound waves into
currents and video (TV) cameras for converting images into current. For data transfer between
computers, the message is already in electrical form.
Modulator
The modulator has two main functions.
1. It converts the electrical message into the proper format.
2. It impresses this signal onto the wave generated by the carrier source.
3. Two distinct categories of modulation are used i.e. analog modulation and digital
modulation.
Carrier source
Carrier source generates the wave on which the information is transmitted. This wave is
called the carrier. For fiber optic system, a laser diode (LD) or a light emitting diode (LED) is
used. They can be called as optic oscillators; they provide stable, single frequency waves with
sufficient power for long distance propagation.
Channel coupler
Coupler feeds the power into the information channel. For an atmospheric optic system,
the channel coupler is a lens used for collimating the light emitted by the source and directing
this light towards the receiver. The coupler must efficiently transfer the modulated light beam
from the source to the optic fiber. The channel coupler design is an important part of fiber system
because of possibility of high losses.
Information channel
The information channel is the path between the transmitter and receiver. In fiber optic
communications, a glass or plastic fiber is the channel. Desirable characteristics of the
information channel include low attenuation and large light acceptance cone angle. Optical
amplifiers boost the power levels of weak signals. Amplifiers are needed in very long links to
provide sufficient power to the receiver. Repeaters can be used only for digital systems. They
convert weak and distorted optical signals to electrical ones and then regenerate the original
digital pulse trains for further transmission.

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Another important property of the information channel is the propagation time of the
waves travelling along it. A signal propagating along a fiber normally contains a range of optic
frequencies and divides its power along several ray paths. This results in a distortion of the
propagating signal. In a digital system, this distortion appears as a spreading and deforming of
the pulses. The spreading is so great that adjacent pulses begin to overlap and become
unrecognizable as separate bits of information.
Optical detector
The information being transmitted is detector. In the fiber system the optic wave is
converted into an electric current by a photo detector. The current developed by the detector is
proportional to the power in the incident optic wave. Detector output current contains the
transmitted information. This detector output is then filtered to remove the constant bias and then
amplified.
The important properties of photo detectors are small size, economy, long life, low power
consumption, high sensitivity to optic signals and fast response to quick variations in the optic
power.
Signal processing
Signal processing includes filtering, amplification. Proper filtering maximizes the ratio of
signal to unwanted power. For a digital system decision circuit is an additional block. The bit
error rate (BER) should be very small for quality communications.
Message output
The electrical forms of the message emerging from the signal processor are transformed
into a sound wave or visual image. Sometimes these signals are directly usable when computers
or other machines are connected through a fiber system.

3. Advantages of Optical Fiber Communications

1. Wide bandwidth
The light wave occupies the frequency range between 2 x 1012 Hz to 3.7 x 1012 Hz.
Thus the information carrying capability of fiber optic cables is much higher.
2. Low losses
Fiber optic cables offers very less signal attenuation over long distances. Typically it is
less than 1 dB/km. This enables longer distance between repeaters.

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3. Immune to cross talk

Fiber optic cables have very high immunity to electrical and magnetic field. Since fiber
optic cables are non-conductors of electricity hence they do not produce magnetic field. Thus
fiber optic cables are immune to cross talk between cables caused by magnetic induction.
4. Interference immune
Fiber optic cable immune to conductive and radiative interferences caused by electrical
noise sources such as lighting, electric motors, fluorescent lights.
5. Light weight
As fiber cables are made of silica glass or plastic which is much lighter than copper or
aluminum cables. Light weight fiber cables are cheaper to transport.
6. Small size
7. The diameter of fiber is much smaller compared to other cables, therefore fiber cable is
small in size, requires less storage space.
8. More strength
Fiber cables are stronger and rugged hence can support more weight.
9. Security
Fiber cables are more secure than other cables. It is almost impossible to tap into a fiber
cable as they do not radiate signals. No ground loops exist between optical fibers hence they are
more secure.
10. Long distance transmission
Because of less attenuation transmission at a longer distance is possible.
11. Environment immune
Fiber cables are more immune to environmental extremes. They can operate over large
temperature variations. Also they are not affected by corrosive liquids and gases.
12. Sage and easy installation
Fiber cables are safer and easier to install and maintain. They are non-conductors hence
there is no shock hazards as no current or voltage is associated with them. Their small size and
light weight feature makes installation easier.
13. Less cost
Cost of fiber optic system is less compared to any other system.

4. Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Communications

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1. High initial cost

The initial cost of installation or setting up cost is very high compared to all other system.
2. Maintenance and repairing cost
The maintenance and repairing of fiber optic systems is not only difficult but expensive
also.
3. Jointing and test procedures
Since optical fibers are of very small size. The fiber joining process is very costly and
requires skilled manpower.
4. Tensile stress
Optical fibers are more susceptible to buckling, bending and tensile stress than copper cables.
This leads to restricted practice to use optical fiber technology to premises and floor backbones
with a few interfaces to the copper cables.
5. Short links
Even though optical fiber cables are inexpensive, it is still not cost effective to replace every
small conventional connector (e.g. between computers and peripherals), as the price of
optoelectronic transducers are very high.
6. Fiber losses
The amount of optical fiber available to the photo detector at the end of fiber length depends
on various fiber losses such as scattering, dispersion, attenuation and reflection.

5. Applications of Optical Fiber Communications

Applications of optical fiber communications include telecommunications, data
communications, video control and protection switching, sensors and power applications.
1. Telephone networks
Optical waveguide has low attenuation, high transmission bandwidth compared to copper
lines; therefore numbers of long haul co-axial trunks links between telephone exchanges are
being replaced by optical fiber links.
2. Urban broadband service networks
Optical waveguide provides much larger bandwidth than co-axial cable, also the
number of repeaters required is reduced considerably.

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Modern suburban communications involves videotext, videoconferencing Video

telephony Switched broadband communication network. All these can be supplied
over a single fiber optic link. Fiber optic cables is the solution to many of today‘s
high speed, high bandwidth data communication problems and will continue to play a
large role in future telecom and data-com networks.
6. Optical Fiber Waveguides
In free space light ravels as its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or 186 x 103
miles/sec. When light travels through a material it exhibits certain behavior explained by laws of
reflection, refraction.
a. Electromagnetic Spectrum
The radio waves and light are electromagnetic waves. The rate at which they alternate
in polarity is called their frequency (f) measured in hertz (Hz). The speed of
electromagnetic wave (c) in free space is approximately 3 x 108 m/sec. The distance
travelled during each cycle is called as wavelength (λ)

In fiber optics, it is more convenient to use the wavelength of light instead of the
frequency with light frequencies, wavlengfth is often stated in microns or nanometers
1 micron (μ) = 1 Micrometre (1 x 10-6)
1 nano (n) = 10-9 metre
Fig. 1.6.1 shows electromagnetic frequency spectrum.

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Fiber optics uses visible and infrared light. Infrared light covers a fairly wide range of
wavelengths and is generally used for all fiber optic communications. Visible light is normally
used for very short range transmission using a plastic fiber.

7. Ray Transmission Theory

Before studying how the light actually propagates through the fiber, laws governing the
nature of light m ust be studied. These was called as laws of optics (Ray theory). There is
conception that light always travels at the same speed. This fact is simply not true. The speed of
light depends upon the material or medium through which it is moving. In free space light travels
at its maximum possible speed i.e. 3 x 108 m/s or 186 x 103 miles/sec. When light travels
through a material it exhibits certain behavior explained by laws of reflection, refraction.
b. Reflection
The law of reflection states that, when a light ray is incident upon a reflective surface at some
incident angle 1 from imaginary perpendicular normal, the ray will be reflected from the
surface at some angle 2 from normal which is equal to the angle of incidence. Fig. 1.6.2 shows
law of reflection.

c. Refraction
Refraction occurs when light ray passes from one medium to another i.e. the light ray
changes its direction at interface. Refraction occurs whenever density of medium changes. E.g.
refraction occurs at air and water interface, the straw in a glass of water will appear as it is bent.
The refraction can also observed at air and glass interface.
When wave passes through less dense medium to denser medium, the wave is
refracted (bent) towards the normal. Fig. 1.6.3 shows the refraction phenomena.
The refraction (bending) takes place because light travels at different speed in
different mediums. The speed of light in free space is higher than in water or glass.
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d. Refractive Index
The amount of refraction or bending that occurs at the interface of two materials of
different densities is usually expressed as refractive index of two materials. Refractive
index is also known as index of refraction and is denoted by n.
Based on material density, the refractive index is expressed as the ratio of the
velocity of light in free space to the velocity of light of the dielectric material
(substance).

