SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

UNIT-I
SEC1407 - Optical Communications

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UNIT - I
INTRODUCTION TO OPTICAL FIBERS
Basics of optical communication system, light propagation in optical fibers, Optical
spectral bands, Advantages of optical fiber communication over other
communication systems, Ray theory and mode theory. Total internal reflection,
Acceptance angle, Numerical aperture, phase and group velocity, cutoff
wavelength & group delay. Different types of optical fibers, refractive index
profiles & mode transmission.

I. OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION

Communication may be broadly defined as the transfer of

information from one point to another. When the information is to be
conveyed over any distance a communication system is usually required.
Within a communication system the information transfer is frequently
achieved by superimposing or modulating the information onto an
electromagnetic wave which acts as a carrier for the information signal.
This modulated carrier is then transmitted to the required destination where
it is received and the original information signal is obtained by
demodulation. Sophisticated techniques have been developed for this
process using electromagnetic carrier waves operating at radio frequencies
as well as microwave and millimeter wave frequencies. However,
‘communication’ may also be achieved using an electromagnetic carrier
which is selected from the optical range offrequencies.

1.1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

The use of visible optical carrier waves or light for communication
has been common for many years. Simple systems such as signal fires,
reflecting mirrors and, more recently, signaling lamps have provided
successful, if limited, information transfer. Moreover, as early as 1880
Alexander Graham Bell reported the transmission of speech using a light
beam [1]. The photophone proposed by Bell just four years after the
invention of the telephone modulated sunlight with a diaphragm giving
speech transmission over a distance of 200 m. However, although some
investigation of optical communication continued in the early part of the
twentieth century [2,3] its use was limited to mobile, low-capacity
communication links. This was due to both the lack of suitable light sources
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and the problem that light transmission in the atmosphere is restricted to
line of sight and is severely affected by disturbances such as rain, snow,
fog, dust and atmospheric turbulence.
Nevertheless lower frequency and hence longer wavelength
electromagnetic waves (i.e. radio and microwave) proved suitable carriers
for information transfer in the atmosphere, being far less affected by these
atmospheric conditions. Depending on their wave- lengths, these
electromagnetic carriers can be transmitted over considerable distances
but are limited in the amount of information they can convey by their
frequencies (i.e. the information-carrying capacity is directly related to the
bandwidth or frequency extent of the modulated carrier, which is generally
limited to a fixed fraction of the carrier frequency).
In theory, the greater the carrier frequency, the larger the available
transmission bandwidth and thus the information-carrying capacity of the
communication system. For this reason radio communication was developed
to higher frequencies (i.e. VHF and UHF) leading to the introduction of the
even higher frequency microwave and, latterly, millimeter wave
transmission.
The relative frequencies and wavelengths of these types of electro-
magnetic wave can be observed from the electromagnetic spectrum shown
in Figure 1. In this context, it may also be noted that communication at
optical frequencies offers an increase in the potential usable bandwidth by a
factor of around 104 over high-frequency microwave transmission. An
additional benefit of the use of high carrier frequencies is the general ability
of the communication system to concentrate the available power within the
transmitted electromagnetic wave, thus giving an improved system
performance [4].

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 Figure 1: The electromagnetic spectrum showing the region used for optical
fiber communications
A renewed interest in optical communication was stimulated in the
early 1960s with the invention of the laser [5]. This device provided a
powerful coherent light source, together with the possibility of modulation
at high frequency. In addition, the low beam divergence of the laser made
enhanced free space optical transmission a practical possibility. However, the
previously mentioned constraints of light transmission in the atmosphere
tended to restrict these systems to short-distance applications. Nevertheless,
despite the problems some modest free space optical communication links
have been implemented for applications such as the linking of a television
camera to a base vehicle and for data links of a few hundred meters between
buildings. There is also some interest in optical communication between
satellites in outer space using similar techniques [6].
Although the use of the laser for free space optical communication
proved somewhat limited, the invention of the laser instigated a tremendous
research effort into the study of optical components to achieve reliable
information transfer using a lightwave carrier.
The proposals for optical communication via dielectric waveguides
or optical fibers fabricated from glass to avoid degradation of the optical
signal by the atmosphere were made almost simultaneously in 1966 by Kao
and Hockham [7] and Werts [8]. Such systems were viewed as a
replacement for coaxial cable or carrier transmission systems. Initially the
optical fibers exhibited very high attenuation (i.e. 1000 dB km-1) and were
therefore not comparable with the coaxial cables they were to replace (i.e. 5
to 10 dB km-1). There were also serious problems involved in joining the
fiber cables in a satisfactory manner to achieve low loss and to enable the
process to be performed relatively easily and repeatedly. Nevertheless,
within the space of 10 years optical fiber losses were reduced to below 5 dB
km-1 and suitable low-loss jointing techniques wereperfected.
In parallel with the development of the fiber waveguide,
semiconductor optical sources (i.e. injection lasers and light-emitting diodes)
and detectors (i.e. photodiodes and to a lesser extent phototransistors)
compatible in size with optical fibers were designed and fabricated to enable
successful implementation of the optical fiber system. These devices were
originally fabricated from alloys of gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) which
emitted in the near infrared between 0.8µm and 0.9µm. Subsequently the
above wavelength range was extended to include the 1.1µm to 1.6µm region
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by the use of other semiconductor alloys. To obtain low loss over the entire
fiber transmission longer wavelength region from 1.3µm to 1.6µm, or
alternatively, very low loss and low dispersion at the same operating
wavelength of typically 1.55µm, advanced single-mode fiber structures
have been commercially realized: namely, low-water-peak fiber and
nonzero dispersion-shifted fiber.
1.2 OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

An optical fiber communication system is similar in basic concept to

any type of communication system. A block schematic of a general
communication system is shown in Figure 2(a), the function of which is to
convey the signal from the information source over the transmission
medium to the destination. The communication system therefore consists of
a transmitter or modulator linked to the information source, the
transmission medium, and a receiver or demodulator at the destination
point. In electrical communications the information source provides an
electrical signal, usually derived from a message signal which is not
electrical (e.g. sound), to a transmitter comprising electrical and electronic
components which converts the signal into a suitable form for propagation
over the transmission medium. This is often achieved by modulating a
carrier, which, as mentioned previously, may be an electromagnetic wave.
The transmission medium can consist of a pair of wires, a coaxial
cable or a radio link through free space down which the signal is
transmitted to the receiver, where it is transformed into the original
electrical information signal (demodulated) before being passed to the
destination. However, it must be noted that in any transmission medium the
signal is attenuated, or suffers loss, and is subject to degradations due to
contamination by random signals and noise, as well as possible distortions
imposed by mechanisms within the medium itself.

Therefore, in any communication system there is a maximum

permitted distance between the transmitter and the receiver beyond which
the system effectively ceases to give intelligible communication. For long-
haul applications, these factors necessitate the installation of repeaters or
line amplifiers.

For optical fiber communications, the system components are given

in Figure 1.2(b). In this case, the information source provides an electrical
signal to a transmitter comprising an electrical stage, which drives an
optical source to give modulation of the lightwave carrier.
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Figure2: (a) Thegeneralcommunicationsystem.(b) Theopticalfiber communication
system

The optical source, which provides the electrical–optical conversion,

may be either a semiconductor laser or light-emitting diode (LED). The
transmission medium consists of an optical fiber cable and the receiver
consists of an optical detector, which drives a further electrical stage and
hence provides demodulation of the optical carrier. Photodiodes ( p–n, p–i–
n or avalanche) and, in some instances, phototransistors and
photoconductors are utilized for the detection of the optical signal and the
optical–electrical conversion.
The optical carrier may be modulated using either an analog or
digital information signal. In the system shown in Figure 1.2(b), analog
modulation involves the variation of the light emitted from the optical
source in a continuous manner. With digital modulation, however, discrete
changes in the light intensity are obtained (i.e. on–off pulses). Although
often simpler to implement, analog modulation with an optical fiber
communication system is less efficient, requiring a far higher signal-to-
noise ratio at the receiver than digital modulation. Also, the linearity needed
for analog modulation is not always provided by semiconductor optical
sources, especially at high modulation frequencies. For these reasons, analog

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optical fiber communication links are generally limited to shorter distances
and lower bandwidth operation than digital optical links.

Figure 3: Adigitalopticalfiberlinkusingasemiconductorlasersourceandan
avalanche photodiode(APD) detector.

Figure 3, shows a block schematic of a typical digital optical fiber

link. Initially, the input digital signal from the information source is
suitably encoded for optical transmission. The laser drive circuit directly
modulates the intensity of the semiconductor laser with the encoded digital
signal. Hence a digital optical signal is launched into the optical fiber cable.
The avalanche photodiode (APD) detector is followed by a front-end
amplifier and equalizer or filter to provide gain as well as linear signal
processing and noise bandwidth reduction. Finally, the signal obtained is
decoded to give the original digital information.
1.3 ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBERCOMMUNICATION
Communication using an optical carrier wave guided along a glass
fiber has a number of extremely attractive features, several of which were
apparent when the technique was originally conceived. Furthermore, the
advances in the technology to date have surpassed even the most optimistic
predictions, creating additional advantages. Hence it is useful to consider
the merits and special features offered by optical fiber communications
over more conventional electrical communications. In this context we
commence with the originally foreseen advantages and then consider
additional features which have become apparent as the technology has been
developed.
Enormous potential bandwidth. The optical carrier frequency in the range
1013 to 1016 Hz (generally in the near infrared around 1014 Hz or 105
GHz yields a far greater potential transmission bandwidth than metallic
cable systems (i.e. coaxial cable bandwidth typically around 20 MHz over

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distances up to a maximum of 10 km) or even millimeter wave radio
systems (i.e. systems currently operating with modulation bandwidths of
700 MHz over a few hundreds of meters). Indeed, by the year 2000 the
typical bandwidth multiplied by length product for an optical fiber link
incorporating fiber amplifiers was 5000 GHz km in comparison with the
typical bandwidth–length product for coaxial cable of around 100 MHz
km. Hence at this time optical fiber was already demonstrating a factor of
50 000 bandwidth improvement over coaxial cable while also providing
this superior information-carrying capacity over much longer transmission
distances [16].
Small size and weight. Optical fibers have very small diameters which are
often no greater than the diameter of a human hair. Hence, even when such
fibers are covered with protective coatings they are far smaller and much
lighter than corresponding copper cables. This is a tremendous boon
towards the alleviation of duct congestion in cities, as well as allowing for
an expansion of signal transmission within mobiles such as aircraft,
satellites and even ships.
Electrical isolation. Optical fibers which are fabricated from glass, or
sometimes a plastic polymer, are electrical insulators and therefore, unlike
their metallic counterparts, they do not exhibit earth loop and interface
problems. Furthermore, this property makes optical fiber transmission
ideally suited for communication in electrically hazardous environments as
the fibers create no arcing or spark hazard at abrasions or short circuits.
Immunity to interference and crosstalk. Optical fibers form a dielectric
waveguide and are therefore free from electromagnetic interference (EMI),
radio-frequency interference (RFI), or switching transients giving
electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). Hence the operation of an optical fiber
communication system is unaffected by transmission through an electrically
noisy environment and the fiber cable requires no shielding from EMI. The
fiber cable is also not susceptible to lightning strikes if used overhead rather
than underground. Moreover, it is fairly easy to ensure that there is no
optical interference between fibers and hence, unlike communication using
electrical conductors, crosstalk is negligible, even when many fibers are
cabled together.
Signal security. The light from optical fibers does not radiate significantly
and there- fore they provide a high degree of signal security. Unlike the
situation with copper cables, a transmitted optical signal cannot be obtained

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from a fiber in a noninvasive manner (i.e. without drawing optical power
from the fiber). Therefore, in theory, any attempt to acquire a message
signal transmitted optically may be detected. This feature is obviously
attractive for military, banking and general data transmission (i.e. computer
network) applications.
Low transmission loss. The development of optical fibers over the last 20
years has resulted in the production of optical fiber cables which exhibit
very low attenuation or transmission loss in comparison with the best
copper conductors. Fibers have been fabricated with losses as low as 0.15
dB km-1 and this feature has become a major advantage of optical fiber
communications. It facilitates the implementation of communication links
with extremely wide optical repeater or amplifier spacings, thus reducing both
system cost and complexity. Together with the already proven modulation
bandwidth capability of fiber cables, this property has provided a totally
compelling case for the adoption of optical fiber communications in the
majority of long-haul telecommunication applications, replacing not only
copper cables, but also satellite communications, as a consequence of the
very noticeable delay incurred for voice transmission when using this latter
approach.
Ruggedness and flexibility. Although protective coatings are essential,
optical fibers may be manufactured with very high tensile strengths.
Perhaps surprisingly for a glassy substance, the fibers may also be bent to
quite small radii or twisted without damage. Furthermore, cable structures
have been developed which have proved flexible, compact and extremely
rugged. Taking the size and weight advantage into account, these optical
fiber cables are generally superior in terms of storage, transportation,
handling and installation to corresponding copper cables, while exhibiting
at least comparable strength and durability.
System reliability and ease of maintenance. These features primarily stem
from the low-loss property of optical fiber cables which reduces the
requirement for intermediate repeaters or line amplifiers to boost the
transmitted signal strength. Hence with fewer optical repeaters or
amplifiers, system reliability is generally enhanced in comparison with
conventional electrical conductor systems. Furthermore, the reliability of
the optical components is no longer a problem with predicted lifetimes of
20 to 30 years being quite common. Both these factors also tend to reduce
maintenance time and costs.

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Potential low cost. The glass, which generally provides the optical fiber
transmission medium, is made from sand, which is not a scarce resource.
So, in comparison with copper conductors, optical fibers offer the potential
for low-cost line communication. Overall system costs when utilizing
optical fiber communication on long-haul links, however, are substantially
less than those for equivalent electrical line systems because of the low-loss
and wideband properties of the optical transmission medium. The
requirement for intermediate repeaters and the associated electronics is
reduced, giving a substantial cost advantage. Although this cost benefit
gives a net gain for long- haul links, it is not always the case in short-haul
applications where the additional cost incurred, due to the electrical–optical
conversion (and vice versa), may be a deciding factor.
The reducing costs of optical fiber communications has provided
strong competition not only with electrical line transmission systems, but
also for microwave and millimeter wave radio transmission systems.
Although these systems are reasonably wideband, the relatively short-span
‘line of sight’ transmission necessitates expensive aerial towers at intervals
no greater than a few tens of kilometers. Hence, with the exception of the
telecommunication access network due primarily to current first installed
cost constraints, optical fiber has become the dominant transmission
medium within the major industrialized societies. Many advantages are
therefore provided by the use of a lightwave carrier within a transmission
medium consisting of an optical fiber.
1. 4 OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE
The transmission of light via a dielectric waveguide structure was first
proposed and investigated at the beginning of the twentieth century.
However, a transparent dielectric rod, typically of silica glass with a
refractive index of around 1.5, surrounded by air, proved to be an
impractical waveguide due to its unsupported structure (especially when
very thin waveguides were considered in order to limit the number of
optical modes propagated) and the excessive losses at any discontinuities of
the glass–air interface. Nevertheless, interest in the application of dielectric
optical waveguides in such areas as optical imaging and medical diagnosis
(e.g. endo- scopes) led to proposals for a clad dielectric rod in the mid-
1950s in order to overcome these problems. This structure is illustrated in
figure 4, which shows a transparent core with a refractive index n1
surrounded by a transparent cladding of slightly lower refractive index n2.
The cladding supports the waveguide structure while also, when sufficiently

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thick, substantially reducing the radiation loss into the surrounding air. In
essence, the light energy travels in both the core and the cladding allowing
the associated fields to decay to a negligible value at the cladding–air
interface.
The invention of the clad waveguide structure led to the first serious
proposals by Kao and Hockham [5] and Werts [6], in 1966, to utilize optical
fibers as a communications medium, even though they had losses in excess
of 1000 dB km-1. These proposals stimulated tremendous efforts to reduce
the attenuation by purification of the materials. This has resulted in
improved conventional glass refining techniques giving fibers with losses of
around 4.2 dB km-1 [7]. Also, progress in glass refining processes such
as depositing vapor-phase reagents to form silica [8] allowed fibers with
losses below 1 dB km-1 to be fabricated. However, as silica fibers were
studied in further detail it became apparent that transmission at longer
wavelengths (1.1 to 1.6µm) would result in lower losses and reduced signal
dispersion. This produced a shift in optical fiber source and detector
technology in order to provide operation at these longer wavelengths. Hence
at longer wavelengths, especially around 1.55µm, typical high-performance
fibers have losses of 0.2 dB km−1 [9].

Figure 4: Optical fiber waveguide showing the core of refractive index n1, surrounded by
thecladdingofslightlylowerrefractiveindexn2

1.5 RAY THEORYTRANSMISSION

To consider the propagation of light within an optical fiber utilizing

the ray theory model it is necessary to take account of the refractive index of
the dielectric medium. The refractive index of a medium is defined as the
ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in the

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medium. A ray of light travels more slowly in an optically dense medium
than in one that is less dense, and the refractive index gives a measure of this
effect. The basic laws of ray theory are quite self-explanatory

• In a homogeneous medium, light rays are straight lines.

• Light may be absorbed or reflected
• Reflected ray lies in the plane of incidence and angle of incidence
will be equal to the angle of reflection.
• At the boundary between two media of different refractive indices,
the refracted ray will lie in the plane of incidence. Snell’s Law will
give the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction.

1.5.1 Total internal reflection

The refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of the
velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in the medium. A ray of
light travels more slowly in an optically dense medium than in one that is
less dense, and the refractive index gives a measure of this effect. When a
ray is incident on the interface between two dielectrics of differing refractive
indices (e.g. glass–air), refraction occurs, as illustrated in Figure 5. It is
observed that the ray approaching the interface is propagating in a dielectric
of refractive index n1 and is at an angle φ to the normal at the surface of the
interface. If the dielectric on the other side of the interface has a refractive
index n2 which is less than n1, then the refraction is such that the ray path in
this lower index medium is at an angle to the normal. The angle of
incidence and refraction are related to each other and to the refractive
indices of the dielectrics by Snell’s law of refraction, which states that:

It may also be observed in Figure 5(a) that a small amount of light is

reflected back into the originating dielectric medium (partial internal
reflection). As n1 is greater than n2, the angle of refraction is always greater
than the angle of incidence.

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Figure 5: Light rays incident on a high to low refractive index interface (e.g. glass–air):
(a) refraction; (b) the limiting case of refraction showing the critical angle Ø c ; (c) total
internal reflection where Ø > Øc

When the angle of incidence is such that the refracted ray emerges
parallel to the interface between the dielectrics, then it called as the critical
angle (φc) and is the limiting case of refraction.

At angles of incidence greater than the critical angle the light is

reflected back into the originating dielectric medium (total internal
reflection) with high efficiency (around 99.9%). Hence, it may be observed
in Figure 5(c) that total internal reflection occurs at the interface between
two dielectrics of differing refractive indices when light is incident on the
dielectric of lower index from the dielectric of higher index, and the angle of
incidence of the ray exceeds the critical value. This is the mechanism by
which light at a sufficiently shallow angle (less than 90° may be considered
to propagate down an optical fiber with low loss.

