ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

KEC-058 OPTICAL COMMUNICATION 3L:0T:0P 3 Credits

Unit Topics Lectures

Introduction to Optical Communication: Optical Spectral Band with Operating
Windows, General Communication System, Optical Communication System with its
advantages.
Optical Fiber Waveguides: Ray Theory of Transmission with TIR, Acceptance Angle,
I Numerical Aperture and Skew Rays, Electromagnetic Mode Theory for Optical 08
Propagation, Modes in a Planar Guide, Phase and Group Velocity, Phase Shift with Total
Internal Reflection, Evanescent Field, Goos-Haenchen Shift, Cylindrical Fiber Modes,
Mode Coupling, Step Index fibers Vs Graded Index fibers, Single Mode Fibers- Cut off
wavelength, MFD & Spot Size.
Signal Loss in Optical Fibers: Attenuation, Material Absorption Losses (Intrinsic and
Extrinsic absorption), types of Linear and Non-Linear Scattering Losses, Fiber Bending
Losses, Kerr Effect.
II Dispersion: Introduction with its types: Chromatic / Intramodal Dispersion (Material and 08
Waveguide Dispersion), Intermodal dispersion (for MSI and MGI fibers), Overall (Total)
Fiber Dispersion in Multimode and Singe Mode Fiber, Dispersion Modified Single Mode
Fibers, Polarization & Fiber Birefringence.

Optical Sources: LEDs-Introduction to LEDs & Materials used for fabrication, LED
Power and Efficiency, LED Structures, LED Characteristics, Modulation Bandwidth.
Laser Diodes-Introduction, Optical Feedback & Laser Oscillations, Resonant
III 08
Frequencies, Laser Modes, and Threshold Condition for Laser Oscillation, Laser Diode
Rate Equations, Semiconductor injection Laser- Efficiency, Laser Single Mode operation,
Reliability of LED & ILD.
Power Launching in Fiber: Source to Fiber Power Launching and Coupling
Techniques, Power Launching Vs Wavelength, Equilibrium Numerical Aperture.
Photo Detectors: Introduction, Physical Principles of Photodiodes: The PIN Photo
IV 08
Detector, Avalanche Photodiodes, Temperature Effect on Avalanche Gain, Detector
Response Time, Photo Detector Noise: Noise Sources, Signal to Noise Ratio, Comparison
of Photo Detectors, Fundamental Receiver Operation with Digital Signal Transmission.
Digital Receiver Performance: Probability of Error / BER, Receiver Sensitivity & The
Quantum Limit, Error Control Techniques, Eye Diagram Pattern Features, Coherent
V Detection: Homodyne Detection and Heterodyne Detection, Digital links: Point to Point 08
Links, Power Penalties, Multichannel & Multiplexing Transmission Techniques, basic
concept of Free Space Optics (FSO) based Communication System.

Text Book:
1. John M. Senior, “Optical Fiber Communications”, Pearson, 3rd Edition, 2010.
2. Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, McGraw Hill, 5th Edition, 2013.
3. Govind P. Agrawal, “Fiber Optic Communication Systems”, John Wiley, 3rd Edition, 2004.
Course Outcomes: At the end of this course students will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Define and explain the basic concepts and theory of optical communication.
2. Describe the signal losses with their computation and dispersion mechanism occurring inside the
optical fiber cable.
3. Differentiate the optical sources used in optical communication with their comparative study.
4. Identify different optical components on receiver side; assemble them to solve real world
problems related to optical communication systems.
5. Evaluate the performance of an optical receiver to get idea about power budget and ultimately be
an engineer with adequate knowledge in optical domain.