The refractive index for vacuum and air os 1.0 for water it is 1.3 and for glass refractive
index is 1.5.
e. Snell’s Law
Snell‘s law states how light ray reacts when it meets the interface of two media
having different indexes of refraction.
Let the two medias have refractive indexes n1 and n2 where n1 >n2.
1 and 2 be the angles of incidence and angle of refraction respectively. Then
according to Snell‘s law, a relationship exists between the refractive index of both
materials given by,

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A refractive index model for Snell‘s law is shown in Fig. 1.6.4.

The refracted wave will be towards the normal when n1 < n2 and will away from it
then n1 > n2.
Equation can be written as,

This equation shows that the ratio of refractive index of two mediums is inversely
proportional to the refractive and incident angles. As refractive index

substituting these values in equation

f. Critical Angle
When the angle of incidence ( 1) is progressively increased, there will be progressive
increase of refractive angle ( 2). At some condition ( 1) the refractive angle ( 2)
becomes 90o to the normal. When this happens the refracted light ray travels along

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the interface. The angle of incidence ( 1) at the point at which the refractive angle
( 1) becomes 90 degree is called the critical angle. It is denoted by c.
The critical angle is defined as the minimum angle of incidence ( 1) at which the ray
strikes the interface of two media and causes an angle of refraction ( 2) equal to 90o.
Fig 1.6.5 shows critical angle refraction

Hence at critical angle 1 = c and 2 = 90o .Using Snell‘s law: n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2

The actual value of critical angle is dependent upon combination of materials present on
each side of boundary.
g. Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
When the incident angle is increase beyond the critical angle, the light ray does not
pass through the interface into the other medium. This gives the effect of mirror exist
at the interface with no possibility of light escaping outside the medium. In this
condition angle of reflection ( 2) is equal to angle of incidence ( 1). This action is
called as Total Internal Reflection (TIR) of the beam. It is TIR that leads to the

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propagation of waves within fiber-cable medium. TIR can be observed only in

materials in which the velocity of light is less than in air.
The two conditions necessary for TIR to occur are:
1. The refractive index of first medium must be greater than the refractive index
of second one.
2. The angle of incidence must be greater than (or equal to) the critical angle.
h. Acceptance Angle
Applying Snell‘s law to external incidence angle.

n0 sin 0 = n1 sin 1
But 1 = (90 - c)
sin 1 = sing (90 - c) = cos c
Substituting sin 1 in above equation.
n0 sin 0 = n1 cos c

Applying Pythagorean Theorem to ΔPQR.

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The maximum value of external incidence angle for which light will propagate in the
fiber.

When the light rays enters the fivers from an air medium n0 = 1. Then above equation
reduces to,

The angle 0 is called as acceptance angle and omax defines the maximum angle in
which the light ray may incident on fiber to propagate down the fiber.

i. Acceptance Cone

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Rotating the acceptance angle omax around the fiber axis, a cone shaped pattern is
obtained, it is called as acceptance cone of the fiber input. Fig 1.6.10 shows formation of
acceptance cone of a fiber cable.

The Cone of acceptance is the angle within which the light is accepted into the core and
is able to travel along the fiber. The launching of light wave becomes easier for large acceptance
cone.
The angle is measured from the axis of the positive cone so the total angle of
convergence is actually twice the stated value.
j. Numerical Aperture (NA)
The numerical aperture (NA) of a fiber is a figure of merit which represents its light
gathering capability. Larger the numerical aperture, the greater the amount of light
accepted by fiber. The acceptance angle also determines how much light is able to be
enter the fiber and hence there is relation between the numerical aperture and the cone
of acceptance.
Numerical aperture (NA) = sin omax

Hence acceptance angle = sin-1 NA

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By the formula of NA note that the numerical aperture is effectively dependent

only on refractive indices of core and cladding material. NA is not a function of fiber
dimension.
The index difference (Δ) and the numerical aperture (NA) are related to the core and
cladding indices:

Example 1.6.1: A light ray is incident from medium-1 to medium-2. If the refractive indices of
medium-1 and medium-2 are 1.5 and 1.36 respectively then determine the angle of refraction for
an angle of incidence of 30o.
Solution: Medium-1, n1 = 1.5
Medium-2, n2 = 1.36
Angle of incidence 1 = 30o.
Angle of incident 2 =?