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 Figure 6: The transmission of a light ray in a perfect optical fiber

Figure 6 illustrates the transmission of a light ray in an optical fiber

via a series of total internal reflections at the interface of the silica core and
the slightly lower refractive index silica cladding. The ray has an angle of
incidence φ at the interface which is greater than the critical angle and is
reflected at the same angle to the normal. The light ray shown in Figure 6 is
known as a meridional ray as it passes through the axis of the fiber core.
This type of ray is the simplest to describe and is generally used when
illustrating the fundamental transmission properties of optical fibers. It must
also be noted that the light transmission illustrated in Figure 6 assumes a
perfect fiber, and that any discontinuities or imperfections at the core–
cladding interface would probably result in refraction rather than total
internal reflection, with the subsequent loss of the light ray into the cladding.
1.5.2 Acceptance angle
Having considered the propagation of light in an optical fiber through
total internal reflection at the core–cladding interface, it is useful to enlarge
upon the geometric optics approach with reference to light rays entering the
fiber. Since only rays with a sufficiently shallow grazing angle (i.e. with an
angle to the normal greater than φc) at the core–cladding interface are
transmitted by total internal reflection, it is clear that not all rays entering the
fiber core will continue to be propagated down its length.
The geometry concerned with launching a light ray into an optical
fiber is shown in Figure 7, which illustrates a meridional ray A at the critical
angle φc within the fiber at the core– cladding interface. It may be observed
that this ray enters the fiber core at an angle θa to the fiber axis and is
refracted at the air–core interface before transmission to the core–cladding
interface at the critical angle. Hence, any rays which are incident into the
fiber core at an angle greater than θa will be transmitted to the core–cladding
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interface at an angle less than φc, and will not be totally internally reflected.
This situation is also illustrated in Figure 7, where the incident ray B at an
angle greater than θa is refracted into the cladding and eventually lost by
radiation. Thus for rays to be transmitted by total internal reflection within
the fiber core they must be incident on the fiber core within an acceptance
cone defined by the conical half angle θa.
Hence θa is the maximum angle to the axis at which light may enter
the fiber in order to be propagated, and is often referred to as the acceptance
angle for the fiber.

Figure 7: The acceptance angle (θa) when launching light into an optical fiber

If the fiber has a regular cross-section (i.e. the core–cladding

interfaces are parallel and there are no discontinuities) an incident
meridional ray at greater than the critical angle will continue to be reflected
and will be transmitted through the fiber. From symmetry considerations it
may be noted that the output angle to the axis will be equal to the input angle
for the ray, assuming the ray emerges into a medium of the same refractive
index from which it was input.
1.5.3 Numerical aperture
The acceptance angle for an optical fiber was defined in the
preceding section. However, it is possible to continue the ray theory analysis
to obtain a relationship between the acceptance angle and the refractive
indices of the three media involved, namely the core, cladding and air. This

15
leads to the definition of a more generally used term, the numerical aperture
of the fiber. It must be noted that within this analysis, as with the preceding
discussion of acceptance angle, we are concerned with meridional rays
within the fiber. Figure 8 shows a light ray incident on the fiber core at an
angle θ1 to the fiber axis which is less than the acceptance angle for the fiber
θa. The ray enters the fiber from a medium (air) of refractive index n0, and
the fiber core has a refractive index n1, which is slightly greater than the
cladding refractive index n2.

Figure 8: The ray path for a meridional ray launched into an optical fiber in air at an
input angle less than the acceptance angle for the fiber

Assuming the entrance face at the fiber core to be normal to the axis, then
considering the refraction at the air–core interface and using Snell’s law
given by Eq. (1.1):

Considering the right-angled triangle ABC indicated in Figure 2.5, then:

where φ is greater than the critical angle at the core–cladding interface.

Hence Eq. (1.3) becomes:

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Using the trigonometrical relationship sin2φ + cos2φ = 1, Eq. (1.5) may be
written in the form:

When the limiting case for total internal reflection is considered, φ becomes
equal to the critical angle for the core–cladding interface and is given by Eq.
(1.2). Also in this limiting case θ1 becomes the acceptance angle for the
fiber θa. Combining these limiting cases into Eq. (1.6) gives:

Equation (1.7), apart from relating the acceptance angle to the refractive
indices, serves as the basis for the definition of the important optical fiber
parameter, the numerical aperture (NA). Hence the NA is defined as:

Since the NA is often used with the fiber in air where n0 is unity, it is simply
equal to sin θa. It may also be noted that incident meridional rays over the
range 0 ≤ θ1 ≤ θa will be propagated within the fiber. The NA may also be
given in terms of the relative refractive index difference between the core
and the cladding which is defined as:

Hence combining Eq. (1.8) with Eq. (1.9) we can write:

The relationships given in Eqs (1.8) and (1.10) for the numerical aperture are
a very useful measure of the light-collecting ability of a fiber. They are

17
independent of the fiber core diameter and will hold for diameters as small
as 8 µm. However, for smaller diameters they break down as the geometric
optics approach is invalid. This is because the ray theory model is only a
partial description of the character of light. It describes the direction a plane
wave component takes in the fiber but does not take into account
interference between such components. When interference phenomena are
considered it is found that only rays with certain discrete characteristics
propagate in the fiber core. Thus the fiber will only support a discrete
number of guided modes. This becomes critical in small core-diameter fibers
which only support one or a few modes. Hence electromagnetic mode theory
must be applied in these cases.
1.5.4 Skew rays
In the preceding sections we have considered the propagation of
meridional rays in the optical waveguide. However, another category of ray
exists which is transmitted without passing through the fiber axis. These
rays, which greatly outnumber the meridional rays, follow a helical path
through the fiber, as illustrated in Figure 9, and are called skew rays.

Figure 9: The helical path taken by a skew ray in an optical fiber: (a) skew ray path
down the fiber; (b) cross-sectional view of the fiber

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 It is not easy to visualize the skew ray paths in two dimensions, but it
may be observed from Figure 1.6(b) that the helical path traced through the
fiber gives a change in direction of 2γ at each reflection, where γ is the angle
between the projection of the ray in two dimensions and the radius of the
fiber core at the point of reflection. Hence, unlike meridional rays, the point
of emergence of skew rays from the fiber in air will depend upon the number
of reflections they undergo rather than the input conditions to the fiber.
When the light input to the fiber is non uniform, skew rays will therefore
tend to have a smoothing effect on the distribution of the light as it is
transmitted, giving a more uniform output. The amount of smoothing is
dependent on the number of reflections encountered by the skew rays.
1.6 ELECTROMAGNETIC MODE THEORY FOR OPTICAL PROPAGATION
In order to obtain an improved model for the propagation of light in
an optical fiber, electromagnetic wave theory must be considered. The basis
for the study of electromagnetic wave propagation is provided by Maxwell’s
equations [13].

1.6.1 Electromagnetic waves

For a medium with zero conductivity these vector relationships may
be written in terms of the electric field E, magnetic field H, electric flux
density D and magnetic flux density B as the curl equations:

and the divergence conditions:

where ‘Δ’ is a vector operator.

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The four field vectors are related by the relations:

where ε is the dielectric permittivity and μ is the magnetic permeability of

the medium. Substituting for D and B and taking the curl of Eqs (1.18) and
1.19) gives:

Then using the divergence conditions of Eqs (1.20) and (1.21) with the
vector identity:

we obtain the nondispersive wave equations:

and

Where ∇2 is the Laplacian operator. For rectangular Cartesian and cylindrical

polar coordinates the above wave equations hold for each component of the
field vector, every component satisfying the scalar wave equation

Where ψ may represent a component of the E or H field and up is the phase

velocity (velocity of propagation of a point of constant phase in the wave) in
the dielectric medium. It follows that:

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Where μr and εr are the relative permeability and permittivity for the
dielectric medium and μ0 and ε0 are the permeability and permittivity of free
space. The velocity of light in free space c is therefore:

If planar waveguides, described by rectangular Cartesian coordinates

(x, y, z), or circular fibers, described by cylindrical polar coordinates (r, φ, z),
are considered, then the Laplacian operator takes the form:

respectively.
It is necessary to consider both these forms for a complete treatment
of optical propagation in the fiber, although many of the properties of
interest may be dealt with using Cartesian coordinates. The basic solution of
the wave equation is a sinusoidal wave, the most important form of which is
a uniform plane wave given by

where ω is the angular frequency of the field, t is the time, k is the

propagation vector which gives the direction of propagation and the rate of
change of phase with distance, while the components of r specify the
coordinate point at which the field is observed. When λ is the optical

21
wavelength in a vacuum, the magnitude of the propagation vector or the
vacuum phase propagation constant k (where k = |k|) is given by:

It should be noted that in this case k is also referred to as the free space wave
number.
1.6.2 Modes in a planar guide
The planar guide is the simplest form of optical waveguide. We may
assume it consists of a slab of dielectric with refractive index n1 sandwiched
between two regions of lower refractive index n2. In order to obtain an
improved model for optical propagation it is useful to consider the
interference of plane wave components within this dielectric waveguide.
The conceptual transition from ray to wave theory may be aided by
consideration of a plane monochromatic wave propagating in the direction of
the ray path within the guide (see Figure 10(a)). As the refractive index
within the guide is n1, the optical wavelength in this region is reduced to
λ/n1, while the vacuum propagation constant is increased to n1k. When θ is
the angle between the wave propagation vector or the equivalent ray and the
guide axis, the plane wave can be resolved into two component plane waves
propagating in the z and x directions, as shown in Figure 1.8(a).

Figure 10: The formation of a mode in a planar dielectric guide: (a) a plane wave

22
propagating in the guide– the wave vector is resolved into components in
the z and x directions; (b) the interference of plane waves in the guide forming the
lowest order mode (m = 0)
The component of the phase propagation in the Z direction is given by:

The component of the phase propagation constant in the x direction βx is:

The component of the plane wave in the x direction is reflected at the

interface between the higher and lower refractive index media. When the
total phase change after two successive reflections at the upper and lower
interfaces (between the points P and Q) is equal to 2mπ radians, where m is
an integer, then constructive interference occurs and a standing wave is
obtained in the x direction. This situation is illustrated in Figure 10(b), where
the interference of two plane waves is shown. In this illustration, it is
assumed that the interference forms the lowest order (where m = 0) standing
wave, where the electric field is a maximum at the center of the guide
decaying towards zero at the boundary between the guide and cladding.
However, it may be observed from Figure 10(b) that the electric field
penetrates some distance into the cladding, a phenomenon which is
discussed under mode field diameter.
Nevertheless, the optical wave is effectively confined within the
guide and the electric field distribution in the x direction does not change as
the wave propagates in the z direction. The sinusoidally varying electric field
in the z direction is also shown in Figure 10(b). The stable field distribution
in the x direction with only a periodic z dependence is known as a mode. A
specific mode is obtained only when the angle between the propagation
vectors or the rays and the interface have a particular value, as indicated in
Figure 10(b). In effect, Eqs (1.34) and (1.35) define a group or congruence
of rays which in the case described represents the lowest order mode. Hence
the light propagating within the guide is formed into discrete modes, each
typified by a distinct value of θ.

23
Figure 11: Physical model showing the ray propagation and the corresponding transverse
electric (TE) field patterns of three lower order models (m =1, 2, 3) in the planar
dielectric guide

To visualize the dominant modes propagating in the z direction we

may consider plane waves corresponding to rays at different specific angles
in the planar guide. These plane waves give constructive interference to form
standing wave patterns across the guide following a sine or cosine formula.
Figure 11 shows examples of such rays for m = 1, 2, 3, together with the
electric field distributions in the x direction. It may be observed that m
denotes the number of zeros in this transverse field pattern. In this
way m signifies the order of the mode and is known as the mode number.
When light is described as an electromagnetic wave it consists of a
periodically varying electric field E and magnetic field H which are
orientated at right angles to each other. The transverse modes shown in
Figure 11 illustrate the case when the electric field is perpendicular to the
direction of propagation and hence Ez = 0, but a corresponding component of
24
the magnetic field H is in the direction of propagation. In this instance, the

modes are said to be transverse electric (TE). Alternatively, when a

component of the E field is in the direction of propagation, but Hz =0, the
modes formed are called transverse magnetic (TM). The mode numbers are
incorporated into this nomenclature by referring to the TEm and TMm modes,
as illustrated for the transverse electric modes shown in Figure 1.9. When
the total field lies in the transverse plane, transverse electromagnetic (TEM)
waves exist where both Ez and Hz are zero. However, although TEM waves
occur in metallic conductors (e.g. coaxial cables) they are seldom found in
optical waveguides.
1.7 Phase and Group velocity
The envelope of the wave package or group of waves travels at a
group velocity υg. With in all electromagnetic waves, whether plane or
otherwise, there are points of constant phase. For plane waves, these
constant phase points form a surface which is referred to as a wavefront. As
a monochromatic lightwave propagates along a waveguide in the z direction
these points of constant phase travel at a phase velocity υp given by

where ω is the angular frequency of the wave.

However, it is impossible in practice to produce perfectly
monochromatic lightwaves, and light energy is generally composed of a sum
of plane wave components of different frequencies. Often the situation exists
where a group of waves with closely similar frequencies propagate so that
their resultant forms a packet of waves.

25
Figure 12: The formation of a wave packet from the combination of two waves with
nearly equal frequencies. The envelope of the wave package or group of waves travels
at a group velocity υg.

The formation of such a wave packet resulting from the combination

of two waves of slightly different frequency propagating together is
illustrated in Figure 12. This wave packet does not travel at the phase
velocity of the individual waves but is observed to move at a group velocity
υg given by:

The group velocity is of greatest importance in the study of the

transmission characteristics of optical fibers as it relates to the propagation
characteristics of observable wave groups or packets of light. If propagation
in an infinite medium of refractive index n1 is considered, then the
propagation constant may be written as:

Where c is the velocity of light in free space. Equation (1.38) follows from
Eqs (1.33) and (1.34) where we assume propagation in the z direction only
and hence cos θ is equal to unity. Using Eq. (1.36) we obtain the following

26
relationship for the phase velocity:

Similarly, employing Eq. (1.37), where in the limit δω/δβ becomes dω/dβ,
the group velocity:

The parameter Ng is known as the group index of the guide.

1.8 MODES IN CYLINDRICAL FIBER

In common with the planar guide, TE (where Ez = 0) and TM

(where Hz = 0) modes are obtained within the dielectric cylinder. The
cylindrical waveguide, however, is bounded in two dimensions rather than
one. Thus two integers, l and m, are necessary in order to specify the modes,
in contrast to the single integer (m) required for the planar guide.
For the cylindrical waveguide we therefore refer to TElm and
TMlm modes. These modes correspond to meridional rays traveling within
the fiber. However, hybrid modes where Ez and Hz are nonzero also occur
within the cylindrical waveguide. These modes, which result from skew ray
propagation within the fiber, are designated HElm and EHlm depending upon
whether the components of H or E make the larger contribution to the
transverse (to the fiber axis) field. Thus an exact description of the modal
fields in a step index fiber proves somewhat complicated.
Fortunately, the analysis may be simplified when considering optical fibers
for communication purposes. These fibers satisfy the weakly guiding
approximation where the relative index difference Δ<<1. This corresponds
to small grazing angles θ in Eq. (1.34). In fact is usually less than 0.03 (3%)

27
for optical communications fibers. For weakly guiding structures with
dominant forward propagation, mode theory gives dominant transverse field
components. Hence approximate solutions for the full set of HE, EH, TE and
TM modes may be given by two linearly polarized components.
These linearly polarized (LP) modes are not exact modes of the fiber
except for the fundamental (lowest order) mode. However, as in weakly
guiding fibers is very small, then HE– EH mode pairs occur which have
almost identical propagation constants. Such modes are said to be
degenerate. The superpositions of these degenerating modes characterized by
a common propagation constant correspond to particular LP modes
regardless of their HE, EH, TE or TM field configurations. This linear
combination of degenerate modes obtained from the exact solution produces
a useful simplification in the analysis of weakly guiding fibers.
The relationship between the traditional HE, EH, TE and TM mode
designations and the LPlm mode designations is shown in Table 1.1. The
mode subscripts l and m are related to the electric field intensity profile for a
particular LP mode (see Figure 1.11(d)). There are in general 2l field
maxima around the circumference of the fiber core and m field maxima
along a radius vector. Furthermore, it may be observed from Table 1.1 that
the notation for labeling the HE and EH modes has changed from that
specified for the exact solution in the cylindrical waveguide mentioned
previously.
Table 1: Correspondence between the lower order in linearly polarized modes
and the traditional exact modes from which they are formed

28
 Figure 13: The electric field configurations for the three lowest LP modes illustrated
in terms of their constituent exact modes: (a) LP mode designations; (b) exact mode
designations; (c) electric field distribution of the exact modes; (d) intensity distribution of
Ex for the exact modes indicating the electric field intensity profile for the corresponding
LP modes

The subscript l in the LP notation now corresponds to HE and EH

modes with labels l + 1 and l − 1 respectively. The electric field intensity
profiles for the lowest three LP modes, together with the electric field
distribution of their constituent exact modes, are shown in Figure 13. It may
be observed from the field configurations of the exact modes that the field
strength in the transverse direction (Ex or Ey) is identical for the modes

29
which belong to the same LP mode. Hence the origin of the term ‘linearly
polarized’.

Using Eq. (1.31) for the cylindrical homogeneous core waveguide under the
weak guidance conditions outlined above, the scalar wave equation can be
written in the form

where ψ is the field (E or H), n1 is the refractive index of the fiber core, k is
the propagation constant for light in a vacuum, and r and φ are cylindrical
coordinates. The propagation constants of the guided modes β lie in the
range:

where n2 is the refractive index of the fiber cladding. Solutions of the wave
equation for the cylindrical fiber are separable, having the form:

where in this case ψ represents the dominant transverse electric field

component. The periodic dependence on φ following coslφ or sin lφ gives a
mode of radial order l. Hence the fiber supports a finite number of guided
modes of the form of Eq. (1.43). Introducing the solutions given by Eq.
(1.43) into Eq. (1.41) results in a differential equation of the form:

For a step index fiber with a constant refractive index core, Eq. (1.43) is a
Bessel differential equation and the solutions are cylinder functions.

30
1.9 MODE COUPLING
We have thus far considered the propagation aspects of perfect dielectric
waveguides. However, waveguide perturbations such as deviations of the
fiber axis from straightness, variations in the core diameter, irregularities at
the core–cladding interface and refractive index variations may change the
propagation characteristics of the fiber.These will have the effect of coupling
energy traveling in one mode to another depending on the specific
perturbation.

Figure 14: Ray theory illustrations showing two of the possible fiber perturbations which
give mode coupling: (a) irregularity at the core–cladding interface; (b) fiber bend.