Curriculum & Evaluation Scheme (V & VI semester) Page 16

 ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

BEC
-057 OPTICAL COMMUNICATION 3L:0T:0P 3 Credits

Unit Topics Lectures

Introduction to Optical Communication: Optical Spectral Band with Operating
Windows, General Communication System, Optical Communication System with its 8
advantages.
Optical Fiber Waveguides: Ray Theory of Transmission with TIR, Acceptance Angle,
I Numerical Aperture and Skew Rays, Electromagnetic Mode Theory for OpticalPropagation,
Modes in a Planar Guide, Phase and Group Velocity, Phase Shift with Total Internal
Reflection, Evanescent Field, Goos-Haenchen Shift, Cylindrical Fiber Modes,
Mode Coupling, Step Index fibers Vs Graded Index fibers, Single Mode Fibers- Cut off
wavelength, MFD & Spot Size.
Signal Loss in Optical Fibers: Attenuation, Material Absorption Losses (Intrinsic and 8
Extrinsic absorption), types of Linear and Non-Linear Scattering Losses, Fiber Bending
Losses, Kerr Effect.
Dispersion: Introduction with its types: Chromatic / Intramodal Dispersion (Material and
II
Waveguide Dispersion), Intermodal dispersion (for MSI and MGI fibers), Overall (Total)
Fiber Dispersion in Multimode and Singe Mode Fiber, Dispersion Modified Single Mode
Fibers, Polarization & Fiber Birefringence.
Optical Sources: LEDs-Introduction to LEDs & Materials used for fabrication, LED 8
Power and Efficiency, LED Structures, LED Characteristics, Modulation Bandwidth.
Laser Diodes-Introduction, Optical Feedback & Laser Oscillations, Resonant
III
Frequencies, Laser Modes, and Threshold Condition for Laser Oscillation, Laser Diode
Rate Equations, Semiconductor injection Laser- Efficiency, Laser Single Mode operation,
Reliability of LED & ILD.
Power Launching in Fiber: Source to Fiber Power Launching and Coupling Techniques, 8
Power Launching Vs Wavelength, Equilibrium Numerical Aperture.
Photo Detectors: Introduction, Physical Principles of Photodiodes: The PIN Photo
IV
Detector, Avalanche Photodiodes, Temperature Effect on Avalanche Gain, Detector
Response Time, Photo Detector Noise: Noise Sources, Signal to Noise Ratio, Comparison
of Photo Detectors, Fundamental Receiver Operation with Digital Signal Transmission.
Digital Receiver Performance: Probability of Error / BER, Receiver Sensitivity & The 8
Quantum Limit, Error Control Techniques, Eye Diagram Pattern Features, Coherent
V Detection: Homodyne Detection and Heterodyne Detection, Digital links: Point to Point
Links, Power Penalties, Multichannel & Multiplexing Transmission Techniques, basic
concept of Free Space Optics (FSO) based Communication System.

Text Book:
1. John M. Senior, “Optical Fiber Communications”, Pearson, 3rd Edition, 2010.
2. Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, McGraw Hill, 5th Edition, 2013.
3. Govind P. Agrawal, “Fiber Optic Communication Systems”, John Wiley, 3rd Edition, 2004.
Course Outcomes: At the end of this course students will demonstrate the ability to:
1. Define and explain the basic concepts and theory of optical communication.
2. Describe the signal losses with their computation and dispersion mechanism occurring inside the optical
fiber cable.
3. Differentiate the optical sources used in optical communication with their comparative study.
4. Identify different optical components on receiver side; assemble them to solve real world problems
related to optical communication systems.
5. Evaluate the performance of an optical receiver to get idea about power budget and ultimately be an
engineer with adequate knowledge in optical domain.

Curriculum & Evaluation Scheme (V & VI semester) Page 14

1
 Introduction 295

Introduction: Optical Source

The optical source is often considered to be the active component in an optical fiber com-
munication system. Its fundamental function is to convert electrical energy in the form of
a current into optical energy (light) in an efficient manner which allows the light output to
be effectively launched or coupled into the optical fiber. Three main types of optical light
source are available. These are:

(a) wideband ‘continuous spectra’ sources (incandescent lamps);

(b) monochromatic incoherent sources (light-emitting diodes, LEDs);
(c) monochromatic coherent sources (lasers).

To aid consideration of the sources currently in major use, the historical aspect must be
mentioned. In the early stages of optical fiber communications the most powerful narrow-
band coherent light sources were necessary due to severe attenuation and dispersion in the
fibers. Therefore, gas lasers (helium-neon) were utilized initially. However, the develop-
ment of the semiconductor injection laser and the LED, together with the substantial
improvement in the properties of optical fibers, has given prominence to these two specific
sources.
To a large extent these two sources fulfill the major requirements for an optical fiber
emitter which are outlined below:

1. A size and configuration compatible with launching light into an optical fiber.
Ideally, the light output should be highly directional.
2. Must accurately track the electrical input signal to minimize distortion and noise.
Ideally, the source should be linear.
3. Should emit light at wavelengths where the fiber has low losses and low dispersion
and where the detectors are efficient.
4. Preferably capable of simple signal modulation (i.e. direct ) over a
wide bandwidth extending from audio frequencies to beyond the gigahertz range.
5. Must couple sufficient optical power to overcome attenuation in the fiber plus addi-
tional connector losses and leave adequate power to drive the detector.
6. Should have a very narrow spectral bandwidth (linewidth) in order to minimize
dispersion in the fiber.
7. Must be capable of maintaining a stable optical output which is largely unaffected
by changes in ambient conditions (e.g. temperature).
8. It is essential that the source is comparatively cheap and highly reliable in order to
compete with conventional transmission techniques.
OPTF_C06.qxd 11/6/08 10:56 Page 297