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Angle of refraction 33.46 degrees from normal.

8. Optical Fiver as Waveguide
An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide capable of conveying
electromagnetic waves at optical frequencies. The electromagnetic energy is in the form of
the light and propagates along the axis of the fiber. The structural of the fiver determines the
transmission characteristics.
The propagation of light along the waveguide is decided by the modes of the
waveguides, here mode means path. Each mode has distict pattern of electric and
magnetic field distributions along the fiber length. Only few modes can satisfy the
homogeneous wave equation in the fiver also the boundary condition a waveguide
surfaces. When there is only one path for light to follow then it is called as single
mode propagation. When there is more than one path then it is called as multimode
propagation. Single fiber structure
A single fiber structure is shown in Fig. 1.6.6. It consists of a solid dielectric cylinder
with radius ‗a‘. This cylinder is called as core of fiber. The core is surrounded by
dielectric, called cladding. The index of refraction of core (glass fiber) is slightly
greater than the index of refraction of cladding. If refractive index of core (glass
fiver) = n1 and refractive index of cladding = n2 then n1 > n2.

9. Modes of Fiber
Fiber cables cal also be classified as per their mode. Light rays propagate as an
electromagnetic wave along the fiber. The two components, the electric field and the
magnetic field form patterns across the fiber. These patterns are called modes of
transmission. The mode of a fiber refers to the number of paths for the light rays within the
cable. According to modes optic fibers can be classified into two types.
1. Single mode fiber

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2. Multimode fiber.
Multimode fiber was the first fiber type to be manufactured and commercialized.
The term multimode simply refers to the fact that numerous modes (light rays) are carried
simultaneously through the waveguide. Multimode fiber has a much larger diameter,
compared to single mode fiber, this allows large number of modes.
Single mode fiber allows propagation to light ray by only one path. Single mode
fibers are best at retaining the fidelity of each light pulse over longer distance also they do
not exhibit dispersion caused by multiple modes. Thus more information can be transmitted
per unit of time. This gives single mode fiber higher bandwidth compared to multimode
fiber.
Some disadvantages of single mode fiber are smaller core diameter makes
coupling light into the core more difficult. Precision required for single mode connectors and
splices are more demanding.
Fiber Profiles
A fiber is characterized by its profile and by its core and cladding diameters.
One way of classifying the fiber cables is according to the index profile at fiber.
The index profile is a graphical representation of value of refractive index across the core
diameter.
There are two basic types of index profiles.
1. Step index fiber.
2. Graded index fiber.
Step Index (SI) Fiber
The step index (SI) fiber is a cylindrical waveguide core with central or inner core has a
uniform refractive index of n1 and the core is surrounded by outer cladding with uniform
refractive index of n2. The cladding refractive index (n2) is less than the core refractive index
(n1). But there is an abrupt change in the refractive index at the core cladding interface.
Refractive index profile of step indexed optical fiber is shown in Fig. 1.6.13. The refractive
index is plotted on horizontal axis and radial distance from the core is plotted on vertical
axis.

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The propagation of light wave within the core of step index fiber takes the path of
meridional ray i.e. ray follows a zig-zag path of straight line segments. The core typically has
diameter of 50-80 μm and the cladding has a diameter of 125 μm.
The refractive index profile is defined as –

Graded Index (GRIN) Fiber

The graded index fiber has a core made from many layers of glass.
In the graded index (GRIN) fiber the refractive index is not uniform within the
core, it is highest at the center and decreases smoothly and continuously with distance
towards the cladding. The refractive index profile across the core takes the parabolic nature.
Fig. 1.6.14 shows refractive index profile of graded index fiber .