Ray theory aids the understanding of this phenomenon, as shown in

Figure 14, which illustrates two types of perturbation. It may be observed
that in both cases the ray no longer maintains the same angle with the axis.
In electromagnetic wave theory this corres- ponds to a change in the
propagating mode for the light. Thus individual modes do not normally
propagate throughout the length of the fiber without large energy transfers to
adjacent modes, even when the fiber is exceptionally good quality and is not
strained or bent by its surroundings. This mode conversion is known as
mode coupling or mixing. It is usually analyzed using coupled mode
equations which can be obtained directly from Maxwell’s equations.

31
1.10 STEP INDEX FIBERS

The optical fiber considered in the preceding sections with a core of

constant refractive index n1 and a cladding of a slightly lower refractive
index n2 is known as step index fiber. This is because the refractive index
profile for this type of fiber makes a step change at the core–cladding
interface, as indicated in Figure 15, which illustrates the two major types of
step index fiber.

Figure 15: The refractive index profile and ray transmission in step index fibers:
(a) multimode step index fiber; (b) single-mode step index fiber

The refractive index profile for both single mode and multimode
step-index fibers may be defined as:

Figure 15(a) shows a multimode step index fiber with a core diameter
of around 50µm or greater, which is large enough to allow the propagation
of many modes within the fiber core. This is illustrated in Figure 15(a) by
the many different possible ray paths through the fiber. Figure 15(b) shows a
single-mode or monomode step index fiber which allows the propagation of
only one transverse electromagnetic mode (typically HE11), and hence the
core diameter must be of the order of 2 to 10µm. The propagation of a single
32
mode is illustrated in Figure 15b as corresponding to a single ray path only
(usually shown as the axial ray) through the fiber.
The single-mode step index fiber has the distinct advantage of low
intermodal dispersion (broadening of transmitted light pulses), as only one
mode is transmitted, whereas with multimode step index fiber considerable
dispersion may occur due to the differing group velocities of the propagating
modes. This in turn restricts the maximum bandwidth attainable with
multimode step index fibers, especially when com- pared with single-mode
fibers. However, for lower bandwidth applications multimode fibers have
several advantages over single-mode fibers. These are:
• The use of spatially incoherent optical sources (e.g. most light-
emitting diodes) which cannot be efficiently coupled to single-mode
fibers.
• Larger numerical apertures, as well as core diameters, facilitating
easier coupling to optical sources
• Lower tolerance requirements on fiber connectors
Multimode step index fibers allow the propagation of a finite number
of guided modes along the channel. The number of guided modes is
dependent upon the physical parameters (i.e. relative refractive index
difference, core radius) of the fiber and the wavelengths of the transmitted
light which are included in the normalized frequency V for the fiber. The
total number of guided modes or mode volume Ms for a step index fiber is
related to the V value for the fiber by the approximate expression

which allows an estimate of the number of guided modes propagating in a

particular multimode step index fiber.
1.11 GRADED INDEX FIBERS

Graded index fibers do not have a constant refractive index in the

core but a decreasing core index n(r) with radial distance from a maximum
value of n1 at the axis to a constant value n2 beyond the core radius a in the
cladding.

33
This index variation may be represented as:

where D is the relative refractive index difference and α is the profile

parameter which gives the characteristic refractive index profile of the fibercore.
Equation (1.50) which is a convenient method of expressing the refractive index
profile of the fiber core as a variation of α, allows representation of the step
index profile when α = ∞, a parabolic profile when α = 2 and a triangular profile
when α = 1. This range of refractive index profiles is illustrated in Figure 16.

Figure 16: Possible fiber refractive index profiles for different values of
α given in Eq. 1.50.

The graded index profiles which at present produce the best results
for multimode optical propagation have a near parabolic refractive index
profile core (α value around 2). Fibers with such core index profiles are well
established and consequently when the term ‘graded index’ is used without
qualification it usually refers to a fiber with this profile. For this reason in
this section we consider the waveguiding properties of graded index fiber
with a parabolic refractive index profile core.

A multimode graded index fiber with a parabolic index profile core is

illustrated in Figure 17. It may be observed that the meridional rays shown
appear to follow curved paths through the fiber core. Using the concepts of
34
geometric optics, the gradual decrease in refractive index from the center of
the core creates many refractions of the rays as they are effectively incident
on a large number or high to low index interfaces. This mechanism is
illustrated in Figure 17, where a ray is shown to be gradually curved, with an
ever-increasing angle of incidence, until the conditions for total internal
reflection are met, and the ray travels back towards the core axis, again being
continuously refracted.

Figure 17: A helical skew ray path within a graded index fiber

Multimode graded index fibers exhibit far less intermodal dispersion

than multimode step index fibers due to their refractive index profile.
Although many different modes are excited in the graded index fiber, the
different group velocities of the modes tend to be normalized by the index
grading. Again considering ray theory, the rays traveling close to the fiber
axis have shorter paths when compared with rays which travel. However, the
near axial rays are transmitted through a region of higher refractive index
and therefore travel with a lower velocity than the more extreme rays. This
compensates for the shorter path lengths and reduces dispersion in the fiber.
Hence, multi-mode graded index fibers with parabolic or near-
parabolic index profile cores have transmission bandwidth which may be
orders of magnitude greater than multimode step index fiber bandwidths.
Consequently, although they are not capable of the bandwidths attainable
with single-mode fibers, such multimode graded index fibers have the
advantage of large core diameters (greater than 30 µm) coupled with
bandwidths suitable for long- distance communication.
1.12 Single-mode fiber
The advantage of the propagation of a single mode within an optical
fiber is that the signal dispersion caused by the delay differences between
35
different modes in a multimode fiber is eliminated. Hence, for the
transmission of a single mode, the fiber must be designed to allow
propagation of only one mode, while all other modes are attenuated by
leakage or absorption. Following the preceding discussion of multimode
fibers, this may be achieved through choice of a suitable normalized
frequency for the fiber. For single-mode operation, only the fundamental
LP01 mode can exist. Thus single-mode propagation of the LP01 mode in
step index fibers is possible over the range:

as there is no cutoff for the fundamental mode. It must be noted that there
are in fact two modes with orthogonal polarization over this range, and the
term single-mode applies to propagation of light of a particular polarization.

1.13 Cutoff wavelength

It may be noted that single-mode operation only occurs above a
theoretical cutoff wavelength λc given by:

Where Vc is the cutoff normalized frequency. Hence λc is the wavelength

above which a particular fiber becomes single-moded.
Also, for step index fiber where Vc = 2.405, the cutoff wavelength is given
by:

1.14 Mode-field diameter (MFD) and spot size

MFD is an important parameter for characterizing single-mode fiber
properties which takes into account the wavelength-dependent field
penetration into the fiber cladding. In this context, it is a better measure of
the functional properties of single-mode fiber than the core diameter. For
36
step index and graded (near parabolic profile) single-mode fibers operating
near the cutoff wavelength λc, the field is well approximated by a Gaussian
distribution. In this case, the MFD is generally taken as the distance between
the opposite 1/e = 0.37 field amplitude points and the power 1/e2 = 0.135
points in relation to the corresponding values on the fiber axis.
Another parameter which is directly related to the MFD of a single-
mode fiber is the spot size (or mode-field radius) ω0. Hence MFD =
2ω0, where ω0 is the nominal half width of the input excitation. However, for
most refractive index profiles and at typical operating wavelengths, the MFD
is slightly larger than the single-mode fiber core diameter.

Figure 18: Field amplitude distribution E(r) of the fundamental mode in a

single-mode fiber illustrating the mode-field diameter (MFD) and spot size (ω0)

1.15 Conclusion:
In this chapter, the discussion has concentrated on optical fibers
comprising solid silica core and cladding regions in which the light is guided
by a small increase in refractive index in the core facilitated through doping
the silicon with germanium. More recently, however, a new class of
microstructured optical fiber containing a fine array of air holes running
longitudinally down the fiber cladding has been developed. Since the
microstructure within the fiber is often highly periodic due to the fabrication
process, these fibers are usually referred to as photonic crystal fibers (PCFs).
The existence of two different guidance mechanisms makes PCFs versatile
37
in their range of potential applications. For example, PCFs have been used to realize
various optical components and devices including long period gratings, multimode
interference power splitters, tunable coupled cavity fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers,
multichannel add/drop filters, wavelength converters and wavelength demultiplexers.
Photonic bandgap (PBG) fibers are a class of microstructured fiber in which a
periodic arrangement of air holes is required to ensure guidance. This periodic
arrangement of cladding air holes provides for the formation of a photonic bandgap in
the transverse plane of the fiber. As a PBG fiber exhibits a two-dimensional bandgap,
then wavelengths within this bandgap cannot propagate perpendicular to the fiber axis
(i.e. in the cladding) and they can therefore be confined to propagate within a region in
which the refractive index is lower than the surrounding material. Hence utilizing the
photonic bandgap effect light can, for example, be guided within a low- index, air-filled
core region creating fiber properties quite different from those obtained without the
bandgap.
REFERENCES
[1] H. G. Unger, Planar Optical Waveguides and Fibres, Clarendon Press, 1977.
[2] John M Senior,“Optical Fiber Communications: Principles and Practice”, 3rd Edition,
Printice Hall,2010.
[3] M. J. Adams, An Introduction to Optical Waveguides, Wiley, 1981.
[4] Y. Suematsu and K.-I. Iga, Introduction to Optical Fibre Communications, Wiley, 1982.
[5] T. Okoshi, Optical Fibers, Academic Press, 1982.
[6] G. P. Agrawal, Fiber Optic Communication Systems, Wiley-Interscience, 2000.
[7] Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, McGrawHill,4 th Edition,2011.
[8] M. J. Adams, An Introduction to Optical Waveguides, Wiley, 1981
[9] A. W. Snyder and J. D. Love, Optical Waveguide Theory, Chapman and Hall, 1983.
[10] K. Okamoto, Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (2nd edn), Academic Press, 2006.
[11] H. G. Unger, Planar Optical Waveguides and Fibres, Clarendon Press, 1977.
 SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

UNIT-II
SEC1407 - Optical Communications
 UNIT - II
TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS AND
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Characteristics of optical fibers: Attenuation due to absorption,
scattering & bending, core and cladding loses, Signal Distortion in
optical fibers: Intra modal Dispersion: Material & Waveguide
dispersion; Intermodal dispersion: MMSI, MMGI & modal noise.
Optical Amplifiers: Basic concepts, Erbium- Doped Fiber Amplifier,
Raman amplifier -principles of operation, amplifier noise, signal to
noise ratio, gain, gain bandwidth, intermodulation effects and
wavelength range of operation.

2.INTRODUCTION

The basic transmission mechanisms of the various types of optical

fiber waveguide have been discussed in Previous Chapter. However, the
factors which affect the performance of optical fibers as a transmission
medium were not dealt with in detail. These transmission characteristics
are of' utmost importance when the suitability of' optical fibers
communication purposes is investigated. The transmission characteristics
of most interest are those of' attenuation (or loss) and bandwidth.

The huge potential bandwidth of' optical communications helped

stimulate the birth of the idea that a dielectric waveguide made of glass
could be used to carry wideband telecommunication signals. However, at
the time the idea may have seemed somewhat ludicrous as a typical block
of glass could support optical transmission for at best a few tens of meters
before it was attenuated to an unacceptable level. Nevertheless, careful
investigation of' the attenuation showed that it was largely due to
absorption in the glass, caused by impurities such as iron, copper,
manganese and other transition metals which occur in the third row of the
periodic table. Hence, research was stimulated towards a new alteration of
'pure' glasses for use in optical fiber communications.

A major breakthrough came in 1970 when the first fiber with an

attenuation below 20 dB km-' was reported. This level of attenuation was
seen as the absolute minimum that had to be achieved before an optical
fiber system could in any way compete economically with existing
communication systems. Since 1970 tremendous improvements have been
made, leading to silica-based glass fibers with losses of less than 0.2 dB
 km-' in the laboratory.

The other characteristic of primary importance is the bandwidth of

the fiber. This is limited by the signal dispersion within the fiber, which
determines the number of bits of information transmitted in a given time
period. Therefore, once the attenuation was reduced to acceptable levels
attention was directed towards the dispersive properties of fibers Again,
this has led to substantial improvements, giving wideband fiber
bandwidths of many tens of gigahertz over a number of kilometers.

In order to appreciate these advances and possible future

developments, the optical transmission characteristics of fibers must be
considered in greater depth. Therefore, in this chapter we discuss the
mechanisms within optical fibers which give rise to the major transmission
characteristics mentioned previously (attenuation and dispersion), whilst
also considering other, perhaps less obvious, effects when light is
propagating down an optical fiber (modal noise, polarization and nonlinear
phenomena).

2.1 SIGNAL DEGRADATION IN OFC

 2.1 SIGNAL ATTENUATION:
2.1.1 ATTENUATION IN OFC

Signal attenuation in an optical fiber is defined as the decrease in light power during
light propagation along an optical fiber. It is also known as fiber loss or signal loss in an
optical fiber. It results in a reduction of power of light wave as it travels down the optical
fiber, It determines the maximum repeater less separation between the transmitter and the
Receiver.
Due to attenuation, the power of light wave decreases exponentially with
distance..
2.1.2 Causes of Attenuation in OFC

2.2 Types of losses in optical fiber cable are:

(i) Absorption losses

(ii) Bending losses

(iii) Scattering losses

2.4.1 Absorption losses : (Material Absorption losses)

Absorption losses in optical fiber are the major cause of

losses during the transmission. When the photon interacts with
the components of the glass, an electron or metal ions, the light
power is absorbed. The defects and impurities in silica fibers are
dependent on the manufacturing processes involved.
Absorption is caused by three different mechanisms:

a. Absorption by atomic defects in the glass composition.

b. Extrinsic absorption by impurity atoms in the glass material.
c. Intrinsic absorption by the basic constituent atoms of the fiber
material.

2.4.1 a Absorption by atomic defects

Atomic defects are imperfections in the atomic structure of the

fiber material.
Examples:
▪ Missing molecules
▪ High density clusters of atom groups
▪ Oxygen defects in the glass structure.
▪ Absorption losses arising from these defects are
 negligible compared with intrinsic( energy band) and
impurity absorption.
▪ But can be significant if the fiber is exposed to
ionization radiations.(nuclear reactor environment,
Space environments, medical radiation therapies,etc.)
▪ Radiation damages a material by changing its internal
structure. The damage effects depend on the
▪ energy of the ionizing particles or rays (e.g.,
electrons, neutrons, or gamma rays), the radiation
flux

Atomic structure of fused silica fiber,

Silica optical fibers are composed of amorphous, synthetic

silicon dioxide, commonly called fused silica. The basic
building block of amorphous silica is a tetrahedron with an
oxygen atom at each corner and a silicon atom in the center. In
the absence of defects and impurities, each of the corner oxygen
atoms are shared by neighboring silicon atoms so that the ratio
of oxygen to silicon is 2 to 1.

Atomic defects in fused silica fiber,

▪ Silicon and oxygen atoms existing in configurations

other than SiO4 tetrahedra areconsidered intrinsic
defects and cause optical attenuation in silica. Perfect
Crystallization of a long and thin geometry, such as an
optical fiber is practically impossible. So the OFC have
amorphous atomic structure.
Defect Structures in Fused Silica

Atomic structure of fused silica fiber

▪ Figure below shows a two-dimensional representation of

quartz and silica.The bond angles for the silica structure
vary and the number of oxygen atoms in a closed loop, in
this example, varies from 4 to 6. The bond angle and ring
order distributions are dependent on manufacturing
processes and affect the material properties.
Impurities in fused silica fiber

Silica optical fibers are intentionally manufactured to have either

a high or a low concentration of hydrogen, resulting in different
intrinsic attenuation profiles. Low-OH optical fibers are usable
between 380-2400nm and high-OH fibers are usable between
180- 1150nm.Chlorine introduced during the manufacturing
process to remove hydrogen ions from the perform material,
unintentionally remains in the silica and is an impurity. Fluorine
and germanium are intentional impurities commonly used to
decrease or increase, respectively, the refractive index of the
silica in optical fibers Transition metal ions, such as iron, copper
and vanadium

Common Hydrogen Impurity configurations in Silica

 2.4.2 Absorption in OFC

The composition of the material and the fabrication

process of the fiber gives rise to material absorption. This
results in the mechanism where optical power transmitted
is lost as heat in the waveguide. The material absorption is
of two types:
(a) Extrinsic absorption

(b) Intrinsic absorption.

2.4.2 a Extrinsic absorption : Extrinsic absorption is caused by

the presence of impurities in fiber like iron, cobalt, chromium,
copper and OH ions in glass material. These impurities are
incorporated during the fabrication process and it is very hard to
eliminate. Extrinsic absorption is caused by the electronic
transition of these metal ions from one energy level to another.
Extrinsic absorption also occurs when hydroxyl ions (OH-) are
introduced into the fiber. Water in silica glass forms a silicon
hydroxyl (Si—OH) band. This band has a fundamental absorption
at 2700 run. However, the harmonics or overtones of the
fundamental absorption occur in the region of operation. These
harmonic increases extrinsic absorption at 1383nxn, 1250 nm and
950 run.

Extrinsic Absorption losses by impurity ions in OFC

(2.4.2b) Intrinsic absorption

Intrinsic absorption is caused by basic fiber material properties.
If an optical fiber were absolutely pure, with no imperfections or
impurities, then all absorption would be intrinsic. Intrinsic
absorption results from electronic absorption bands in ultra
violet region and from atomic vibration bands in the near
infrared region. Absorption occurs when a photon interacts with
an electron in the valence band and excites it to higher energy
level. These intrinsic losses are mostly insignificant in a wide
region where fiber can operate but these inhibit the extension of
fiber systems towards ultraviolet as well as infrared regions.
Intrinsic absorption is very strong in the short wavelength
ultraviolet portion of electromagnetic spectrum.
▪ Intrinsic absorption is associated with the basic fiber material (e.g., pure
SiO2)

Intrinsic Absorption in OFC

Electronic absorption (EA) occurs when a photon interacts

with an electron in the valance band and excites it to a higher
energy level. The electronic absorption is associated with the
band gap of the material. The UV edge of EA follows the
empirical formula

uv = Ce E / E o

where C and E0 are empirical constants and E is the photon energy

Ultraviolet absorption decays exponentially with

increasing wavelength and is small compared with scattering

loss in the near infrared region. UV loss in dB/km at any  as

a function of mole fraction x of GeO2 is

 4.6 
uv = 154.2
x 10−2
 3 
ex  
46.6x
Intrinsic Absorption in OFCp

+60
▪ In the near-IR region above 1.2 mm, the optical fiber
loss is predominantly determined by the presence of
OH ions and the inherent infrared absorption of the
constituent material.
 ▪ The inherent infrared absorption is associated
with the characteristic vibration frequency of the
particular chemical bond between the atoms in the
fiber.
▪ An interaction between the vibrating bond and the
electromagnetic field of the optical signal results in
a transfer of energy from the field to the bond,
thereby giving rise to absorption.
▪ An empirical expression for the infrared absorption in
dB/km for GeO2-SiO2 glass with wavelength given in
mm is:

−
 IR = 7.811011 ex  
 48.48 
p  
 
▪ Absorption characteristics of Silica OFC

**Optical fiber attenuation characteristics and their limiting

mechanisms for a GeO2 doped low loss water content silica
fiber.