Basic concepts 297

6.2 Basic concepts

To gain an understanding of the light-generating mechanisms within the major optical
sources used in optical fiber communications it is necessary to consider both the funda-
mental atomic concepts and the device structure. In this context the requirements for the
laser source are far more stringent than those for the LED. Unlike the LED, strictly speak-
ing, the laser is a device which amplifies light – hence the derivation of the term LASER
as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Lasers, how-
ever, are seldom used as amplifiers since there are practical difficulties in relation to the
achievement of high gain while avoiding oscillation from the required energy feedback.
Thus the practical realization of the laser is as an optical oscillator. The operation of the
device may be described by the formation of an electromagnetic standing wave within a
cavity (or optical resonator) which provides an output of monochromatic, highly coherent
radiation. By contrast the LED provides optical emission without an inherent gain mecha-
nism. This results in incoherent light output.
In this section we elaborate on the basic principles which govern the operation of both
these optical sources. It is clear, however, that the operation of the laser must be discussed
in some detail in order to provide an appreciation of the way it functions as an optical
source. Hence we concentrate first on the general principles of laser action.

6.2.1 Absorption and emission of radiation

The interaction of light with matter takes place in discrete packets of energy or quanta,
called photons. Furthermore, the quantum theory suggests that atoms exist only in certain
discrete energy states such that absorption and emission of light causes them to make a
transition from one discrete energy state to another. The frequency of the absorbed or
emitted radiation f is related to the difference in energy E between the higher energy state
E2 and the lower energy state E1 by the expression:

E = E2 − E1 = hf (6.1)

where h = 6.626 × 10−34 J s is Planck’s constant. These discrete energy states for the atom
may be considered to correspond to electrons occurring in particular energy levels relative
to the nucleus. Hence, different energy states for the atom correspond to different electron
configurations, and a single electron transition between two energy levels within the atom
will provide a change in energy suitable for the absorption or emission of a photon. It must
be noted, however, that modern quantum theory [Ref. 1] gives a probabilistic description
which specifies the energy levels in which electrons are most likely to be found. Never-
theless, the concept of stable atomic energy states and electron transitions between energy
levels is still valid.
OPTF_C06.qxd 11/6/08 10:56 Page 298

298 Optical sources 1: the laser Chapter 6

Figure 6.1 Energy state diagram showing: (a) absorption; (b) spontaneous emission;
(c) stimulated emission. The black dot indicates the state of the atom before and after
a transition takes place

Figure 6.1(a) illustrates a two energy state or level atomic system where an atom is ini-
tially in the lower energy state E1. When a photon with energy (E2 − E1) is incident on the
atom it may be excited into the higher energy state E2 through absorption of the photon.
This process is sometimes referred to as stimulated absorption. Alternatively, when the
atom is initially in the higher energy state E2 it can make a transition to the lower energy
state E1 providing the emission of a photon at a frequency corresponding to Eq. (6.1). This
emission process can occur in two ways:

(a) by spontaneous emission in which the atom returns to the lower energy state in an
entirely random manner;
(b) by stimulated emission when a photon having an energy equal to the energy differ-
ence between the two states (E2 − E1) interacts with the atom in the upper energy
state causing it to return to the lower state with the creation of a second photon.

These two emission processes are illustrated in Figure 6.1(b) and (c) respectively. The
random nature of the spontaneous emission process where light is emitted by electronic
transitions from a large number of atoms gives incoherent radiation. A similar emission
process in semiconductors provides the basic mechanism for light generation within the
LED (see Section 6.3.2).
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 396

UNIT 3
Optical sources: LED:
the light-emitting diode

INTRODUCTION TO LEDs
Spontaneous emission of radiation in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum from
a forward-biased p–n junction. The normally empty con-duction band of the
semiconductor is populated by electrons injected into it by the forwardcurrent through the
junction, and light is generated when these electrons recombine withholes in the
valence band to emit a photon. This is the mechanism by which light is emittedfrom an
LED, but stimulated emission is not encouraged, as it is in the injection laser, bythe
addition of an optical cavity and mirror facets to provide feedback of photons.
The LED can therefore operate at lower current densities than the injection laser, but
the emitted photons have random phases and the device is an incoherent optical source.
Also, the energy of the emitted photons is only roughly equal to the bandgap energy of
the semiconductor material, which gives a much wider spectral linewidth (possibly by a
factor of 100) than the injection laser. The linewidth for an LED corresponds to a range of
photon energy between 1 and 3.5KT, where K is Boltzmann’s constant and T is the abso-
lute temperature. This gives linewidths of 30 to 40 nm for GaAs-based devices operating
at room temperature. Thus the LED supports many optical modes within its structure
and is therefore often used as a multimode source, although the coupling of LEDs to
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 397

Introduction 397

single-mode fibers has been pursued with success, particularly when advanced struc-
tures are employed. Also, LEDs have several further drawbacks in comparison with
injection lasers. These include:

(a) generally lower optical power coupled into a fiber (microwatts);

(b) usually lower modulation bandwidth;
(c) harmonic distortion.