In graded index fiber the light waves are bent by refraction towards the core axis
and they follow the curved path down the fiber length. This results because of change in
refractive index as moved away from the center of the core.
A graded index fiber has lower coupling efficiency and higher bandwidth than the
step index fiber. It is available in 50/125 and 62.5/125 sizes. The 50/125 fiber has been
optimized for long haul applications and has a smaller NA and higher bandwidth. 62.5/125
fiber is optimized for LAN applications which is costing 25% more than the 50/125 fiber
cable.

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The refractive index variation in the core is giver by relationship

Where,
r = Radial distance from fiber axis
a = Core radius
n1 = Refractive index of core
n2 = Refractive index of cladding
α = Shape of index profile.
Comparison of Step Index and Graded Index Fiber

Optic Fiber Configurations

Depending on the refractive index profile of fiber and modes of fiber there exist three
types of optical fiber configurations. These optic-fiber configurations are -
Single mode step index fiber.

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Multimode step index fiber.

Multimode graded index fiber.
Single mode Step index Fiber
In single mode step index fiber has a central core that is sufficiently small so that
there is essentially only one path for light ray through the cable. The light ray is propagated
in the fiber through reflection. Typical core sizes are 2 to 15 μm. Single mode fiber is also
known as fundamental or mono mode fiber.
Fig. 1.6.16 shows single mode fiber.

Single mode fiber will permit only one mode to propagate and does not suffer
from mode delay differences. These are primarily developed for the 1300 nm window but
they can be also be used effectively with time division multiple (TDM) and wavelength
division multiplex (WDM) systems operating in 1550 nm wavelength region.
The core fiber of a single mode fiber is very narrow compared to the wavelength
of light being used. Therefore, only a single path exists through the cable core through. which
light can travel. Usually, 20 percent of the light in a single mode cable actually travels down
the cladding and the effective diameter of the cable is a blend of single mode core and degree
to which the cladding carries light. This is referred to as the ‗mode field diameter‘, which is
larger than physical diameter of the core depending on the refractive indices of the core and
cladding.
The disadvantage of this type of cable is that because of extremely small size
interconnection of cables and interfacing with source is difficult. Another disadvantage of
single mode fibers is that as the refractive index of glass decreases with optical wavelength,
the light velocity will also be wavelength dependent. Thus the light from an optical
transmitter will have definite spectral width.
Multimode step Index Fiber

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Multimode step index fiber is more widely used type. It is easy to manufacture. Its
core diameter is 50 to 1000 μm i.e. large aperture and allows more light to enter the cable.
The light rays are propagated down the core in zig-zag manner. There are many paths that a
light ray may follow during the propagation.
The light ray is propagated using the principle of total internal reflection (TIR).
Since the core index of refraction is higher than the cladding index of refraction, the light
enters at less than critical angle is guided along the fiber.

Light rays passing through the fiber are continuously reflected off the glass
cladding towards the centre of the core at different angles and lengths, limiting overall
bandwidth.
The disadvantage of multimode step index fibers is that the different optical
lengths caused by various angles at which light is propagated relative to the core, causes the
transmission bandwidth to be fairly small. Because of these limitations, multimode step index
fiber is typically only used in applications requiring distances of less than 1 km.
Multimode Graded Index Fiber
The core size of multimode graded index fiber cable is varying from 50 to 100 μm
range. The light ray is propagated through the refraction. The light ray enters the fiber at
many different angles. As the light propagates across the core toward the center it is
intersecting a less dense to more dense medium. Therefore the light rays are being constantly
being refracted and ray is bending continuously. This cable is mostly used for long distance
communication.
Fig 1.6.18 shows multimode graded index fiber.

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The light rays no longer follow straight lines, they follow a serpentine path being
gradually bent back towards the center by the continuously declining refractive index. The
modes travelling in a straight line are in a higher refractive index so they travel slower than
the serpentine modes. This reduces the arrival time disparity because all modes arrive at
about the same time.
Fig 1.6.19 shows the light trajectory in detail. It is seen that light rays running
close to the fiber axis with shorter path length, will have a lower velocity because they pass
through a region with a high refractive index.