2.3 Bending losses : (Radiative losses)

Bending losses occur whenever an optical fiber undergoes a
bend of finite radius of curvature. This is one of the major
causes of total attenuation that light experiences while
propagating through an optical fiber. Fibers can be subject to
two types of bends, so, there are mainly two types of bending
 losses.
(a) Macro bending losses

(b) Micro bending losses

2.5.1a Macro bending losses : Micro bends are the bends having
radii that are large compared to the fiber diameter e.g. such bends
occur when a fiber cable turns a corner.

Whenever an optical fiber cable is bent, then the ray of light forms a
propagation angle

that is more than critical angle when it strikes the fiber. Due to
this total internal reflection is not achieved in bent fiber. Some
portion of the light beam escapes from the core of the fiber and
the power of the light at its receiving end is less than the power
of the light emitted into the fiber from a light source.
2.5.1b Microbending losses: Microbending loss is caused by
the micro deformation of the fiber axis. Microbends do not have
regular shapes or distributions along the fiber.

These may have different radii over small sections and are
 distributed randomly over the length of the fiber. Although
light travels along straight segment of a fiber, light beam
meets these imperfections and gets deflected. The beam that
initially travels at the critical propagation angle changes its
angle of propagation after reflection at these imperfections.
So, condition of total internal reflection is not met and a
portion of the beam will be refracted and will leak out of the
core. Fig. shows mechanism of micro bending losses.

2.4 Scattering tosses

Scattering losses are due to microscopic variations in the

material density from compositional fluctuations and from
structural defects occurring during manufacture. Molecular
density is not uniform since glass is made up of several oxides
such as Ge02, Si02 and P205. Even very small changes in the
values of the core refractive index will be seen by a traveling
beam as an optical obstacle and this obstacle will change the
direction of original beam. This effect will inhibit attainment
of the condition of total internal reflection at core-cladding
boundary, resulting in power loss. Since some light will pass
out of the core. Rayleigh scattering accounts for about 96
percent of attenuation in optical fiber. If the scattered light
maintains an angle that supports forward travel within the
core, no attenuation occurs. If the light is scattered at an angle
that does not support forward travel, however, the light is
directed out of the core then attenuation occurs.
2.4.1 Rayleigh scattering is a fundamental loss mechanism
arising from microscopic fluctuations in density. It is a
dominant loss in low absorption window between the
ultraviolet and infrared absorption tails. When light strikes an
object, it is reflected ml different directions which is called
light scattering. In the optical fiber, due to impurity particle,
scattering occurs in the core or cladding. If there is any
impurity particle in the path of light in the core, the particle
will scatter the light in another direction and affect the total
internal reflection at the boundary of core-cladding. When the
fiber material are prepared, there may be some in
homogeneities or imperfections in the core layer Due to in
homogeneity, light beam propagating at an angle close to or
more than critic angle will hit the obstacle and bend its
direction because of scattering. The beam will be refracted
into cladding layer as shown in Fig.

The in homogeneity can resu1 into variation of refractive

index and the variation c refractive index may be such that the
particular location with large refraction index will act as an

obstacle and cause scattering loss. This type of loss is called

Rayleigh scattering

loss. Rayleigh scattering loss occurs whenever a light wave

travels through a medium having scattering objects smaller
than a wavelength. Rayleigh scattering coefficient. It is given
by

The transmission loss factor or transmissivity of the

fiber TL is related to Rayleigh scattering coefficient

by:

2.4.2 Mie Scattering: Linear scattering occur at in

homogeneities which are comparable to in size with the
guided wavelength. When the size of scattering in
homogeneities is greater than the scattered intensity has an
angular dependence and can be quite large. The scattering
occurring due to such in homogeneities is mainly in forward
direction and this type of scattering is known as Mie
scattering. Depending on the fiber material, design and
manufacture, Mie scattering can cause considerable power
loss. The in homogeneities can be minimized by reducing
imperfection during glass manufacturing process and by
carefully controlled extrusion and coating on thefiber.
 Non linear scattering cause disproportionate attenuation at
high optical power levels. This causes the transfer of optical
power from one mode either in forward or backward direction
to the same or other modes at a different frequency. The
important types of non linear scattering within optical fibers
are
(i) Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS)

(ii) Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)

(I) Stimulated Briilouin Scattering (SBS)

2.4.3 Stimulated Brillouin scattering is the modulation of

light through thermal vibrations within the fiber Modulation
frequency for the scattered light separates the incident light
into upper and lower side bands. The incident photon
produces a photon of acoustic frequency as well as a scattered
photon. This produces an optical frequency shift which varies
with scattering angle because the frequency of the sound wave
varies with acoustic wavelength. The frequency shift is
maximum in backward direction reducing to zero in forward
direction making SBS a mainly backward process.
The optical power level at which Brillouin scattering becomes
significant in a single mode fiber is given by an empirical
formula. The threshold power level B is given by

In current systems SBS has not been much of the problem for the following
reasons:

(i) Direct modulation of the transmit laser’s injections

current produces a chirp and broadens the signal. This
significantly reduces the effect ofSBS.
(ii) The SBS effect is less in 1300 nm systems than
1550 nm systems due to the higher attenuation of
the fiber.
(iii) SBS effect decreases with increase in speed
 because of the signal broadening affect of the
modulation;
But SBS can be a major problem in three situations.

(i) In long distance systems where the span between amplifiers is great and the
bit ratelow.

(ii) In WDM systems (upto 10 Gbps) where the spectral width of the signal is
verynormal.

(iii) In remote pumping of an erbium doped fiber amplifier

(EDFA) through a separate fiber.

(ii) Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)

2.4.4 Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) generates a high
frequency optical phonon in the scattering process and is
similar to SBS except that acoustic phonon is generated in
SBS rather than optical phonon. SRS occurs in both the
forward and backward direction in the optical fiber and has an
optical power threshold of up to three orders of
magnitudehigher than the Brillouin threshold in a particular
fiber. So the stimulated Raman scattering is an interaction
between the light wave and the vibration modes of silica
molecules. SRS generates scattered light at a wavelength
larger than that of the incident light.

2.5 DISPERSION IN OFC

“Spreading of optical pulses as they travel down the fiber” is

known as dispersion. It is the time distortion of an optical
signal that results from many discrete wavelength components
travelling at different rates. The dispersion leads to the
degradation of the signal quality at the output end. Dispersion
is the time domain spreading or broadening of the transmitted
 pulse as they travel down the optical fiber. Dispersion produce
bit errors. Dispersion resultswhen some components of the
input signal spend more time traversing the fiber than other
components. Light rays with steep incident angles have longer
path lengths than lower-angle rays. In a pulse modulated
system, this causes the received pulse to be spread out over a
longer period.It is noted that actually no power is lost to
dispersion.It spreads the output pulse in the time domain and
changes its shape so that it may merge into the succeeding or
previous pulses. In a fiber three distinct types of dispersions
are observed

Dispersion the broadening of the signal pulse width due to dependence of

the refractive
index of the material of the fiber on the wavelength of the
carrier is called dispersion. The dispersion leads to the
degradation of the signal. Quality at the output end due to
overlapping of the pulses. There are three kinds of dispersion
mechanisms in the fiber.
(1) Intermodal Dispersion

(ii) Intermodal Dispersion

(iii) Polarization Mode Dispersion

2.5.1 Intermodal Dispersion

Pulse widening caused by the mode structure of a light beam
inside the fiber is called inter modal (modal) dispersion; This
type of dispersion occurs due to the fact that the light inside
the fiber propagates in different modes. The higher order
modes travel a longer distance and arrive at the receiver end
later than the lower order modes. Thus one mode travels more
slowly than another mode. So, intermodal dispersion is a
result of different values of the group delay for each
individual mode at a single frequency. It mainly occurs in
 multimode fibers. Intermodal dispersion limi4s both the
bandwidth as well as the distance. The maximum pulse
broadening arising from intermodal dispersion is the
difference between the travel time Tmax of the higher order

mode and the travel time Tmin of the fundamental mode.

2.5.2 Intramodal dispersion

It is a pulse spreading that occurs within single mode fiber. It
is also known as chromatic dispersion. It is caused by the
dependence of the optical properties on wavelength. It limits
both the bandwidth and the distance that information can be
transmitted. Chromatic dispersion consists of two
mechanisms:
(a) Material Dispersion

(b) Wave guide Dispersion

2.7.2a Material Dispersion: It is the pulse spreading due to

dispersive properties of the material. Material dispersion is
caused by the wavelength dependence of the silica’s refractive
index. An information carrying light pulse contains different
wavelengths because a light source radiates light of a spectral
width. So, the components of the pulse with different
wavelengths will travel within the fiber at different velocities and
will arrive at the fiber end at different times, causing the spread of
the pulse. The amount of pulse spreading caused by material
dispersion per length is given by:

2.7.2 b Waveguide Dispersion: Waveguide dispersion is most

significant in single mode fibers. An information carrying light
pulse after entering in a single mode fiber is distributed between
 the core and cladding. Its major portion travels within the core,
the rest within the cladding. Both portions propagate at different
velocities. Since core and cladding have different refractive
indexes, the pulse will spread because light is confined within the
structure having different refractive indexes. The amount of pulse
spreading caused by waveguide. Dispersion per unit time is given
by:

Intermodal dispersion is the sum of material and waveguide dispersion.

2.7.3 Dispersion units

Modal dispersion in an optical fiber is specified by the

characteristics pulse spread per kilometer length in the units
of ns/km as it is independent of the Iinewidth of the source.
Material and waveguide dispersion depend on the source line
width, so these are expressed as ns/km.nm.
2.6 Intermodal dispersion in multimode step index fiber.

Pulse widening caused by the mode structure of light beam

inside the fiber is called intermodal (modal) dispersion. It
mainly occurs in multimode fibers. Intermodal dispersion
occurs because each mode travels a different distance over
the same time span as shown in Fig.

The autocarrelation function of is (t) is related to spectral

density Ss(F) by Wiener- Khinchin theorem.

where angle brackets denote an ensemble average over and fluctuations.

The spectral density of shot noise is constant and is given by , where

Ss(F) is two sided spectral density +ve and -ye frequencies are
included in above = n (I). If only + ye frequencies are
considered by changing the lower limit of integration to zeros,
one sided spectral density becomes

Nosie variance is obtained by setting r = 0 in equation (1),

where = effective noise bandwidth of

receives. If we consider current

fluctuations and include total transfer for
two HT (F).

Since, dark current ‘d also generates

shot noise. Its contribution is included

by replacing

where, = Root mean square value of noise current induced by shot noise.
 -

where, relative refractive index difference between the core and the
cladding.

This equation represents the maximum pulse

broadening in time due to intermodal dispersion in
multimode step index fiber.

2.7 Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) :

Pulse spreading caused by a change of fiber polarization
properties is called PMD. PMD is a serious limitation for fiber
optic communication systems operating 40Gb/s per channel. It
occurs in single mode fibers when fibers are not cylindrical
symmetrical Single mode fibers support one mode which
consists of two orthogonal polarization modes Ideally the core
of an optical fiber has an index of refraction that is uniform
over the entire cross-section. Mechanical stresses and external
environmental effects can cause slight changes in the core of
the fiber which causes a change in index of eraction. This can
cause one of orthogonal modes to travel faster than the other,
causing dispersion of optical pulse, so PMD is the result of
birefringence which is the difference in refractive indices along
perpendicular axis in the fiber. Birefringence arises due to
intrinsic and extrinsic non homogeneity of fiber core diameter.
2.7.1 Causes of PMD
In single mode fiber, PMD is random. It varies from fiber to
fiber because of the randomness of the underlying geometric
stress irregularities. The birefringence which causes PMD is
due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
(i) Intrinsic Factors: Intrinsic factors are those that are present
in the fiber during manufacturing stage It can include elliptical
core, elliptical cladding, internal stresses etc. During
manufacturing of fiber, the fiber drawing process can induce
some asymmetry that cause birefringence.
(ii) Extrinsic Factors: Extrinsic factors are those that induce
birefringence after manufacture. Birefringence occurs when
external forces act on the fiber. These external forces can be
radial compressive forces when fiber lies against each other,
compressive and tensile forces when fiber is bent and shear
forces when fiber is twisted. Cabling of fiber after manufacture
can cause stresses that induce birefringence. It also occurs due
to seasonal heating and cooling of optical fiber.

2.8 Group velocity dispersion.

Ans. Group Velocity Dispersion: GVD is the phenomenon that
the group velocity of light in a transparent medium depends on
the optical frequency or wavelength

The group velocity dispersion is the group delay dispersion per unit length. The
basic units are S/m.
For optical fibers, the group velocity dispersion usually
defined as a derivative w.r.t, wavelength. This can be

calculated as
This is usually specified with units of ps/nmkm. GVD is
responsible for dispersive broadening of pulses as well as for the
group velocity mismatch of different waves in parametric
 nonlinear interactions.
GVD causes a short pulse of light to spread in time as a result
of different frequency components of pulse travelling at
different velocities
2.9 FIBER CONNECTORS AND SPLICES:
Ans. Good connector should have following requirements:
(i) Low coupling losses

(ii) Ease of assembly

(iii) Low environmental sensitivity

(iv) Low cost

(v) Reliable construction

(vi) Ease of connection

Fiber splice: it is a permanent or semi-permanent joint
between two fibers. It is used to create long optical links. Fiber
splice is used in situations where frequent connection and
disconnection is not needed. Splices are of two types : midspan
splice in which two cables are connected and pigtail splice in
which there is a connector at one end of the fiber and other end
is free for splicing to a cable.
Fiber Connector: It is a detachable connection between two
fibers. Connectors are used to link fiber cable with the
transmitter or the receiver. Fiber connectors are classified into
two broad categories: the butt connector and the Expanded
beam connector. In the butt connectors two fiber ends are
aligned in such a way that the fiber core axis coincide and are
then butted to each other. In the expanded beam connector,
lenses are used on the ends of the fibers. This collimates the
light emerging from transmitter fiber to be focused on to the
core of the receiving fiber.
2.10 OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS

▪ Optical amplifier is a device used in an optical

communication system to directly amplify (boost) optical
data signal without changing it into its electrical form.
 2.10.1 Need for Optical Signal Amplification

In optical fiber communication, light signals are transmitted

through the optical fiber for very large distances. When
transmission distances become hundreds of kilometers, some
signal loss will occur. In order to compensate this optical
signal loss, we need to amplify the optical signals. In the past,
optical regenerators are installed in the fiber optic link for
every 80 km to 100km. The regenerator station will
electronically regenerate the optical signals to overcome the
optical signal loss due to the attenuation of optical fiber.With
the advent of optical amplifiers, optical signal transmission
distance can be easily extended without the need of
regenerator station.

2.10.2 Opticl Amplifiers-Applications Power Amplifier/Booster

Power amplifiers (also referred to as booster amplifiers) are
placed directly after the opticaltransmitter. This application
requires the EDFA to take a large signal input and provide the
maximum output level. Small signal response is not as important
because the direct transmitter output is usually -10 dBm or
higher. The noise added by the amplifier at this point is also not
as critical because the incoming signal has a large signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR).

In-line amplifier
In-line amplifiers or in-line repeaters, modify a small input
signal and boost it for retransmission down the fiber.
Controlling the small signal performance and noise added by the
EDFA reduces the risk of limiting a system’s length due to the
noise produced by the amplifying components.

Preamplifier
Past receiver sensitivity of -30 dBm at 622 Mb/s was acceptable;
however, presently, the demands require sensitivity of -40 dBm
or -45 dBm. This performance can be achieved by placing an
optical amplifier prior to the receiver.Boosting the signal at this
point presents a much larger signal into the receiver, thus easing
the demands of the receiver design. This application requires
careful attention to the noise added by the EDFA; the noise
added by the amplifier must be minimal to maximize the
received SNR.
2.11 Types of Optical Amplifiers

▪ Erbium Doped fiber amplifier (EDFA)

▪ Semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and
▪ Fiber Raman amplifier

2.11.1 EDFA Optical Amplifier

Erbium is a rare-earth element that, when excited, emits light around 1550 nm.
In EDFA, energy is transferred from the pumped light at
1480nm to the weak incoming light signal around 1550nm

EDFA Optical Amplifier- working principle

EDFA Optical Amplifier

EDFA- Architectures

EDFA Architectures-Comparison

Single pumping typ. +17dB gain

Dual pumping typ. +35dB gain
Counter-directional pumping allows
higher gain
Co-directional pumping gives better noise
performance

EDFA - Merits & De-merits Merits

• EDFA has high pump power utilization (>50%)
• Directly and simultaneously amplify a wide
wavelength band (>80nm) in the 1550nm region,
with a relatively flat gain
• Flatness can be improved by gain-flattening optical filters
• Gain in excess of 50 dB
 • Low noise figure suitable for long haul applications
De-Merits
• Size of EDFA is not small
• It can not be integrated with other semiconductor devices

2.11.2 Raman Fiber Amplifier

In a FRA, the optical signal is amplified due to stimulated Raman scattering
(SRS).
The gain medium is undoped optical fiber.
Power is transferred to the optical signal by a nonlinear optical process known as
the
Raman effect.
The fiber gain media of the former is generally within 10 km.
In addition, it requires on higher pump power, generally in a
few to a dozen watts that can produce 40 dB or even over
gains.
It is mainly used to amplify the optical signal band of which EDFA cannot
satisfy.

Stimulated Raman Scattering

A pump photon, νp, excites a molecule up to a virtual level

(nonresonant state). The molecule quickly decays to a lower
energy level emitting a signal photon νsin the process.
The difference in energy between the pump and signal photons
is dissipated by the molecular vibrations of the host material.
These vibrational levels determine the frequency shift and shape
of the Raman gain curve.
The frequency (or wavelength) difference between the pump and
the signal photon (νp-νs) is called the Stokes shift, and in
standard transmission fibers with a Ge-doped core, the peak of
this frequency shift is about 13.2 THz.
For high pump power, the scattered light can grow rapidly.

❖ Compatible with installed SM fiber

❖ Can result in a lower average power over a span, good for lower crosstalk
❖ Very broadband operation may be possible
De-Merits
❖ High pump power requirements, high pump power lasers have only
recently arrived
❖ Sophisticated gain control needed
 ❖ Noise is also an issue
❖ Variable wavelength amplification possible

Fiber Raman Amplifier-Architecture

Optical Amplifiers-Comparison

2.12 Noise in Optical Amplifiers

Amplification gain: Up to a factor of 10,000 (+40 dB)

In WDM: Several signals within the amplifier’s gain (G) bandwidth
are amplified, but not to the same extent
It generates its own noise source known as Amplified Spontaneous
Emission (ASE) noise
Gain efficiency
Measures the gain as a function of input power in dB/mW.