However, although these problems may initially appear to make the LED a less attractive
optical source than the injection laser, the device has a number of distinct advantages
which have given it a prominent place in optical fiber communications:

1. Simpler fabrication. There are no mirror facets and in some structures no striped
geometry.
2. Cost. The simpler construction of the LED leads to much reduced cost which is
always likely to be maintained.
3. Reliability. The LED does not exhibit catastrophic degradation and has proved far
less sensitive to gradual degradation than the injection laser. It is also immune to
self-pulsation and modal noise problems.
4. Generally less temperature dependence. The light output against current
characteristic is less affected by temperature than the corresponding characteristic
for the injection laser. Furthermore, the LED is not a threshold device and there-
fore raising the temperature does not increase the threshold current above the
operating point and hence halt operation.
5. Simpler drive circuitry. This is due to the generally lower drive currents and reduced
temperature dependence which makes temperature compensation circuits unnecessary.
6. Linearity. Ideally, the LED has a linear light output against current
characteristic, unlike the injection laser. This can prove advantageous where
analog modulation is concerned.
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 398

MATERIALS USED FOR FABRICATION OF LEDS

rr rr
rt rr + rnr

Rr
= (7.8)
Rt

7.2 LED power and efficiency

The absence of optical amplification through stimulated emission in the LED tends to limit
the internal quantum efficiency (ratio of photons generated to injected electrons) of the
device. Reliance on spontaneous emission allows nonradiative recombination to take
place within the structure due to crystalline imperfections and impurities giving, at best, an
internal quantum efficiency of 50% for simple homojunction devices. However, as with
injection lasers, double-heterojunction (DH) structures have been implemented which
recombination lifetime measurements suggest [Ref. 3] give internal quantum efficiencies
of 60 to 80%.
Internal quantum efficiency (ratio of photons generated to injected electrons)
may also be defined as the Ratio of the Radiative Recombination rate (rr) to the
Total Recombination rate (rt).
Or,
May also be defined as the Ratio of the total recombination life time (T) to the
Radiative Recombination life time (Tr).
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 400

rr rr
ηint = = (7.7)
rt rr + rnr

Rr
= (7.8)
Rt

where Rr is the total number of radiative recombinations per second. Rearranging Eq. (7.8)
and substituting from Eq. (7.6) gives:

i
Rr = ηint (7.9)
e

Since Rr is also equivalent to the total number of photons generated per second and from
Eq. (6.1) each photon has an energy equal to hf joules, then the optical power generated
internally by the LED, Pint, is:

i
Pint = ηint hf (W) (7.10)
e

Using Eq. (6.22) to express the internally generated power in terms of wavelength rather
than frequency gives:

hci
Pint = ηint (W) (7.11)
eλ

It is interesting to note that Eqs (7.10) and (7.11) display a linear relationship between
the optical power generated in the LED and the drive current into the device (see Sec-
tion 7.4.1). Similar relationships may be obtained for the optical power emitted from an
LED but in this case the constant of proportionality ηint must be multiplied by a factor
representing the external quantum efficiency* ηext to provide an overall quantum efficiency
for the device.
For the exponential decay of excess carriers depicted by Eq. (7.1) the radiative minority
carrier lifetime is τr = Δn/rr and the nonradiative minority carrier lifetime is τnr = Δn/rnr.
Therefore, from Eq. (7.7) the internal quantum efficiency is:

1 1
ηint = = (7.12)
1 + (rnr /rt) 1 + (τr /τnr)

Furthermore, the total recombination lifetime τ can be written as τ = Δn/rt which, using
Eq. (7.5), gives:

1 1 1
= + (7.13)
τ τr τnr

* The external quantum efficiency may be defined as the ratio of the photons emitted from the device
to the photons internally generated. However, it is sometimes defined as the ratio of the number of
photons emitted to the total number of carrier recombinations (radiative and nonradiative).
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 401

LED power and efficiency 401

Hence Eq. (7.12) becomes:

τ
ηint = (7.14)
τr

It should be noted that the same expression for the internal quantum efficiency could be
obtained from Eq. (7.7).