Rays on core edges offers reduced refractive index, hence travel more faster than axial
rays and cause the light components to take same amount of time to travel the length of fiber,
thus minimizing dispersion losses. Each path at a different angle is termed as ‗transmission
mode‘ and the NA of graded index fiber is defined as the maximum value of acceptance
angle at the fiber axis.
Typical attenuation coefficients of graded index fibers at 850 nm are 2.5 to 3
dB/km, while at 1300 nm they are 1.0 to 1.5 dB/km.
The main advantages of graded index fiber are:
1. Reduced refractive index at the centre of core.
2. Comparatively cheap to produce.
10. Mode Theory for Cylindrical Waveguide
To analyze the optical fiber propagation mechanism within a fiber, Maxwell equations
are to solve subject to the cylindrical boundary conditions at core-cladding interface. The

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core-cladding boundary conditions lead to coupling of electric and magnetic field

components resulting in hybrid modes. Hence the analysis of optical waveguide is more
complex than metallic hollow waveguide analysis.
Depending on the large E-field, the hybrid modes are HE or EH modes. The two
lowest order does are HE11 and TE01.
11. Overview of Modes
The order states the number of field zeros across the guide. The electric fields are
not completely confined within the core i.e. they do not go to zero at core-cladding interface
nd extends into the cladding. The low order mode confines the electric field near the axis of
the fiber core and there is less penetration into the cladding. While the high order mode
distribute the field towards the edge of the core fiber and penetrations into the cladding.
Therefore cladding modes also appear resulting in power loss. In leaky modes the fields are
confined partially in the fiber core attenuated as they propagate along the fiber length due to
radiation and tunnel effect.
Therefore in order to mode remain guided, the propagation factor β must satisfy
the Condition

Where, n1 = Refractive index of fiber core

n2 = Refractive index of cladding
k = Propagation constant = 2π / λ
The cladding is used to prevent scattering loss that results from core material
discontinuities. Cladding also improves the mechanical strength of fiber core and reduces
surface contamination. Plastic cladding is commonly used. Materials used for fabrication of
optical fibers are silicon dioxide (SiO2), boric oxide-silica.
Summary of Key Modal Concepts

Normalized frequency variable, V is defined as

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Where, a = Core radius

λ = Free space wavelength

The total number of modes in a multimode fiber is given by

Example 1.7.1 : Calculate the number of modes of an optical fiber having diameter of 50 μm, n1
= 1.48, n2 = 1.46 and λ = 0.82 μm.

Solution: d = 50 μm
n1 = 1.48
n2 = 1.46
λ = 0.82 μm

Number of modes is given by,

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Example 1.7.3: A multimode step index fiber with a core diameter of 80 μm and a relative index
difference of 1.5 % is operating at a wavelength of 0.85 μm. If the core refractive index is 1.48,
estimate the normalized frequency for the fiber and number of guided modes. [July/Aug.-2008,
6 Marks]

Solution:
Given : MM step index fiber, 2 a = 80 μm
 Core radians a = 40 μm
Relative index difference, Δ = 1.5% = 0.015
Wavelength, λ = 0.85μm
Core refractive index, n1 = 1.48
Normalized frequency, V =?
Number of modes, M =?
Numerical aperture

Normalized frequency is given by,

Number of modes is given by,

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Example 1.7.4: A step index multimode fiber with a numerical aperture of a 0.20 supports
approximately 1000 modes at an 850 nm wavelength.
i) What is the diameter of its core?
ii) How many modes does the fiber support at 1320 nm?
iii) How many modes does the fiber support at 1550 nm? [Jan./Feb.-2007, 10 Marks]

Solution:

i) Number of modes is given by,

ii)

iii)

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12. Mode Field Diameter and Spot Size

The mode filed diameter is fundamental parameter of a single mode fiber. This parameter
is determined from mode field distributions of fundamental LP01 mode.
In step index and graded single mode fibers, the field amplitude distribution is
approximated by Gaussian distribution. The mode Field diameter (MFD) is distance between
opposite 1/e – 0.37 times the near field strength amplitude and power is 1/e2 = 0.135 times.
In single mode fiber for fundamental mode, on field amplitude distribution the
mode filed diameter is shown in fig. 1.8.1.

The spot size ω0 is gives as –

MFD = 2 ω0
The parameter takes into account the wavelength dependent filed penetration into the
cladding. Fig. 1.8.2 shows mode field diameters variation with λ.