Gain saturation

❖ Is the value of output power at which the output power

no longer increases with an increase in the input
power.

❖ The saturation power is typically defined as the output

power at which there is a 3- dB reduction in the ratio of
output power to input power (the small-signal gain).

Fiber Capacity
Graded index multimode fiber is a type of optical fiber where
the refractive index is higher at the axis of the core and then it
decreases gradually towards the core-cladding interface.
The change in refractive index causes refraction
rather than total internal reflection.

Light propogation in Graded Index Multimode Fiber

TEXT BOOK / REFERENCES
[1] H. G. Unger, Planar Optical Waveguides and Fibres, Clarendon Press, 1977.
[2] John M Senior,“Optical Fiber Communications:
Principles and Practice”, 3rd Edition, Printice Hall,2010.
[3] M. J. Adams, An Introduction to Optical Waveguides, Wiley, 1981.
[4] Y. Suematsu and K.-I. Iga, Introduction to Optical Fibre
Communications, Wiley, 1982.
[5] T. Okoshi, Optical Fibers, Academic Press, 1982.
[6] G. P. Agrawal, Fiber Optic Communication Systems, Wiley-Interscience, 2000.
[7] Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, McGrawHill,4 th Edition,2011.
[8] M. J. Adams, An Introduction to Optical Waveguides, Wiley, 1981
[9] A. W. Snyder and J. D. Love, Optical Waveguide Theory, Chapman and Hall, 1983.
[10] K. Okamoto, Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (2nd edn), Academic Press,
2006.
 SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND

COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

UNIT-III
SEC1407 - Optical Communications
 UNIT III
OPTICAL TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS

Fiber optic Transmitter module. Optical sources- LEDs, LASER diodes- Principles of
operation: concepts of line width, phase noise, Vertical cavity surface emitting laser.
Optical detectors-P-I-N, Avalanche photodiodes, Resonant cavity
enhancement,Photodetector : Principles of operation: concepts of responsivity,
sensitivity and quantum efficiency, noise in detection. Fiber optic Receiver module.

INTRODUCTION
Optical sources

Optical transmitter converts electrical input signal into corresponding

optical signal. The optical signal is then launched into the fiber. Optical
source is the major component in an optical transmitter. Popularly used
optical transmitters are Light Emitting Diode (LED) and semiconductor
Laser Diodes (LD).

Characteristics of Light Source

❖ It must be possible to operate the device continuously at a

variety of temperatures for many years.

❖ It must be possible to modulate the light output over a wide

range of modulating frequencies.

❖ For fiber links, the wavelength of the output should coincide

with one of transmission windows.
❖ To couple large amount of power into an optical fiber, the
emitting area should be small.

❖ To reduce material dispersion in an optical fiber link, the output

spectrum should be narrow. V

❖ The power requirement for its operation must be low

❖ The light source must be compatible with the modem solid state
devices.

❖ The optical output power must be directly modulated by

varying the input current to the device.

❖ Better linearity to prevent harmonics and intermodulation

 distortion.

❖ High coupling efficiency.

❖ High optical output power.

❖ High reliability.

Low weight and low cost Two types of light sources used in fiber
optics are light emitting diodes.
(LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs).

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

Conventional p-n junction is called as homojunction as same semiconductor

material is used on both sides junction. As the carriers are not confined to
the immediate vacinity of junction. Hence high current densities cannot be
realized.

The carrier confinement problem can be resolved by sandwiching a thin

layer between p-type and n- type layers. The middle layer mayor may not be
doped. The carrier confinement occurs due to band gap discontinuity of the
junction. Such a junction is called heterojunction and the device is called
double heterostructure.
Double Heterojunctions (DH)

In order to achieve efficient confinement of emitted radiation double

heterojunctions are used in LED structures. A heterojunction is a junction
formed by dissimilar semiconductors. Double heterojunction (DR) is formed
by two different semiconductors on each side of active region.

LED configurations

There are two LED configurations used in optical fiber links .

1. Surface emitting LED.
2. Edge emitting LED.
Both devices use a OH structure to constrain the carriers and the light to an active
layer.

Surface Emitting LEDs

In surface emitting LEDs the plane of active light emitting region is oriented
perpendicularly to the axis of the fiber. A DH diode IS grown on an N-type
substrate at the top of the diode as shown in Fig.3.1. A circular well is
etched through the substrate of the device. A fiber is then connected to
accept the emitted light.
 Figure 3.1 Cross section of surface emitting LED

At the back of device is a gold heat sink. The current flows through the p-
type material and forms the small circular active region resulting in the
intense beam of light.

Diameter of circular active area = 50 μm Thickness of circular active

area = 2.5 μm Current density= 2000 A/cm2 half-power Emission
pattern = Isotropic, 1200 beamwidth.

The isotropic emission pattern from surface emitting LED is of lambartian

pattern. In Lambartian pattern, the emitting surface is uniformly bright, but
its projected area diminishes as cos θ, where θ is the angle between the
viewing direction and the normal to the surface as shown in Fig. 3.2. The
beam intensity is maximim along the normal.
The power is reduced to 50% of its peak when θ=6O0 . Therefore the total
half-power beamwidth is 1200 . The radiation pattern decides the coupling
efficiency of LED.

Figure. 3.2. Lambartian radiation

Edge Emitting LEDs (ELEDs)
In order to reduce the losses caused by absorption in the active layer and to
make the beam more directional, the light is collected from the edge of the
LED. Such a device is known as edge emitting LED or ELED.

It consists of an active junction region which is the source of incoherent

light and two guiding layers. The refractive index of guiding layers is lower
than active region but higher than outer surrounding material. Thus a
waveguide channel is form and optical radiation is directed into the fiber.
Fig. 3.3 shows structure of ELED.

Figure. 3.3 Structure of edge emitting. DH, strip contact LED

Edge emitter's emission pattern is more concentrated (directional) providing

improved coupling efficiency. The beam is Lambartian in the plane parallel
to the junction but diverges more slowly in the plane perpendicular to the
junction. In this plane, the beam divergence is limited. In the parallel plane.
there is no beam confinement and the radiation is Lambartian.

Figure. 3.4 Unsymmetric radiation from an edge emitting LED

To maximize the useful output power, a reflector may be placed at the end of
the diode opposite the emitting edge. Fig. 3.4 shows radiation from ELED.

Advantages of LED
1. Simple design.
2. Ease of manufacture.
3. Simple system integration.
4. Low cost.
5. High reliability.

Disadvantages of LED
1. Refraction of light at semiconductor/air interface.
2. The average life time of a radiative recombination is only a few
nanoseconds, therefore modulation BW is limited to only few hundred
megahertz.
3. Low coupling efficiency.
4. Large chromatic dispersion.

Injection Laser Diode (ILD)

The laser is a device which amplifies the light, hence the LASER is an
acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.

The operation of the device may be described by the formation of an

electromagnetic standing wave within a cavity (optical resonator) which
provides an output of monochromatic highly coherent radiation. Principle:
Material absorbs light rather than emitting.
Three different fundamental process occurs between the two energy states of an
atom.
1) Absorption
2) Spontaneous emission
3) Stimulated emission.

Laser action is the result of three process absorption of energy packets

(photons) spontaneous emission, and. stimulated emission. (These processes
are represented by the simple two-energylevel diagrams).
Where, E1 is the lower state energy level. E2 is the higher state energy level.

Distributed Feedback (DFB)laser

In DFB laser the Iasing action is obtained by periodic variations

of refractive index along the longitudinal dimension of the diode.
Fig. 3.5 shows the structure of DFB laser diode.

Advantages of Laser Diode

1. Simple economic design.

2. High optical power

3. Production of light can be precisely controlled.

4. Can be used al high temperatures.

5. Better modulation capability.

6. High coupling efficiency.

Disadvantages of Laser Diode

1. At the end of fiber, a speckle pattern appears as two coherent light

beams add or subtract their electric field depending upon their
relative phases.

2. Laser diode is extremely sensitive to overload currents and. at high

transmission rates, when laser is required to operate continuously the use
of large drive current produces unfavorable thermal characteristics and
necessitates the use of cooling and power stabilization.

Phase Noise

Phase noise is most often obtained from beat measurements – either

from a beat note between two different lasers, or between the laser
output and a delayed portion of it, often with an additional
frequency shift provided by an acousto-optic modulator. The delay
is often achieved with a long optical fiber.
If this can be longer than the coherence length, one can use simple
processing techniques as the fluctuations of both signals are
statistically independent.
 If this is impractical, more sophisticated techniques of data analysis
can be employed. The most flexible measurement scheme is again
based on recording the beat signal with a sampling card, even
though the initial efforts for data processing are more extensive
than with a spectrum analyzer and is shown in fig. 3.6.

Figure. 3.6 Phase noise in optical sources

Swithching CharecteristicsModulation Characteristics

An optical modulator is a device which is used to modulate a

beam of light. The beam may be carried over free space, or
propagated through an optical waveguide. Depending on the
parameter of a light beam which is manipulated, modulators may be
categorized into amplitude modulators, phase modulators,
polarization modulators etc. Often the easiest way to obtain
modulation of intensity of a

light beam, is to modulate the current driving the light source, e.g. a
laser diode. This sort of modulation is called direct modulation, as
opposed to the external modulation performed by a light modulator.
For this reason light modulators are, e.g. in fiber optic
communications, called external light modulators.With laser diodes
where narrow line width is required, direct modulation is avoided due
to a high bandwidth "chirping" effect when applying and removing
the current to the laser.
.Optical Detectors
Detectors perform the opposite function of light
emitters. They convert optical signals back into electrical
impulses that are used by the receiving end of the fiber optic
data, video, or audio link. The most common detector is the
semiconductor photodiode, which produces current in response
to incident light.

Principles of Optical Detectors

The photo detector works on the principle of optical
absorption. The main requirement of light detector or photo
detector is its fast response. For fiber optic communication
purpose most suited photodetectors are PIN (p-type- Intrinsic-
n-type diodes and APD (Avalanche photodiodes)

The performance parameters of a photo detector are

responsivity, quantum efficiency, response time and dark
current

Detector Responsivity
The responsivity of a photo detector is the ratio 01 the
current output in amperes to the incident optical power in watts

Working of Photodiodes

In order to convert the modulated light back into an electrical

signal, photodiodes of photodetectors are used. As the intensity of
optical signal at the receiver is very low, the detector has to meet
high performance specifications.

❖ The conversion efficiency must be high at the operating wavelength.

❖ The speed of response must be high enough to

ensure that signal distortion does not occur.

❖ The detection process introduces the minimum amount of noise.

❖ It must be possible to operate continuously over a

wide range of temperatures for many years.
 ❖ The detector size must be compatible with the fiber dimensions.

V-I Characteristics of Photodiode

Figure. 3.7 V-I Characteristics of Photodiode

V-I Characteristics of Photodiode is shown in figure 3.7 with different three

regions.
Forward bias, region 1: A change in incident power causes a change
in terminal voltage, it is called as photovoil.lic mode. If the diode is
operated in this mode, the frequency response of the diode is poor and
so photovoltaic operation is rarely used in optical links.

Reverse bias, region 2: A change in optical power produces a

proportional change in diode current, it is called as photoconductive
mode of operation which most detectors use.

Avalanche breakdown region 3: When biased in this region, a photo

generated electron-hole pair causes avalanche breakdown, resulting in
large diode for a single incident photon.

PIN Photodiode

PIN diode consists of an intrinsic semiconductor

sandwiched between two heavily doped p-type and n-type
semiconductors as shown in Fig. 3.8.
 Figure. 3.8 PIN Photodiode
Sufficient reverse voltage is applied so as to keep intrinsic
region free from carriers, so its resistance is high, most of diode
voltage appears across it, and the electrical forces are strong within it.
The incident photons give up their energy and excite an electron from
valance to conduction band. Thus a free electron hole pair is
generated, these are called as photocarriers. These carriers ate
collected across the reverse biased junction resulting in rise in current
in external circuit called photocurrent.
In the absence of light, PIN photodiodes behave electrically
just like an ordinary rectifier diode. If forward biased, they conduct
large amount of current.
PIN detectors can be operated in two modes Photovolt.lic and
photoconductive. In photovoltaic mode, no bias is applied to the
detector. In this case the detector works very slow, and output is
approximately logarithmic to the input light level. Real world fiber
optic receivers never use the photovoltaic mode.
In photoconductive mode, the detector is reverse biased. The
output in this case is a current that is very linear with the input light
power.
The intrinsic region somewhat improves the sensitivity of the
device. It does not provide internal gain. The combination of different
semiconductors operating at different wavelengths allows the
selection of material capable of responding to the desired operating
wavelength.
Table 3.1. Characteristics of Common PIN Photodiodes

Avalanche Photodiode (APD)

When a p-n junction diode is applied with high reverse bias

breakdown can occur by two separate mechanisms direct ionization
of the lattice atoms, zener breakdown and high velocity carriers
causing impact ionization of the lattice atoms called avalanche
breakdown. APDs use the avalanche breakdown phenomena for its
operation. The APD has its internal gain which increases its
responsivity.
Fig. 3.9 shows the schematic structure of an APD. By virtue of the doping
concentration
+
and physical construction of the n p junction, the electric field is high enough to
cause impact
-
ionization. Under normal operating bias, the I layer (the p region) is completely
depicted. This is
known as reach through condition, hence APDs are also known as
reach through APD or RAPDs.

Figure. 3.9 APD schematic and variation of E-field across diode

 Similar to PIN photodiode, light absorption in APDs is most efficient
in I-layer. In this region. the E·field separates the carriers and
electrons drift into the avalanche region where carrier multiplication
occurs. If the APD is biased close to breakdown, it will result in
reverse leakage current. Thus APDs are usually biased just below
breakdown, with the bias voltage being tightly controlled.

The multiplication for all carriers generated in the photodiode is given as

IM - Average value of
total multiplied output
current. Ip - Primary un
multiplied photocurrent.
Responsivity of APD is given by

Table 3.2 Comparision of PIN and APD

Text Books / References

1. Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Fiber Communications”,4th edition,Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi
2010.

2. John M Senior,,” Optical Fiber Communications- Principles

and Practise”,3rd edition, Pearson Education, 2010.

3. Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Communications Essentials”, Speacial Indian

Edition,Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi,2008.

4. Govind P. Agrawal,” Fiber-optic communication systems”, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Son,
2004.
5. Rajiv Ramaswami, Kumar N. Sivarajan,” optical networks-A Practical
Perspective”,2nd edition,Morgan Kauffman,2002.

18
 SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND

ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND

COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

UNIT-IV
SEC1407 - Optical Communications

1
 UNIT IV

Couplers, Connectors and Optical Link

Couplers: 2x2 coupler, Tap coupler, star coupler, Connectors:

Cylindrical ferrule, Biconical Ferrule, Double eccentric, Splices:
Fusion splices, Mechanical splices, Multiple splices. Design
considerations in optical links, Point to point Links: Link Power
budget, Rise Time budget, Analog Links: CNR, Multichannel
transmission techniques-Multichannel Frequency Modulation,
Subcarrier multiplexing.

INTRODUCTION
Optical Coupler

A fiber optic coupler is a device used in optical fiber systems with

one or more input fibers and one or several output fibers. Light
entering an input fiber can appear at one or more outputs and its
power distribution potentially depending on the wavelength and
polarization.
A fiber optic coupler is an optical device capable of connecting one
or more fiber ends in order to allow the transmission of light waves in
multiple paths. The device is capable of combining two or more
inputs into a single output and also dividing a single input into two or
more outputs.

Optical Splitter

In splitting function, the fiber optic coupler split the input signal in
two or more outputs. Such types of couplers are known as optical
splitters. A splitter divides the optical power into two or several equal
parts among the fibers.

Figure 4.1 Optical Splitter

2
Optical Combiners

An optical combiner is used to combine two or more inputs into one

single output. An optical combiner combines the optical power
carried by two or several input fibers into a single output fiber.

Figure 4.2 Optical Combiner

TYPES OF COUPLERS

If we see optical couplers by shape, there is

1. X Couplers (2X2 Coupler)

2. Star Couplers
3. Y Coupler (Tap Coupler)
4. Tree Couplers
5. T coupler

Which split the optical signal based on the power.

X Couplers (2X2 Coupler)

X couplers carry out the function of a splitter and a combiner in one

package. The X coupler combines and divides the optical power
from the two input fibers between the two output fibers. Another
name for the X coupler is 2 x 2 coupler.

Figure 4.3 X coupler

3
Star Coupler

A star coupler generally has several input and output port combinations,
in which the optical power is distributed from more than two input ports
among several output ports. The number of input and output ports may or
may not be equal in star couplers such as 2×4, 4×4, 8×16, etc.
However, in all possible input and output port combinations, the
distribution of power among the output ports remains equal.

Figure 4.4 Star coupler

Y Coupler (Tap Coupler)

A Y coupler resembles the letter Y. Y coupler is also called tap coupler.

This type of coupler simply divides the signal into two outputs. The
power distribution ratio between two outputs can be precisely
controlled, such as 10/90 percent, 20/80 percent, 30/70 percent, 40/60
percent or 50/50 percent.

Figure 4.5 Y coupler

T Coupler

Unlike the Y coupler, a T coupler has an uneven power distribution.

The power of one output signal is greater than the other output signal.
Popular splitting ratios include 10:90 percent and 20:80 percent. This
optical coupler is often used in small networks with less port counts.
4
 Figure 4.6 T coupler

T-Coupler APPLICATIONS

T couplers can be cascade to connect multiple terminals on a network, as shown

below.

Figure 4.7 Advantages of T coupler

Advantages of T and Y Coupler

T couplers are readily available and can be terminated with standard

connectors such as SC, ST, FC, LC, etc. You can quickly set up a small
network with T couplers cascaded that way.

Tree Coupler

A tree coupler is also a multiport coupler. It splits optical power

from one input fiber to more than two output fibers.
A tree coupler may also be used reversely to combine the optical
signal from more than two input fibers to one output fiber.

5
 4.8 Tree coupler Applications of Fiber Optic Couplers

Performance(Parameters) of 2 2 optical coupler

Connector

An optical fiber connector is a flexible device that connects fiber

cables requiring a quick connection and disconnection. Optical fibers
terminate fiber-optic connections to fiber equipment or join two fiber
connections without splicing. Hundreds of optical fiber connector
types are available, but the key differentiator is defined by the
mechanical coupling techniques and dimensions. Optical fiber
connectors ensure stable connections, as they ensure the fiber ends
are optically smooth and the end-to-end positions are properly
aligned.
6
An optical fiber connector is also known as a fiber optic connector.