Example 7.1
The radiative and nonradiative recombination lifetimes of the minority carriers in the
active region of a double-heterojunction LED are 60 ns and 100 ns respectively.
Determine the total carrier recombination lifetime and the power internally gener-
ated within the device when the peak emission wavelength is 0.87 μm at a drive cur-
rent of 40 mA.
Solution: The total carrier recombination lifetime is given by Eq. (7.13) as:

τrτnr 60 × 100 ns
τ= = = 37.5 ns
τr + τnr 60 + 100

To calculate the power internally generated it is necessary to obtain the internal

quantum efficiency of the device. Hence using Eq. (7.14):

τ 37.5
ηint = = = 0.625
τr 60

Thus from Eq. (7.1l):

hci 0.625 × 6.626 × 10−34 × 2.998 × 108 × 40 × 10−3

Pint = ηint =
eλ 1.602 × 10−19 × 0.87 × 10−6
= 35.6 mW

The LED which has an internal quantum efficiency of 62.5% generates 35.6 mW
of optical power, internally. It should be noted, however, that this power level will
not be readily emitted from the device.

COUPLING EFFICIENCY:

ηc = sin2 θa = (NA)2 (7.21)

Equation (7.21) for the coupling efficiency allows estimates for the percentage of optical
power coupled into the step index fiber relative to the amount of optical power emitted
from the LED.
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 402

402 Optical sources 2: the light-emitting diode Chapter 7

EXTERNAL POWER EFFICIENCY: the external power efficiency ηep is

defined as the ratio of the optical power emitted externally Pe to the electric power pro-
vided to the device P or:

Pe
ηep  × 100% (7.15)
P

Also, the optical power emitted Pe into a medium of low refractive index n from the face of
a planar LED fabricated from a material of refractive index nx is given approximately by
[Ref. 6]:

Pint Fn2
Pe = (7.16)
4nx2

where Pint is the power generated internally and F is the transmission factor of the
semiconductor–external interface. Hence it is possible to estimate the percentage of
optical power emitted.

Example 7.2
A planar LED is fabricated from gallium arsenide which has a refractive index of 3.6.

(a) Calculate the optical power emitted into air as a percentage of the internal
optical power for the device when the transmission factor at the crystal–air
interface is 0.68.
(b) When the optical power generated internally is 50% of the electric power
supplied, determine the external power efficiency.

Solution: (a) The optical power emitted is given by Eq. (7.16), in which the
refractive index n for air is 1:

Pint Fn2 Pint0.68 × 1

Pe  = = 0.013Pint
4n 2x 4(3.6)2

Hence the power emitted is only 1.3% of the optical power generated internally.
(b) The external power efficiency is given by Eq. (7.15), where:

Pe P
ηep = × 100 = 0.013 int × 100
P P

Also, the optical power generated internally Pint = 0.5P.

Hence:

0.013Pint
ηep = × 100 = 0.65%
2Pint
OPTF_C07.qxd 11/6/08 10:57 Page 404

404 Optical sources 2: the light-emitting diode Chapter 7

Example 7.3
The light output from the GaAs LED of Example 7.2 is coupled into a step index
fiber with a numerical aperture of 0.2, a core refractive index of 1.4 and a diameter
larger than the diameter of the device. Estimate:

(a) The coupling efficiency into the fiber when the LED is in close proximity to
the fiber core.
(b) The optical loss in decibels, relative to the power emitted from the LED,
when coupling the light output into the fiber.
(c) The loss relative to the internally generated optical power in the device when
coupling the light output into the fiber when there is a small air gap between
the LED and the fiber core.

Solution: (a) From Eq. (7.21), the coupling efficiency is given by:

ηc = (NA)2 = (0.2)2 = 0.04

Thus about 4% of the externally emitted optical power is coupled into the fiber.
(b) Let the optical power coupled into the fiber be Pc. Then the optical loss in
decibels relative to Pe when coupling the light output into the fiber is:

Pc
Loss = −10 log10
Pe
= −10 log10 ηc

Hence:

Loss = −10 log10 0.04

= 14.0 dB

(c) When the LED is emitting into air, from Example 7.2:

Pe = 0.013Pint

Assuming a very small air gap (i.e. cylindrical symmetry unaffected), then from (a)
the power coupled into the fiber is:

Pc = 0.04Pe = 0.04 × 0.013Pint

= 5.2 × 10−4Pint

Hence in this case only about 0.05% of the internal optical power is coupled into the
fiber.
The loss in decibels relative to Pint is:

Pc
Loss = −10 log10 = −10 log10 5.2 × 10−4 = 32.8 dB
Pint