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13. Fiber Materials

Requirements of Fiber Optic Material
1. The material must be transparent for efficient transmission of light.
2. It must be possible to draw long thin fibers from the material.
3. Fiber material must be compatible with the cladding material.
Glass and plastics fulfills these requirements.
Most fiber consists of silica (SiO2) or silicate. Various types of high loss and low
loss glass fibers are available to suit the requirements. Plastic fibers are not popular because
of high attenuation they have better mechanical strength.
Glass Fibers
Glass is made by fusing mixtures of metal oxides having refractive index of 1.458
at 850 nm. For changing the refractive index different oxides such as B2O3, GeO2 and P2O5
are added as dopant. Fig. 1.8.3 shows variation of refractive index with doping concentration.

The principal raw material for silica is sand and glass. The fiber composed of pure
silica is called as silica glass. The desirable properties of silica glass are :-
Resistance to deformation even at high temperature.
Resistance to breakage from thermal shocks (low thermal expansion).

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Good chemical durability.

Better transparency.
Other types of glass fibers are
Halide glass fibers.
Active glass fibers
Chalgenide glass fibers
Plastic optical fibers
Fiber Fabrication Methods
The vapor-phase oxidation process is popularly used for fabricating optical fibers.
In this process vapors of metal halides such as SiCl4 and Gecl4 reactive with oxygen and
forms powder of SiO2 particles. The SiO2 particles are collected on surface of bulk glass and
then sintered to form a glass rod called Preform. The preforms are typically 10-25 mm
diameter and 60-120 cm long from which fibers are drawn. A simple schematic of fiber
drawing equipment
The preform is feed to drawing furnace by precision feed mechanism. The
preform is heated up in drawing furnace so that it becomes soft and fiber can be drawn easily.

The fiber thickness monitoring decides the speed of take up spool. The fiber is then
coated with elastic material to protect it from dust and water vapor.

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Outside Vapor-Phase Oxidation (OVPO)

The OVPO process is a lateral deposition process. In OVPO process a layer of
SiO2 (Soot) is deposited from a burner on a rotating mandrel so as to make a perform.
Fig, 1.8.5 shows this process.

During the SiO2 deposition O2 and metal halide vapors can be controlled so the
desired core-cladding diameters can be incorporated. The mandrel is removed when
deposition process is completed; this preform is used for drawing thin filament of fibers in
fiber drawing equipment.
Vapor-Phase Axial Deposition (VAD)
In VAD process, the SiO2 particles are deposited axially. The rod is continuously
rotated and moved upward to maintain symmetry of particle deposition.
The advantages of VAD process are - Both step and graded index fibers are
possible to fabricate in multimode and single mode.
The performs does not have the central hole.
The performs can be fabricated in continuous length.
Clean environment can be maintained.
Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD)
The MCVD process involves depositing ultra fine, vaporized raw materials into a
premade silica tube. A hollow silica tube is heated to about 1500 oC and a mixture of oxygen
and metal halide gases is passed through it. A chemical reaction occurs within the gas and
glass ‗500t‘ is formed and deposited on the inner side of the tube. The soot that develops
from this deposition is consolidated by heating. The tube is rotated while the heater is moved
to and along the tube and the soot forms a thin layer of silica glass. The rotation and heater
movement ensures that the layer is of constant thickness. The first layer that is deposited

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forms the cladding and by changing the constituents of the incoming gas the refractive index
can be modified to produce the core. Graded index fiber is produced by careful continuous
control of the constituents.
The temperature is now increased to about 1800 oC and the tube is collapsed to
form a solid rod called a preform. The preform is about 25 mm in diameter and 1 meter in
length. This will produce 25 km of fiber.

The preform is placed at a height called a pulling tower and its temperature is
increased to about 2100 oC. To prevent contamination, the atmosphere is kept dry and clean.

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The fiber is then pulled as a fine strand from the bottom, the core and cladding flowing
towards the pulling point. Laser gauges continually monitor the thickness of the fiber and
automatically adjust the pilling rate to maintain required thickness. After sufficient cooling
the primary buffer is applied and the fiber is drummed.
Fig. 1.8.6 (Refer Fig. 1.8.6 on previous page) shows the overall MCVD process.