Requirements of Optical Fiber Connectors

Some of the principal requirements of a good connector design are as follows:

Low coupling losses: The connector assembly must maintain
stringent alignment tolerances to assure low mating losses. These low
losses must not change significantly during operation or after
numerous connects and disconnects.
Interchangeability:
Connectors of the same type
must be compatible from one
manufacturer to another.
Low environmental sensitivity. Conditions such as temperature,
dust, and moisture should have a small effect on connector-loss
variations.
Low cost and reliable construction. The connector must
have a precision suitable to the application but its cost must
not be a major factor in the fiber system.
Ease of connection and Ease of assembly. Ferrule Connectors
Ferrule connectors use two cylindrical plugs (referred to as ferrules),
an alignment sleeve, and sometimes axial springs to perform fiber
alignment. Figure 4.10 provides an illustration of this basic ferrule
connector design. Precision holes drilled or molded through the center
of each ferrule allow for fiber insertion and alignment. Precise fiber
alignment depends on the accuracy of the central hole of each ferrule.
When the fiber ends are inserted, an adhesive (normally an epoxy
resin) bonds the fiber inside the ferrule. The fiber-end faces are
polished until they are flush with the end of the ferrule to achieve a
low-loss fiber connection. Fiber alignment occurs when the ferrules
are inserted into the alignment sleeve. The inside diameter of the
alignment sleeve aligns the ferrules, which in turn align the fibers.
Ferrule connectors lock the ferrules in the alignment sleeve using a
threaded outer shell or some other type of coupling mechanism.

7
 Figure 4.10 Basic Ferrule Connectors

Cylindrical Ferrule Connectors

Figure 4.11 Cylindrical Ferrule Connectors

The two fibers to be connected are permanently bonded(with epoxy

resin) in metal plugs known as ferrules which have an accurately
drilled central hole in their end faces where the stripped fiber is
located.

Within the connector the two ferrules are placed in an alignment

sleeve which using accurately machined component allows the fibre
ends to be butt jointed. The ferrules are held in place via a retaining
mechanism which is a spring.

8
It is essential with this type of connector that the fiber end faces are smooth and
square.

This may be achieved with varying success by

a. Cleaving the fiber before insertion into the ferrule.
b.Inserting and bonding before cleaving the fiber close to the ferrule end
face. c.and polishing the fiber end face until it is flush with the end of the
ferrule.

As stated before, fiber alignment depends on an accurate hole through

the center of the ferrule. Normally, ferrule connectors use ceramic or
metal ferrules. The center hole is generally drilled in a metal ferrule.

Drilling an accurate hole through the entire metal ferrule can

be difficult. To improve fiber alignment, some metal ferrule
connectors use precision watch-jeweled centering.

In precision watch-jeweled centering, a watch jewel with a precision

centered hole is placed in the tip of the ferrule.

The central hole of the watch jewel centers the fiber with respect
to the axis of the cylindrical ferrule.

The watch jewel provides for better fiber alignment, because

regulating the hole tolerance of the watch jewel is easier than
maintaining a precise hole diameter when drilling through an entire
ferrule.

The center hole in a ceramic ferrule is created by forming the ferrule

around a precision wire, which is then removed.

This method produces holes accurately centered in the ferrule. Most

cylindrical ferrule connectors now use ceramic ferrules.

The Straight Tip (ST&reg;) connector is an example of a ceramic

ferrule connector. (ST&reg; is a registered trademark of AT&amp;T.)
Other cylindrical ferrule connectors have a ferrule that contains both metal and
ceramic.

For these connectors a ceramic capillary is placed within the tip of a

metal ferrule to provide for precision fiber alignment.

The ceramic capillary is a ceramic tube with a small inner diameter

9
that is just larger than the diameter of the fiber.

Biconical Connector

Biconical connectors use two conical plugs,a double conical

alignment sleeve, and axial springs to perform fiber alignment.

Formation of the plugs and alignment sleeve involves transfer

molding. Transfer molding uses silica-filled epoxy resin to mold the
conical plug directly to the fiber or around a cast (precision wire).

After connecting the conical plugs to the optical fibers, the fiber-
end faces are polished before the plugs are inserted into the
molded alignment sleeve.

During fiber insertion, the inside surface of the double conical

sleeve performs fiber alignment, while the axial springs push the
fiber ends into close contact.

If the alignment sleeve permits the fibers to actually become in

contact, then the axial spring provides enough force to maintain
fiber contact but prevent damage to the fiber-end faces.

Normally, biconical connectors lock the fibers in alignment using a threaded outer
shell.

Figure 4.12 Biconical Connector

10
Splicing of Optical Fibers

Definition: Splicing of optical fibers is a technique used to join two

optical fibers.
This technique is used in optical fiber communication, in order to form
long optical links for better as well as long-distance optical signal
transmission.

Splicers are basically couplers that form a connection between two

fibers or fiber bundles.
At the time of splicing two optical fibers, the geometry of the fibers,
their proper alignment and mechanical strength must be taken into
consideration.
Splicing Techniques of Optical Fiber

Figure 4.13 Splicing Techniques of Optical Fiber

Fusion splicing

Splicing any fiber by making use of the fusion technique provides

a permanent (long-lasting) contact between the two fibers.

In the fusion splicing, the two fibers are thermally joined together. In
this particular technique, an electrical instrument is necessarily used,
that acts as an electric arc so as to form a thermal connection between
the two.

11
First, the two fibers are aligned and butted in the way of their
connection, this alignment is done in a fiber holder. After this, the
electric arc comes into action as when it gets switched on then it
produces some energy, that heats the butt joint.

The heating effect melts the ends of the fiber and then the two gets
bonded together. After the two forms a bond then their junction is
covered with either polyethylene jacket or plastic coating so as to
protect the joint.

Figure 4.13 Fusion Splicing of Optical Fiber

By making use of fusion splicing technique, the splice generated

losses are very less. The loss range lies between 0.05 to 0.10 dB, both
in case of single mode as well as multimode optical fibers.

The technique that provides this amount of losses is very practical

and useful. As only very little portion of transmitted power gets lost.

However, when fusion splicing is done, then the supply of heat that is
to be provided must be in adequate amount. This is so because
sometimes excess heat can generate fragile (delicate) joint.

V-Grooved Splicing

In this splicing technique, initially a V-shaped substrate is taken and

the two fiber ends are butted in the groove.

The two gets placed inside the groove in proper alignment then they
are bonded by an adhesive or index matching gel. This adhesive

12
provides proper grip to the connection.

The V substrate can be either composed of plastic, silicon, ceramic or

any metal.

Figure 4.14 V-groove Splicing of Optical Fiber

However, the fiber losses are more in case of this technique as

compared to the fusion technique. Also, these losses majorly depend
on the core and cladding diameter as well as core position with
respect to the centre.
It is to be noted here that the two fibers do not form a continuous
smooth connection as in the previously discussed case.
Also, the joint is semi-permanent.

Elastic-Tube Splicing
It is a technique of splicing the fiber with the help of the elastic tube
and majorly finds its application in case of the multimode optical
fiber.
The fiber loss, in this case, is almost similar to that of the fusion
technique. However, the need for equipment and skill is somewhat
less than the fusion splicing technique.

Figure 4.14 Elastic-Tube Splicing of Optical Fiber

13
Basically, the elastic material is rubber, inside which a small hole is
present. The diameter of this hole is somewhat less than the diameter
of the fiber to be spliced. Also, tapering is done at the ends of both
the fibers in order to allow easy insertion inside the tube.

So, when the fiber with a slightly larger diameter than the hole is
inserted inside the hole then, it eventually gets expanded as a
symmetrical force is exerted by the material on the fiber. Due to this
symmetricity, proper alignment between the two fibers is achieved. In
this method, different diameters of fiber can be spliced as here the
fiber moves according to the axis of the tube.

Advantages of fiber splicing

It allows long-distance optical signal transmission. Less reflection at
the time of signal transmission.
Splicing provides almost permanent connection of the two fibers.

Disadvantages of fiber splicing

Sometimes the fiber losses are very much higher than the acceptable
limits. Splicing increases, the overall cost of the optical fiber
communication system.
Splicing basically provides permanent or semi-permanent joints.
Also, sometimes the two fibers are joint on a temporary basis. So,
connecting the two optical fibers temporarily is done by connectors.

Design Considerations in Optical Link POINT-TO-POINT LINKS

The simplest transmission link is a point-to point line having a

transmitter at one end and a receiver on the other, as shown
below:

Figure 4.15 Point-To-Point Links

14
The design of an optical link involves many interrelated variables
such as the fiber, source, and photo detector operating characteristics,
so that the link design and analysis may require several iterations
before they are working satisfactorily.

The key system requirements needed in analyzing a link are:

1. The desired (or possible) transmission distance

2. The data rate or channel bandwidth
3. The bit error rate (BER)

To fulfill these requirements the designer has a choice of the

following components and their associated characteristics:

1. Multimode or single-mode optical fiber

a) Core size
b) Core refractive-index profile
c) Bandwidth or dispersion
d) Attenuation
e) Numerical aperture or mode-field diameter.

2. LED or laser diode optical source

(a) Emission wavelength
(b) Spectral line width
(c) Output power
(d) Effective radiating area
(e) Emission pattern
(f) Number of emitting modes

3. pin or avalanche photodiode

(a) Responsivity (~quantum efficiency)
(b) Operating wavelength
(c) Speed
(d) Sensitivity

Two types of design and analysis procedures are normally carried

out for digital optical systems

I. Link Power Budget There is enough power margin in the system to meet the
given BER
II. Rise Time Budget Each element of the link is fast
enough to meet the given bit rate These two budgets give
15
necessary conditions for satisfactory operation.

All datalinks are limited by the power budget of the link.

The power budget is the difference between the output power of the
transmitter and the input power requirements of the receiver, both of
which are defined as power coupled into or out of optical fiber of a
type specified by the link.

Link Power Budget

The optical power budget in a fiber-optic communication link is the

allocation of available optical power (launched into a given fiber by a
given source) among various loss-producing mechanisms such as
launch coupling loss, fiber attenuation, splice losses and connector
losses, to ensure that adequate signal strength (optical power) is
available at the receiver.

Figure 4.16 Link Power Budget

Each of these losses is expressed in decibels as

loss=10logPout/Pin

where Pin and Pout are the optical powers entering and exiting
respectively a fiber, splice, connector, or other link element.

The total channel loss C_{l} for the fiber length L can be given as:

Cl=(αsplice+αfc).L+αcon

Where,

αsplice is loss due to splice αfc is loss due to fiber cable αcon is loss due

16
 to connector

A system margin Ma is incorporated into the optical power budget to

allow for component ageing, temperature fluctuations and losses
arising from components that may be added in future.

∴channel loss (Cl)=(αsplice+αfc).L+αcon+Ma

The link loss budget simply considers the total optical power loss Pt
that is allowed between the light source and the photo detector and
allocates this loss to factors such as cable attenuation, connector and
splice losses, losses in other link components, and system margin.

Thus, if Ps is the optical power emerging from the end of a fiber

flylead attached to the source and if Pr is the minimum receiver
sensitivity needed for a specific BER, then

Pt=Ps−PrPt=Ps−Pr

∴Pt=(αsplice+αfc).L+αcon+Ma

Manufacturers sometimes specify an optical power budget for the

fiber that is optimum for their equipment.

Figure 4.17 Link Power Budget Graph

Rise-Time Budget

A rise-time budget analysis is a convenient method for determining

the dispersion limitation of an optical link. This is particularly useful
for a digital link.

In this approach the total rise time tsys of the link is the root-sum-
square calculation of the rise times from each contributor ti to the
pulse rise-time degradation, that is, if there are N components in a
link that affect the rise time then.

17
The five basic elements that may limit the system speed significantly
are the transmitter rise time tTX, the modal dispersion rise time tMOD
of multimode fiber, the chromatic dispersion rise
time t_CD of the fiber, the polarization mode dispersion rise time tPMD
of the fiber, and the receiver rise time tRX.

The purpose of rise time budget is to ensure that the system operates
properly at intended bit rate. Generally the total transition-time
degradation tsys of a digital link should not exceed 70 percent of an
NRZ (non-return-to-zero) bit period or 35 percent for RZ (return-to-
zero) data.

Figure 4.18 Rise Time Budget Graph

Power Budget Example:

Specify a 20-Mb/s data rate and a BER = 10–9. With a Si pin

photodiode at 850 nm, the required receiver input signal is –42 dBm.
Select a GaAlAs LED that couples 50 mW into a 50-μm core
diameter fiber flylead. Assume a 1-dB loss occurs at each cable
18
interface and a 6-dB system margin.

The possible transmission distance L = 6 km can be found from

PT = PS – PR = 29 dB = 2lc + αL + system margin = 2(1dB) + αL + 6 dB

Rise Time Budget Example 1:

We assume that the LED together with its drive circuit has a rise time
of 15 ns. Taking a typical LED spectral width of 40nm, we have a
material-dispersion-related rise-time degradation of 21 ns over the 6-
km link. Assuming the receiver has a 25-MHz bandwidth, the
contribution to the rise-time degradation from the receiver is 14 ns. If
the fiber we select has a 400-MHz · km bandwidth-distance product
and with q = 0.7, the modal-dispersion-induced fiber rise time is 3.9
ns. Calculate the total rise of the optical link.

Rise Time Budget Example 2:

Assume that the laser diode together with its drive circuit has a rise
time of 0.025 ns (25 ps). Taking a 1550-nm laser diode spectral width
of 0.1 nm and an average dispersion of 2 ps/(nm · km) for the fiber,
we have a GVD-related rise-time degradation of 12 ps (0.012 ns) over
a 60-km long optical cable. Assume the InGaAs-APD-based receiver
has a 2.5-GHz bandwidth. Calculate total rise time of the optical

Multichannel Transmission Techniques

The multichannel transmit signal is the sum of several independent

subsignals or subchannels. Each subchannel carries a low bit rate,
hence helping to solve the problem of intersymbol interference
(ISI).

19
MULTIPLEXING IN OFC

Multiplexing (or muxing) is a way of sending multiple signals or

streams of information over a communications link at the same time
in the form of a single, complex signal; the receiver recovers the
separate signals, a process called demultiplexing (or demuxing).

In fiber optic communication, multiplexing is considered to be

the principal means for the expansion of existing fiber
network engineering.

Since optical data can be carried by employing different physical

dimensions, such as time, frequency, space, polarity, etc., different
multiplexing techniques are possible to be used in increasing the data-
carrying capacity of a single optical fiber.
Currently, multiplexing technologies have used many dimensions to
increase optical transmission system capacity over a fixed bandwidth.
Two major methods are WDM and OTDM.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing

WDM is one of the optical multiplexing techniques that increases

bandwidth by multiplexing a variety of optical carrier signals onto a
single optical fiber by using different wavelengths. Each signal at
WDM wavelengths is independent of any protocol and any speed.
The WDM technology allows bidirectional communications
simultaneously over a single optical fiber.

The foundation of WDM simplifies the network to a single virtual

optical fiber network instead of using multiple forms of signals with
different fibers and services. In this way, WDM increases the
bandwidth and lowers the networking cost by reducing the needed
fibers.

The concept of WDM

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is based on the

fundamental physical principle which states that many optical rays
having different wavelengths can be propagated together over a
common optical channel with no interference.

20
The concept of WDM is analogous to the basic concept of frequency
division multiplexing (FDM) in which the available bandwidth of a
communications channel in its frequency domain is divided into
multiple sub-bands (called user channels). It implies that each user
channel occupies only a part of the wide frequency spectrum. In
WDM, each user channel is recognized by an optical wavelength.

Remember the relationship between the wavelength and frequency as,

which implies that shorter the wavelength of the signal, higher will be
its frequency, and vice-versa.

There are two different wavelength patterns of WDM systems, coarse

(CWDM) and dense (DWDM). CWDM and DWDM are based on the
same concept of using multiple light wavelengths on a single fiber,
but differ in the spacing of the wavelengths, numbers of channels, and
the ability to amplify the multiplexed signals in the optical space.

In a WDM system, different optical signals are combined

(multiplexed) together at one end of the optical fiber and separated
(demultiplexed) into different channels at the other end.

Figure 4.19 Wavelength Division Multiplexing

The optical carrier WDM is often regarded as an analogous technique

of frequency division multiplexing, which typically applies to a radio
carrier. However, there is no essential difference between them since
they communicate the same information.

21
Principles of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

m1 m1
Transmi Recei
(t)
tter λ Multiple λ ver
(t)
1 xer 1
m2 m2
(t) Transmi λ λ Recei (t)
tter 2 optic 2
ver
m3 fiber m3
(t) Transmi λ λ Recei (t)
tter λ3 n verλn
3

Demultiplexer
mn mn
(t) Transmi Recei (t)
tter ver

Figure 4.20 Wavelength Division

Multiplexing Key Components for WDM

1. Passive Optical Components

2. Wavelength Selective Splitters
3. Wavelength Selective Couplers
4. Active Optical Components
5. Tunable Optical Filter
6. Tunable Source
7. Optical amplifier
8. Add-drop Multiplexer and De-multiplexer

TDM and WDM

TDM divides a high-bandwidth transmitted signal into time

slots. Each time slot carries a different low-bandwidth signal.
In WDM, several high-bandwidth signals travel on the same fiber, in
the same time, each using a different light wavelength.
DWDM uses the same principles as a WDM, but with high
density of light wavelength allocation.
A common application of multiplexing is in long-distance data and voice
communications.

22
 Figure 4.21 Time Division Multiplexing

Text Books / References

1. Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Fiber Communications”,4th edition,Tata

Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi 2010.

2. John M Senior,,” Optical Fiber Communications- Principles

and Practise”,3rd edition, Pearson Education, 2010.

3. Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Communications Essentials”, Speacial

Indian Edition,Tata Mc Graw Hill, New Delhi,2008.

4. Govind P. Agrawal,” Fiber-optic communication systems”, 3rd

edition, John Wiley & Son, 2004.
5. Rajiv Ramaswami, Kumar N. Sivarajan,” optical networks-A
Practical Perspective”,2nd edition,Morgan Kauffman,2002.
23
 SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

UNIT-V
SEC1407 - Optical Communications

1
 UNIT - V
OPTICAL NETWORKS, COMPONENTS AND APPLICATIONS
Optical LAN Standards-IEEE802.3, Optical OFDM, High-speed Light-
Waveguides, Reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, Light-Fidelity
(Li-Fi) Technology- Introduction, working principle, Comparison of Li-Fi
and Wi-Fi, Li-Fi networks,
Applications.Case study: Evaluation of building a Fiber Optic network

5.1 INTRODUCTION
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that is
designed for a limited geographic area such as a building or a campus.
Although a LAN can be used as an isolated network to connect
computers in an organization for the sole purpose of sharing resources,
most LANs today are also linked to a wide area network (WAN) or the
Internet. The LAN market has seen several technologies such as
Ethernet, Token Ring, Token Bus, FDDI, and ATM LAN. Some of
these technologies survived for a while, but Ethernet is by far the
dominant technology.

5.1.1 IEEE STANDARDS

In 1985, the Computer Society of the IEEE started a project,
called Project 802, to set standards to enable intercommunication
among equipment from a variety of manufacturers. Project 802 does
not seek to replace any part of the OSI or the Internet model. Instead,
it is a way of specifying functions of the physical layer and the data
link layer of major LAN protocols.
The original Ethernet was created in 1976 at Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC). Since then, it has gone through four
generations:
5.2 Standard Ethernet (10 Mbps),
5.3 Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps),
5.4 Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps), and
5.5 Ten-Gigabit Ethernet (10 Gbps), as shown in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1 Ethernet evolution through four generations

2
 5.1.2 Standard Ethernet(IEEE 802.3)
Standard Ethernet also known as IEEE 802.3 was the LAN standard
proposed by IEEE. Data rate for standard Ethernet is 10 Mbps.

MAC Sublayer
In Standard Ethernet, the MAC sublayer governs the operation of
the access method. It also frames data received from the upper
layer and passes them to the physical layer.
• Frame Format
The Ethernet frame contains seven fields: preamble, SFD, DA, SA,
length or type of protocol data unit (PDU), upper-layer data, and the
CRC. Ethernet does not provide any mechanism for acknowledging
received frames, making it what is known as an unreliable medium.
Acknowledgments must be implemented at the higher layers. The
format of the MAC frame is shown in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2 802.3 MAC frame

i. Preamble. The first field of the 802.3 frame contains 7 bytes (56
bits) of alternating 0s and 1s that alerts the receiving system to the
coming frame and enables it to synchronize its input timing. The
pattern provides only an alert and a timing pulse. The 56-bit
pattern allows the stations to miss some bits at the beginning of the
frame. The preamble is actually added at the physical layer and is
not (formally) part of the frame.

ii. Start frame delimiter (SFD). The second field (1 byte: 10101011)
signals the beginning of the frame. The SFD warns the station or
stations that this is the last chance for synchronization. The last 2
bits is 11 and alerts the receiver that the next field is the destination
address.
iii. Destination address (DA). The DA field is 6 bytes and contains
the physical address of the destination station or stations to receive
the packet.

3
 iv. Source address (SA). The SA field is also 6 bytes and contains the
physical address of the sender of the packet.

v. Length or type. This field is defined as a type field or length field.

The original Ethernet used this field as the type field to define the
upper-layer protocol using the MAC frame. The IEEE standard
used it as the length field to define the number of bytes in the data
field. Both uses are common today.

vi. Data. This field carries data encapsulated from the upper-layer
protocols. It is a minimum of 46 and a maximum of 1500 bytes.

vii. CRC. The last field contains error detection information, in this case a
CRC-32.

viii. Frame Length Ethernet has imposed restrictions on both the

minimum and maximum lengths of a frame, as shown in
Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3 Minimum and

maximum lengths

The minimum length restriction is required for the correct operation of

CSMA/CD as we will see shortly. An Ethernet frame needs to have a
minimum length of 512 bits or 64 bytes. Part of this length is the
header and the trailer. If we count 18 bytes of header and trailer (6
bytes of source address, 6 bytes of destination address, 2 bytes of
length or type, and 4 bytes of CRC), then the minimum length of data
from the upper layer is 64 - 18 = 46 bytes. If the upper-layer packet is
less than 46 bytes, padding is added to make up the difference.

The standard defines the maximum length of a frame (without

preamble and SFD field) as 1518 bytes. If we subtract the 18 bytes of
header and trailer, the maximum length of the payload is 1500 bytes.
The maximum length restriction has two historical reasons. First,
memory was very expensive when Ethernet was designed: a maximum

4
 length restriction helped to reduce the size of the buffer. Second, the
maximum length restriction prevents one station from monopolizing
the shared medium, blocking other stations that have data to send.

5.1.3 IEEE 802.3 standards

The Ethernet standards come under the IEEE 802 section which deal
with local area networks and metropolitan area networks. In particular, IEEE
802.3 defines Ethernet.
The IEEE 802.3 standard references all include the IEEE 802.3
nomenclature as standard. Different releases and variants of the standard are
then designated by different designated letters after the 802.3 reference, i.e.
IEEE 802.3*.
There are many different standards that come under the IEEE 802.3
banner. The different IEEE 802.3 standards define different aspects of
Ethernet covering the physical layer and data link layer's media access control
(MAC) of wired Ethernet.
Some of the individual standards may introduce new versions or
flavours of Ethernet to keep pace with the growing requirements for speed
and performance, whereas other standards may define aspects like the data
frames used.
It is also possible to see several different standards for different
versions of what may be considered to be the same version of Ethernet. Fir
example there are several standards for 1Gb Ethernet as one was used fort he
original release covering mainly fibre media, another for copper using Cat 5,
and another for additional versions of fibre based 1 Gb Ethernet.
Ethernet, IEEE 802.3, is one of the most widely used standards for
computer networking and general data communications. It is widely used in
all forms of data networking from connecting to home Wi-Fi hubs to business
data networks and telecommunications networking.
The Ethernet standard has been used for many years, being steadily
updated to meet the requirements of growing technology. Data
communication speeds have steadily risen and Ethernet, IEEE 802.3 has
increased its speeds accordingly.
Although to many, Ethernet is familiar because Ethernet connections
are widely used for in the home for wired connections between computers and
broadband hubs, but they also provide the essential connectivity for data
networking systems used in large enterprises.
Ethernet is probably most widely known because of the short Ethernet
patch cables with their RJ45 connectors which are used to connect most
desktop computers to data network routers. These make Ethernet connections
very easy to make, thereby increasing the ease of use and popularity of
Ethernet technology.
Accordingly Ethernet forms the basic technology for connectivity for
most local area networks these days. Versions of it have also been devised for
larger enterprises. Carrier Ethernet is one example of how the technology has
been adapted for use by network operators or carriers.

5
Ethernet network elements
The Ethernet IEEE 802.3 LAN can be considered to consist of two main
elements:
• Interconnecting media: The media through which the signals propagate
is of great importance within the Ethernet network system. It governs the
majority of the properties that determine the speed at which the data may be
transmitted. There are a number of options that may be used:

• Coaxial cable: This was one of the first types of interconnecting media to
be used for Ethernet. Typically the characteristic impedance was around 110
ohms and therefore the cables normally used for radio frequency applications
were not applicable. This type of cabling is not widely used for Ethernet these
days as it is expensive and difficult to install.
• Twisted Pair Cables Type types of twisted pair may be used: Unshielded
Twisted Pair (UTP) or a Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). Generally the shielded
types are better as they limit stray pickup more and therefore data errors are
reduced. A variety of different cable types are available as the standard are
always moving forwards.

• Fibre optic cable: Fibre optic cable is being used increasingly as it

provides very high immunity to pickup and radiation as well as allowing very
high data rates to be communicated.
• Network nodes The network nodes are the points to and from which the
communication takes place. Although in years past, terms like DTE, data
terminal equipment, and DCE, data communications equipment were used,
these are seldom seen these days when looking at Ethernet communications.
Instead the types of equipment seen on the Ethernet data network are what are
more commonly seen:
• Computers: Today, most computers come wit the capability for Ethernet
connectivity. Most desktop computers are expected to work on a local area
network, and this is almost universally Ethernet based. Today the Ethernet
capability will be built into the motherboard of the computer, rather than
using an optional plug in board. The physical connection is normally provided
using an RJ45 style Ethernet connector.
For laptop computers there is an increasing trend for them to be much thinner.
This means that some do not have the dedicated Ethernet ports with an RJ45
connector as there is not the space for them. However they can normally
connect to a local area network using Ethernet via an adapter. This will give
them reliable wired connectivity if wireless connections are not used.
• Routers, switches and hubs: The other main elements on local area
networks using Ethernet as the interface medium are routers, switches and
hubs. These devices enable the data to be routed around the data networks so

6
that they can be sent and reach their relevant destinations. Although similar in
some aspects, routers, switches and hubs are distinct types of devices, even if
the terms tend to be misused interchangeably.
• Miscellaneous devices: On any local area network there will be the
need for a variety of devices apart from computers, routers, switches, etc.
Items like printers, etc will be needed. These can be linked onto the network
in a similar way to any computer.
A variety of different devices can be connected to local area networks
using Ethernet technology. Many different types of device intended for use on
local area networks will have Ethernet capability. In addition to the hardware
based devices, and physical interconnections that are required for any local
area network using Ethernet, software drivers are also needed. Any device
with a physical Ethernet connection will have the software needed. In addition
to this the popular operating systems like Windows, Apple iOS and Linus,
have Ethernet capability incorporated into the basic software.
This means that additional drivers do not need to be loaded in all but
the most exceptional circumstances to enable devices to connect to to
an Ethernet local area network.
Ethernet network topologies
There are several network topologies that can be used for Ethernet
communications. The actual form used will depend upon the requirements.
• Point to point: This is the simplest configuration as only two
network units are used. In this simple structure the cable is known as the
network link. Links of this nature are used to transport data from one place
to another and where it is convenient to use Ethernet as the transport
mechanism.
• Coaxial bus: This type of Ethernet network is rarely used these
days. The systems used a coaxial cable where the network units were
located along the length of the cable. The segment lengths were limited to a
maximum of 500 metres, and it was possible to place up to 1024 DTEs
along its length. Although this form of network topology is not installed
these days, a very very few legacy systems might just still be in use. In view
of the way in which it operates, with several nodes on the same leg, the
CSMA/CD anti-collision scheme is used.
• Star network: This type of Ethernet network has been the
dominant topology since the early 1990s. It consists of a central network
unit, which may be what is termed a multi-port repeater or hub, or a
network switch.
Typical Ethernet data networking topology, All the connections to
other nodes radiate out from this and are point to point links. It is this type
of network topology that is used and extended. Connections tend to extend
out from a central hub using a series of routers or switches to divert the data
to the required end node.

7
5.1.4 OPTICAL LAN STANDARDS – IEEE 802.3

Ethernet, IEEE 802.3 defines the frame formats or frame structures

that are developed within the MAC layer of the protocol stack. Essentially
the same frame structure is used for the different variants of Ethernet,
although there are some changes to the frame structure to extend the
performance of the system should this be needed.
With the high speeds and variety of media used, this basic format
sometimes needs to be adapted to meet the individual requirements of the
transmission system, but this is still specified within the amendment /
update for that given Ethernet variant.

Ethernet MAC data frame format

The basic Ethernet frame in use today is referred to as the Ethernet

type II frame. This is the frame format developed by the layer 2 elements of
the stack, and this is then passed to the layer 1 physical layer to put it into
the format for sending.
The layer 2 format consists of the main elements of the data frame,
but without some headers needed for the actual sending of the overall data.
Its format can be seen in the diagram below.

Figure 5.4 Basic Ethernet layer 2 frame format

The basic frame consists of seven elements split between three main areas:-

Header
• Preamble / SFD: - this element within the header is added by the
layer 1 part of the protocol stack. It enables the receiver to
synchronise and know that a data frame is about to be

• Preamble (PRE) - This is seven bytes long and it consists of a pattern

of alternating ones and zeros, and this informs the receiving stations
that a frame is starting as well as enabling synchronization.
• Start of Frame Delimiter (SFD) - This consists of one byte and
contains an alternating pattern of ones and zeros but ending in two ones.
• Destination Address (DA) - This field contains the address of station
for which the data is intended. The left most bit indicates whether the

8
 destination is an individual address or a group address. An individual
address is denoted by a zero, while a one indicates a group address.
The next bit into the DA indicates whether the address is globally
administered, or local. If the address is globally administered the bit
is a zero, and a one of it is locally administered. There are then 46
remaining bits. These are used for the destination address itself.

• Source Address (SA) - The source address consists of six

bytes, and it is used to identify the sending station. As it is always an
individual address the left most bit is always a zero.

• Length / Type - This field is two bytes in length. It provides

MAC information and indicates the number of client data types that are
contained in the data field of the frame. It may also indicate the frame ID type
if the frame is assembled using an optional format.(IEEE
802.3 only).

Payload
• Data - This block contains the payload data and it may be up
to 1500 bytes long. If the length of the field is less than 46 bytes, then
padding data is added to bring its length up to therequired minimum of
Later implementations allowed for so-called ‘jumbo’ frames up to 9,000 bytes
long to facilitate certain types of large traffic flows such as file transfers and
video links.
Trailer
• Frame Check Sequence (FCS) - This field is four bytes long. It contains a 32
bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) which is generated over the DA, SA,
Length / Type and Data fields.
After the Ethernet data frame itself there is an interframe gap of a minimum
of 12 bytes of data. This acts as a delimiter to ensure that the receiver knows
the frame is complete before any further data is sent.
Half-duplex transmission

This access method involves the use of CSMA/CD and it was

developed to enable several stations to share the same transport medium
without the need for switching, network controllers or assigned time slots.
Each station is able to determine when it is able to transmit and the network is
self organizing.
The CSMA/CD protocol used for Ethernet and a variety of other
applications falls into three categories. The first is Carrier Sense. Here each
station listens on the network for traffic and it can detect when the network
is quiet. The second is the Multiple Access aspect where the stations are
able to determine for themselves whether they should transmit. The final
element is the Collision Detect element. Even though stations may find the

9
network free, it is still possible that two stations will start to transmit at
virtually the same time. If this happens then the two sets of data being
transmitted will collide. If this occurs then the stations can detect this and
they will stop transmitting. They then back off a random amount of time
before attempting a retransmission. The
random delay is important as it prevents the two stations starting to transmit
together a second time.
Note: According to section 3.3 of the IEEE 802.3 standard, each octet of
the Ethernet frame, with the exception of the FCS, is transmitted low-order
bit first.

Full duplex
Another option that is allowed by the Ethernet MAC is full duplex
with transmission in both directions. This is only allowable on point-to-
point links, and it is much simpler to implement than using the CSMA/CD
approach as well as providing much higher transmission throughput rates
when the network is being used. Not only is there no need to schedule
transmissions when no other transmissions are underway, as there are only
two stations in the link, but by using a full duplex link, full rate
transmissions can be undertaken in both directions, thereby doubling the
effective bandwidth.
Ethernet addresses
Every Ethernet network interface card (NIC) is given a unique
identifier called a MAC address. This is assigned by the manufacturer of the
card and each manufacturer that complies with IEEE standards can apply to
the IEEE Registration Authority for a range of numbers for use in its
products.
The MAC address comprises of a 48-bit number. Within the number
the first 24 bits identify the manufacturer and it is known as the
manufacturer ID or Organizational Unique Identifier (OUI) and this is
assigned by the registration authority. The second half of the address is
assigned by the manufacturer and it is known as the extension of board ID.
The MAC address is usually programmed into the hardware so that
it cannot be changed. Because the MAC address is assigned to the NIC, it
moves with the computer. Even if the interface card moves to another
location across the world, the user can be reached because the message is
sent to the particular MAC address.

Fast Ethernet was able to deliver data at a rate of 100 Mbps which
was a significant improvement over the original 10 Mbps Ethernet systems.
It was released under IEEE 802.3u in 1995.

10
 Although technology has moved on significantly to standards like
1000Mbps or 1 Gb Ethernet and even 10 Gb Ethernet, but still the old Fast
100 Mbps Ethernet its seen, especially in the guise of 100BASE-T which
was for Ethernet over copper and used with Cat5 cables.100 Mbps Ethernet
/ Fast Ethernet can still be seen on legacy equipment like old computers,
Ethernet switches and Ethernet routers, printers etc.
At the time of its release, Fast Ethernet represented a very fast
medium for data transfer, and it was widely used for local area networks
and many other applications including local and wide area networks,
especially when using the fiber based media.
However it was the 100BASE-T version that took off for home and
local area networking, and it laid the foundations for the use of future
releases of the Ethernet standard. As 100 Mbps Ethernet was backwards
compatible with 10 Mbps ports, computers, printers, Ethernet routers and
Ethernet switches, etc were marked with 10/100 Mbps to indicate that both
standards could be used.

Fast Ethernet / 100 Mbps Ethernet versions

There are several versions of 100 Mbps Ethernet and these are
designated using the 100BASE-xx configuration where 100 indicate the
speed in Mbps, BSE indicates it is Baseband and the suffix indicates the
medium as shown in the table 5.2.

100 Mbps Ethernet over copper wire

100BASE-TX * uses two pairs of Category 5 UTP (Unshielded
Twisted Pairs) - Cat 6 or Cat 7 would also work,
but it was not available when 100BASE-T was
launched
1000BASE-T4 This is a form of 100BASE-T used four pairs of
Category 3 (now obsolete) 1000BASE-TX This is a form of
100BASE-T used two pairs of Category 3 (now obsolete)

100 Mbps Ethernet over Fiber

100BASE-FX This version uses two strands of multi-mode
optical fibre for receive and transmit. Maximum
length is 400 metres for half-duplex connections
(to ensure collisions are detected) or 2 kilometres
for full-duplex and is primarily intended for
backbone use.

11
100BASE-SX This uses two strands of multi-mode optical fibre
for receive and transmit. It is a lower cost
alternative to using 100Base-FX, because it uses
short wavelength optics which are significantly
less expensive than the long wavelength optics
used in 100Base-FX. 100Base-SX: can operate at
distances up to 300 metres.
100Base-BX This version of 100 Mbps Ethernet uses a single
strand of optical fibre (unlike 100BASE-FX, which
uses a pair of fibres). Single-mode fibre is used,
along with a special multiplexer which splits the
signal into transmit and receive wavelengths.

The segment length for a 100Base-T cable is limited to 100 metres.

100Base -T overview
100BASE-T Ethernet, also known as Fast Ethernet is defined under
the 802.3 family of standards under 802.3u. Like other flavours of Ethernet,
100Base-T, Fast Ethernet is a shared media LAN. All the nodes within the
network share the 100 Mbps bandwidth. Additionally it conforms to the
same basic operational techniques as used by other flavours of Ethernet. In
particular it uses the CSMA/CD access method, but there are some minor
differences in the way the overall system operates.
The designation for 100Base-T is derived from a standard format for
Ethernet connections. The first figure is the designation for the speed in
Mbps. The base indicates the system operates at baseband and the following
letters indicate the cable or transfer medium.
Fast Ethernet data frame format
Although the frame format for sending data over an Ethernet link
does not vary considerably, there are some changes that are needed to
accommodate the different physical requirements of the various flavours.
The format adopted for Fast Ethernet, 802.3u is given below:

Figure
5.5 Ethernet data format Fast Ethernet
(802.3u) Data Frame Format

It can be seen from the figure 5.9 above that the data can be split into several
elements:

12
 PRE: This is the Preamble and it is seven bytes long and it consists of a series of
alternating ones and zeros. This warns the receivers that a data frame is coming and it
allows them to synchronize to it.
SOF: This is the Start of Frame delimiter. This is only one byte long and comprises a
pattern of alternating ones and zeros ending with two bits set to logical "one". This
indicates that the next bit in the frame will be the destination address.
DA: This is the Destination Address and it is six bytes in length. This identifies the
receiver that should receive the data. The left-most bit in the left-most byte of the
destination address immediately follows the SOF.
SA: This is the Source Address and again it is six bytes in length. As the name implies it
identifies the source address.
Length /Type: This two byte field indicates the payload data length. It may also
provide the frame ID if the frame is assembled using an alternative format.
Data: This section has a variable length according to the amount of data in the payload.
It may be anywhere between 46 and 1500 bytes. If the length of data is below 46 bytes,
then dummy data is transmitted to pad it out to reach the minimum length.
FCS: This is the Frame Check Sequence which is four bytes long. This contains a 32 bit
cyclic redundancy check (CRC) that is used for error checking.
Data transmission speed
Although the theoretical maximum data bit rate of the system is 100 Mbps. The
rate at which the payload is transferred on real networks is far less than the theoretical
maximum. This is because additional data in the form of the header and trailer
(addressing and error-detection bits) on every packet, along with the occasional
corrupted packet which needs to be re-sent slows the data transmission. In addition to
this time is lost time waiting after each sent packet for other devices on the network to
finish transmitting.
Fast Ethernet Applications
Fast Ethernet in the form of 100Base-T, IEEE 802.3u has become one of the most
widely used forms of Ethernet. It became almost universally used for LAN applications
in view of the ease of its use and the fact that systems could sense whether 10Base-T or
100Base-T speeds should be used. In this way 100Base-T systems could be incorporated
steadily and mixed with existing 10Base-T equipment. The higher specification standard
would be used once the two communicating elements were both 100Base-T. In addition
to this the fiber based version is also used, but in view of the fact that Cat5 cable is so
cheap and easy to use, the wired version is more common. However the fiber version has
the advantage of being able to communicate over greater distances.
5.2 Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)

Introduction:

The principle of OFDM is transmitting data by dividing the data stream into multiple parallel bit
streams that have a much lower bit rate and using these sub-streams to modulate several carriers.
OFDM is more resistant to frequency selective fading than single carrier systems are.