Plasma-Activated Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD)

PCVD process is similar to MCVD process where the deposition occurs on silica
tube at 1200 oC. It reduces mechanical stress on glass films. There is no soot formation and
hence sintering is not required. Non-isothermal microwave plasma at low pressure initiates
the chemical reaction.

Double-Crucible Method
Double-crucible method is a direct melt process. In double-crucible method two
different glass rods for core and Cladding are used as feedstock for two concentric crucibles.
The inner crucible is for core and outer crucible is for cladding. The fibers can be drawn from
the orifices in the crucible. Fig. 1.8.7 shows double crucible method of fiber drawing.

Major advantage of double crucible method is that it is a continuous production process.

14. Fiber Optic Cables
The fiber optic cable is to be used under variety of situations such as underground,
Outdoor poles or submerged under water. The structure of cable depends on the situation where
it is to be used, but the basic cable design principles remain same.

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Mechanical property of cable is one of the important factor for using any specific
cable. Maximum allowable axial load on cable decides the length of the cable be reliably
installed.
Also the fiber cables must be able to absorb energy from impact loads. The outer
sheath must be designed to protect glass fibers from impact loads and from corrosive
environmental elements.
Fiber Arrangements
Several arrangements of fiber cables are done to use it for different applications.
The most basic form is two fiber cable designs. Fig. 1.10.1 shows basic two fiber cable
design. It is also known as basic building block of fiber cable.
For providing strength to the core several coatings of different materials are
applied as shown in fig 1.10.1.

Multiple fiber cable can be combined together using similar techniques. Fig. 1.10.2
shows commonly used six fiber cables.
The basic fiber building blocks are used to form large cable. These units are
bound on a buffer material which acts as strength element along with insulated copper
conductor. The fiber building blocks are surrounded by paper tape, PVC jacket, yarn and
outer sheath.

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Fiber Optic Cable Ducts

Number of cores is bundled in plastic ducts. To ease identification, individual
fibers are colour coded Table 1.10.1 shows an example of the colour coding used by
manufacturers

If there are more than 12 fibers in a tube they are usually bundled together in
quantities of 12 and held together with a coloured binding yarn.

Plastic Fiber Optic Cables

Fibers can also be manufactured from transparent plastic which offers advantages
of larger diameter (1 mm), increased flexibility, can be cut using a hot razor blade, ease of
termination. But because of high intrinsic loss use of plastic fibers is normally restricted to
only few metres.
Plastic optic fiber (POF) offers noise immunity and low cable weight and volume
and is competitive with shielded copper wire making it suitable for industrial applications.

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Silica (glass) optical fiber has better transmission characteristics (Low loss) than
POF. Also, silica fiber can tolerate higher temperature than plastic fiber. On the other hand,
POF is more flexible, less prove to breakage, easier to fabricate and cost is low than glass
fibers.
Another advantage of glass/glass fiber is that very clean fracture surface can be
obtained which ensures that fiber cladding inside the connector retains its optical
characteristics right upto the end face to fiber. Whereas in plastic glass/plastic fiber some
additional losses exists due to fracture zone of plastic which even after grinding and
polishing still have microscope end face absorption areas. These advantages and
disadvantages are summarized in Table 1.10.3.

Recommended Questions
1. State and explain the advantages and disadvantages of fiber optic communication systems?
2. State and explain in brief the principle of light propagation?
3. Define following terms with respect to optical laws –
A) Reflection
B) Refraction
C) Refractive index
D) Snell‘s law
E) Critical angle
F) Total internal reflection (TIR)
4. Explain the important conditions for TIR to exit in fiber.?

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5. Derive an expression for maximum acceptance angle of a fiber?

6. Explain the acceptance come of a fiber?
7. Define numerical aperture and state its significance also?
8. Explain the different types of rays in fiber optic?
9. Explain the following –?
A) Step index fiber
B) Graded index fiber
10. What is mean by mode of a fiber?
11. Write short notes on following –
A) Single mode step index fiber
B) Multimode step index fiber
C) Multimode graded index fiber.
12. Explain the fiber materials used in fabrication requirements?
13. In case of glass fibers how the refractive index can be varied?
14. Briefly explain following techniques of fabrication?
i) OVPO ii) VAD iii) MCVD iv) PCVD

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