OFDM system:
 • Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a multicarrier transmission
technique which is based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM).
• In conventional FDM multiple-frequency signals are transmitted simultaneously in
parallel where the data contained in each signal is modulated onto subcarriers and
therefore the subcarrier multiplexed signal typically contains a wide range of
frequencies.
• Each subcarrier is separated by a guard band to avoid signal overlapping.
• The subcarriers are then demodulated at the receiver by using filters to separate the
frequency bands.
• OFDM employs several subcarrier frequencies orthogonal to each other (i.e.
perpendicular) and therefore they do not overlap.
• Hence this technique can squeeze multiple modulated carriers tightly together at a
reduced bandwidth without the requirement for guard bands while at the same time
keeping the modulated signals orthogonal so that they do not interfere with each
other, as illustrated in Figure 12.53.
•

Figure 5.6 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) compared with conventional frequency
division multiplexing(FDM)

• In the upper spectral diagram 10 non-overlapping subcarrier frequency

signals arranged in parallel depicting conventional FDM are shown,
each being separated by a finite guard band.
• OFDM is displayed in the bottom spectral diagram where the peak of one
signal coincides with the trough of another signal.

• Each subcarrier must maintain the Nyquist criterion separation with the
minimum time period of T for each subcarrier OFDM uses the inverse
fast Fourier transform (IFFT) for the purpose of modulation and the fast
Fourier transform (FFT) for demodulation.
• This is a consequence of the FFT operation by which subcarriers are
positioned perpendicularly and hence the reason why the technique is
referred to as orthogonal FDM.
• It may be observed that a large bandwidth saving in comparison with
conventional FDM is identified in Figure 12.53 resulting from the
orthogonal placement of the subcarriers.
 • Since the orthogonal feature allows high spectral efficiency near the
Nyquist rate where efficient bandwidth use can be obtained, OFDM
generally exhibits a nearly white frequency spectrum.
• OFDM, also being tolerant to signal dispersion, thus enables high-speed
data transmission across a dispersive channel and it has been widely used
in high-bit-rate cable and wireless communication systems
• For applications within optical fiber communications it is necessary to
incorporate an optical source to convert the OFDM signals into an
optical signal format before coupling onto an optical fiber, while at the
receiving end the intensity modulated signal can be recovered to as
optical OFDM (OOFDM).
• Although the multiplexing approach is similar to optical SCM, the
orthogonal nature of the subcarriers is unique to OOFDM.

5.3 OPTICAL ADD—DROP MULTIPLEXERS

5.3.1 INTRODUCTION

Optical multiplexers are components specifically designed for wavelength

division multiplexing (WDM) systems. The demultiplexer undoes what the
multiplexer has done; it separates a multiplicity of wavelengths in a fiber and
directs them to many fibers (Figure 11.1).

Optical multiplexer
Figure 5.7 The main function of anoptical multiplexer is tocouple two or more wavelengths into
the same fiber. The reverse takes place at a demultiplexer.

5.3.2 THE OADM FUNCTION

The main function of an optical multiplexer is to couple two or

more wavelengths into the same fiber.
If a demultiplexer is placed and properly aligned back-to-back with
a multi- plexer, it is clear that in the area between them, two individual
wavelengths exist.
 This presents an opportunity for an enhanced function, one in
which individual wavelengths could be removed and also inserted. Such
a function would be called an optical wavelength drop and add
demultiplexer/multiplexer—and for brevity, optical add—drop
multiplexer. OADM is still evolving, and although these components are
relatively small, in the future, integration will play a key role in
producing compact, monolithic, and cost-effective devices.

This presents an opportunity for an enhanced function, one in

which individual wavelengths could be removed and also inserted. Such
a function would be called an optical wavelength drop and add
demultiplexer/multiplexer—and for brevity, optical add—drop
multiplexer. OADM is still evolving, and although these components are
relatively small, in the future, integration will play a key role in
producing compact, monolithic, and cost-effective devices.

5.3.3 OPTICAL ADD—DROP MULTIPLEXERS

The OADM selectively removes (drops) a wavelength from a

multiplicity of wave- lengths in a fiber, and thus from traffic on the
particular channel. It then adds in the same direction of data flow the
same wavelength, but with different data content.
The model of an OADM, for wavelength is schematically shown in
Figure 11.2, where Ft signifies a filter selecting wavelength kt while
passing through all other wavelengths, and Mt signifies a multiplexer that
multiplexes all wavelengths.

Fiber

Figure 5.8 The optical add—drop multiplexer is a DWDM function.

A better view of OADM function is shown in Figure 11.3. This

function is es- pecially used in WDM ring systems as well as in long-haul
with drop—add features. A possible structure of the optical add—drop
function using an optical 2 X 2 switch is illustrated (for one wavelength)
in Figure 11.4. More optical switches may be added between
demultiplexer and multiplexer to support more drop--add wave- lengths.
OADMs are classified as Jed-wavelength and as d ynamically
wavelength- selectable OADMs. In fixed- wavelength OADM, the
wavelength has been selected and remains the same until human
 intervention changes it. In dynamically selectable- wavelength OADM,
the wavelengths between the optical demultiplexer/multiplexer may be
dynamically directed from the outputs of the demultiplexer to any of the
in- puts of the multiplexer. This may be accomplished, for example, with
an array of mi- cromirrors.

Figure 5.10 The main function of an optical drop—add multiplexer is to selectively remove a
wave- length and add the same wavelength in the fiber.

5.4 Li-Fi
In the era of overcrowded (data communication) world, Li-Fi is a new
way of wireless communication that uses LED lights to transmit data
wirelessly. Transmission of data is one of the most important day to day
activities in the fast growing world. The current wireless networks that
connect us to the Internet are very slow when multiple devices are connected.
Also with the increase in the number of devices which access the Internet, the
availability of fixed bandwidth makes it much more difficult to enjoy high
data transfer rates and to connect a secure network. Radio waves are just a
small part of the electromagnetic spectrum available for data transfer. Li- Fi
has got a much broader spectrum for transmission compared to conventional
methods of wireless communications that rely on radio waves. The basic
ideology behind this technology is that the data can be transferred through
LED light by varying light intensities faster than the human eyes can perceive.
This technology uses a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is still not
greatly utilized- The Visible Spectrum, instead of Gigahertz radio waves for
data transfer.
The idea of Li-Fi was introduced for the first time by a German
physicist Harald Hass in the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Global
talk on Visible Light Communication (VLC) in July 2011, by referring to it as
“data through illumination”. He used a table lamp with an LED bulb to
transmit a video of a blooming flower that was then projected onto a screen. In
simple terms, Li-Fi can be thought of as a light-based Wi-Fi i.e. instead of
radio waves it uses light to transmit data. In place of Wi-Fi modems, Li-Fi
would use transceivers fitted with LED lamps that could light a room as well
as transmit and receive information. By adding new and unutilized bandwidth
of visible light to the currently available radio waves for data transfer, Li- Fi
can play a major role in relieving the heavy loads which the current wireless
system is facing. Thus it may offer additional frequency band of the order of
400 THz compared to that available in RF communication which is about 300
GHz. Also, as the Li-Fi uses the visible spectrum, it will help alleviate
concerns that the electromagnetic waves coming with Wi-Fi could adversely
affect our health.
By Communication through visible light, Li-Fi technology has the
possibility to change how we access the Internet, stream videos, receive emails
and much more. Security would not be an issue as data can’t be accessed in
the absence of light. As a result, it can be used in high security military areas
where RF communication is prone to eavesdropping.

2. Architecture of Li-Fi system

Li-Fi which can be the future of data communication appears to be a
fast and cheap optical version of Wi- Fi. Being a Visible Light
Communication (VLC), Li-Fi uses visible light of electromagnetic spectrum
between 400 THz and 800 THz as optical carrier for data transmission and
illumination. It uses fast pulses of light to transmit information in wireless
medium. The main components of a basic Li-Fi system may contain the
following:
a) A high brightness white LED which acts as transmission source.
b) A silicon photodiode with good response to visible light as the
receiving element.

Switching the LEDs on and off can make them generate digital strings
with different combination of 1s and 0s. To generate a new data stream, data
can be encoded in the light by varying the flickering rate of the LED. In this
way, the LEDs work as a sender by modulating the light with the data signal.
The LED output appears constant to the human because they are made to
flicker at a phenomenal speed (millions of times per second) and it’s
impossible for human eye to detect this frequency. Communication rate more
than 100 Mbps can be achieved by using high speed LEDs with the help of
various multiplexing techniques. And this VLC data rate can be further
increased to as high as 10 Gbps via parallel data transmission using an array of
LED lights with each LED transmitting a different data stream.

The Li-Fi transmitter system comprises of four primary subassemblies:

• Bulb
• RF Power Amplifier Circuit (PA)
 Fig 5.11: Block Diagram of Li-Fi sub-assemblies.
The Printed circuit board (PCB) controls the electrical inputs and
outputs of the lamp and houses the microcontroller used to manage different
lamp functions. A Radio Frequency (RF) signal is generated by the Power
Amplifier and is directed into the electric field of the bulb. As a result of the
high concentration of energy in the electric field, the contents of the bulb will
get vaporized into a plasma state at the bulb’s centre. And this controlled
plasma in turn will produce an intense source of light. All of these
subassemblies are contained in an aluminium enclosure as shown in Fig. 2
above.
Li-Fi Bulb sub-assembly:

The bulb sub-assembly is the main part of the Li-Fi emitter. It consists
of a sealed bulb embedded in a dielectric material which serves two purposes:
one, it acts as a waveguide for the RF energy transmitted by the PA (Power
Amplifier) and two, it acts as an electric field concentrator that focuses the
energy into the bulb. The collected energy from the electric field rapidly heats
the material in the bulb to a plasma state that emits light of high intensity of
Visible light spectrum. Figure 3 shows the sub-assembly of the bulb.

Fig 5.12: Bulb Sub Assembly

There are various inherent advantages of this approach which includes

high brightness, excellent colour quality and high luminous efficacy of the
emitter – in the range of 150 lumens per watt or greater. The structure is
mechanically robust without typical degradation and failure mechanisms
associated with tungsten electrodes and glass to metal seals, resulting in useful
lamp life of 30,000+ hours. In addition, the unique combination of high
temperature plasma and digitally controlled solid state electronics results in an
economically produced family of lamps scalable in packages from 3,000 to
over 100,000 lumens.
Important factors that should be considered while designing Li-Fi are
as follows:

1) Presence of Light
2) Line of Sight (Los)
3) for better performance use fluorescent light & LED

Fig 5.13: Construction of Li-Fi System

3. Working of Li-Fi
3.1 Basic Concept:

Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology is a wireless communication

system based on the use of visible light between the violet (800 THz) and
red (400 THz). Unlike Wi-Fi which uses the radio part of the
electromagnetic spectrum, Li-Fi uses the optical spectrum i.e. Visible light
part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The principle of Li-Fi is based on
sending data by amplitude modulation of the light source in a well-defined
and standardized way. LEDs can be switched on and off faster than the
human eyes can detect since the operating speed of LEDs is less than 1
microsecond. This invisible on-off activity enables data transmission using
binary codes. If the LED is on, a digital ‘1’ is transmitted and if the LED is
off, a digital ‘0’ is transmitted. Also these LEDs can be switched on and
off very quickly which gives us a very nice opportunity for transmitting
data through LED lights, because there are no interfering light frequencies
like that of the radio frequencies in Wi-Fi. Li-Fi is thought to be 80% more
efficient, which means it can reach speeds of up to 1Gbps and even
beyond. Li-Fi differs from fibre optic because the Li-Fi protocol layers are
suitable for wireless communication over short distances (up to 10 meters).
This puts Li-Fi in a unique position of extremely fast wireless
communication over short distances.

Fig 5.14: Li-Fi Transmission

The working of Li-Fi is very simple. There is a light emitter on

one end i.e. an LED transmitter, and a photo detector (light sensor) on
the other. The data input to the LED transmitter is encoded in to the
light (technically referred to as Visible Light Communication) by
varying the flickering rate at which the LEDs flicker ‘on’ and ‘off’ to
generate different strings of 1s and 0s. The on- off activity of the LED
transmitter which seems to be invisible (The LED intensity is
modulated so rapidly that human eye cannot notice, so the light of the
LED appears constant to humans), enables data transmission in light
form in accordance with the incoming binary codes: switching ON a
LED is a logical '1', switching it OFF is a logical '0'. By varying the
rate at which the LEDs flicker on and off, information can be encoded
in the light to different combinations of 1s and 0s.

In a typical setup, the transmitter (LED) is connected to the

data network (Internet through the modem) and the receiver (photo
detector/light sensor) on the receiving end receives the data as light
signal and decodes the information, which is then displayed on the
device connected to the receiver. The receiver (photo detector)
registers a binary ‘1’ when the transmitter (LED) is ON and a binary
‘0’ when the transmitter (LED) is OFF. Thus flashing the LED
numerous times or using an array of LEDs (perhaps of a few different
colours) will eventually provide data rates in the range of hundreds of
Mbps.
 Hence all that is required, is some or an array of LEDs and a
controller that controls/encodes data into those LEDs. All one has to
do is to vary the rate at which the LEDs flicker depending upon the
data input to LEDs. Further data rate enhancements can be made in
this method, by using array of the LEDs for parallel data transmission,
or using mixtures of red , green and blue LEDs to alter the light’s
frequency, with each frequency encoding a different data channel.
Figure 7 shows working/deployment of a Li-Fi system connecting the
devices in a room.

The frequency spectrum that is available to us in the

atmosphere consists of many wave regions like X- rays, gamma rays,
u-v region, infrared region, visible light rays, radio waves, etc. Any
one of the above waves can be used in the upcoming communication
technologies but why the Visible Light part is chosen? The reason
behind this is the easy availability and lesser harmful effects that
occur due to these rays of light. VLC uses the visible light between
400 THz (780 nm) and 800 THz (375 nm) as medium which are less
dangerous for high- power applications and also humans can easily
perceive it and protect themselves from the harmful effects whereas
the other wave regions.
Comparison Between Li-Fi and, Wi-Fi and other Radio
Communication technologies
Both Wi-Fi and Li-Fi can provide wireless Internet access to
users, and both the technologies transmit data over electromagnetic
spectrum. Li-Fi is a visible light communication technology useful to
obtain high speed wireless communication. The difference is: Wi-Fi
technology uses radio waves for transmission, whereas Li-Fi utilizes
light waves. Wi-Fi works well for general wireless coverage within
building/campus/compound, and Li-Fi is ideal for high density wireless
data coverage inside a confined area or room and is free from
interference issues unlike the Wi-Fi.

Comparison Li-Fi Wi-Fi

Full form stand for light fidelity stands for wireless fidelity

Coined by Prof.
Invented/Coined Harald Haas in 2011 By NCR corporation on 1991

it transmits data using it transmits data using radio

Operation light by the help of waves using wifi router
LED bulbs
 Present IrDA WLAN 802.11/b/g/n/ac/d
Technology compliant devices standard compliant devices

Ranges from 150Mbps to

Data Transfer About 1 Gbps maximum of 2Gbps
Speed

light is blocked by walls cannot block radio

the walls hence waves so we need to employ
Privacy provide more secure more techniques to achieve
data transfer secure data transfer
Frequen 10, 000 times
cy of frequency 2.4Ghz, 4.9Ghz and 5Ghz
operatio spectrum of the
n radio
about 32 meters(vary
Coverage about 10 meters based on transmit power
Distance and antenna type)
work with high dense work in less dense
Data density environment environment due to
interference related
issues
Bare minimum
Components used LED bulb, LED driver
and photo detector Routers, Modems and
access points

Applications Used in airlines, Used for internet

undersea exploration browsing with the help of
etc wifi hotspot
Evaluating Fiber Optic System Design
System Factor Consideration/Choices
Type of Fiber Single-mode or Multimode
Dispersion Regenerators or Dispersion
Compensation
Fiber Characteristics, Wavelengths,
Fiber Nonlinearities
and Transmitter Power
Operating Wavelength 780, 850, 1310, 1550 nm, and 1625
nm typical.
Transmitter Power Typically expressed in dBm.
Source Type LED or Laser
Receiver
Typically expressed in dBm.
Sensitivity/
Overload Characteristics
Detector Type PIN Diode, APD, or IDP
Modulation Code AM, FM, PCM, or Digital
Bit Error Rate (BER) (Digital 10 -9, 10 -12 Typical
Systems Only)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio Specified in decibels (dB).
Number of Connectors Loss increases with the number of
connectors.
Number of Splices Loss increases with the number of
splices.
Environmental RequirementsHumidity, Temperature, Exposure to
Sunlight
Mechanical Requirements Flammability, Indoor/Outdoor
Application

References:

1) Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Fiber Communications”,4th edition,Tata Mc Graw Hill, New

Delhi 2010.
2) John M Senior,,” Optical Fiber Communications- Principles and Practise”,3rd edition,
Pearson Education, 2010.
3) Gerd Keiser ,” Optical Communications Essentials”, Speacial Indian Edition,Tata Mc
Graw Hill, New Delhi,2008.
4) Govind P. Agrawal,” Fiber-optic communication systems”, 3rd edition, John Wiley &
Son, 2004.
5) Rajiv Ramaswami, Kumar N. Sivarajan,” optical networks-A Practical
Perspective”,2nd edition,Morgan Kauffman,2002