Optical Communication

Need for Optical Fibre

• The development of world wide telephone networks during 20th Century
necessitated the use of coaxial cables instead of pairs wires for increased
capacity.

• A 3-MHz system capable of transmitting 300 voice channels was put in to use
in 1940.

• Than arises the frequency-dependent cable losses, which increase rapidly for
frequencies beyond 10 MHz.

• This limitation led to the development of microwave communication systems in

which an electromagnetic carrier wave with frequencies in the range of 1–10
GHz is used to transmit the signal by using suitable modulation techniques.
 Need for Optical Fibre
• The first microwave system operating at the carrier frequency of 4
GHz was put into service in 1948. Since then, both coaxial and
microwave systems have evolved considerably and are able to operate
at bit rates ~100 Mb/s.

• A severe drawback of such high-speed coaxial systems was their small

repeater spacing (~ 1 km) -- expensive to operate.

• Microwave communication systems -allow larger repeater spacing.

• Figure of merit for communication systems is the bit rate–distance

product, BL, where B is the bit rate and L is the repeater spacing
• light travels in straight line?
 A Short History of Optical Communication

• Early days- Simple systems such as signal fires and fire beacons used for
communicating.
• 1626- Snell formulates law of refraction
• Optical telegraph in France and Sweden in 1793-94 (telescope and shutters at towers 10
km apart).
• In Heliographs, a mirror flashed the sun's rays in one direction, sending a coded
message. (in early 1800).
• 1873- Maxwell electromagnetic equations
• 1880- Bell uses photo-phone to transmit speech using light beam over a distance of
200meters.
• 1958-59- Kapanv created the first optical fiber with cladding.
• 1960- Registered the first working laser by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Lab.
• The invention of laser solved the problem of a light source and stimulated interest in this
field but even at that time these systems exhibited very large attenuation (1000 dB/km)
as compared to coaxial (5-10 dB/km).
 A Short History of Optical Communication

• 1970- The crucial attenuation level of 20 dB/km was achieved.

• Along side development was also being done in the field of optical sources (laser,
LEDs) to achieve a higher wavelengths.
• April 1977- GTE (General Telephone & Electronics) in California, sends the first
live telephone traffic over fiber optics, 6Mbits/sec.
• May 1977- Bell systems in downtown Chicago, sends live telephone traffic over
fiber at 45Mbits/sec. This system operated at an attenuation level of 2 dB/km.
• Early 1980s- System with losses up to 0.5 dB/km had been developed.
• 1984- British Telecom lays the first submarine (underwater) fiber cable to connect
Isle of Wight, an island close to UK
• 1985- Fiber spread across USA (Fibre losses ~ 0.2 dB/km)
• 1986- AT&T was able to send data at 1.7 Billion bits/sec over the optical fiber.
• 1996- Bells labs and Fujitsu have reported to send date at a rate of 1 Trillion
bits/sec (1 Terabyte/sec) over the optical fiber.
• 2001-Current- Bit rates of 10-14 Tbit/s have been achieved.
BL Development
 Optical Fibres Vs Copper Cables
• 600 twisted-pair copper
cable carry 600
conversations
• 6 coaxial copper cable
carries 2700 conversations
• 30 optical fibre cable
carries 28,720
conversations
(Each conversation
assumes two-way
transmission)
 Evolution of Fibre
Optic Systems
• 1st G
– 800 nm, 45 Mb/s, 10 km repeater spacing
• 2nd G
– 1300 nm, 1.7 Gb/s, 50 km
• 3rd G
– 1550 nm, 2.5 Gb/s, 100 km, DSF
• 4th G
– Optical amplification, WDM, 2.5 Tb/s
• 5th G
– Dispersion problem, Optical Solitons
 Advantages of Optical Fibre Communication
• Enormous Bandwidth- The optical carrier frequency ranges between 1013 to
1016 Hz. This is a far greater potential transmission bandwidth as compared to
metallic cables or even millimeter wave radio systems (700 MHz) .
• Small size and weight- Optical fibers have diameters the size of a human
hair. They are much smaller and lighter than traditional copper cables.
• Immunity to interference- Optical fibers are free from EMI, EMP or RFI.
• Low transmission loss- Transmission losses in fibers have reached near
0.2dB/km as compared to copper (5-10dB/km)
• Signal security- Light travelling in fibers do not radiate and thus cannot be
obtained in a non-invasive manner.
• Rugged and reliable- Fibers can be manufactured with high tensile strengths
and even with a glass substance can be bent to a small radii.
• Upgradability- Optical communication system can be upgraded to higher
bandwidth, more wavelengths by replacing only the transmitters and receivers
• Low cost
Fibre Optic Comm Sys
Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Photon energy E= hν
 Refractive Index
• Refractive Index, n= cvac/ cmat

αλ
n% = n + iκ , κ =
4π
κ is extinction coefficient, α is the absorption
coefficient and λ is the free-space wavelength
 Reflection and Refraction
2

R=
( n1 − n2 )
• Reflection: 2
( n1 + n2 )
where R is the reflectivity or reflectance, n1 and n2 are
refractive indices of the two different media
 Snell’s Law
• A Dutch astronomer Willebrord Snell found the relation
between the refractive index and sine of the angle (1621).

ni * sin(θi) = nr * sin(θr)

• Example: ni =1.51, θi=38o

nr =1.46, θr=?
 Total Internal
Reflection.
• The light is in the more
dense medium and
approaching the less dense
medium.
• The angle of incidence is
greater than the so-called
critical angle.
 Light Guiding
• Remember TIR and Snell’s law; At critical angle θc,
θr = 900 so from Snell’s law
ni × sin(θc) = nr
or θc= arcsin (nr/ni)

• In practice the difference between refractive index of core

and cladding is only about 1% (1.50, 1.49). So for nr/ni
=0.99 the critical angle is about 820. The light is confined
to the core if it strikes the interface with the cladding at an
angle (confinement angle) of 80 or less.
• This upper limit is considered as confinement angle in the
fiber.
• Example: If ni = 1.51, nr = 1.46, θc = ?
 Acceptance Angle and Numerical Aperture

• The acceptance angle (maximum

angle to the axis at which light
may enter the fiber in order to
propagate) can be determined by
using the following relation
sin θa = (n12 – n22) ½
θa = Sin-1(n12 – n22)½
• The acceptance angle is normally
measured as numerical aperture
NA = sin θa = (ncore2 – ncladding2) ½
 Fibre Construction
• Cylindrical core of silica glass surrounded by cladding
whose refractive index is lower than that of core.
• Step-index fibre; the refractive index change is abrupt at
core-cladding interface.
• Graded-index fibre: the refractive index decreases
gradually inside the core.
 Fibre Construction
• High-purity, low-loss SiO2
• Refractive Index (n) ~ 1.45
• B, F decreases n
• P, Ge, Ti increases n
 Need for cabling
• Optical Fibre are alternative to electrical transmission lines
• It is imperative that they should be capable of installation
& maintenance in all those environments of transmission
lines
– Underground ducts
– Overhead just like
metallic
– Over ground conductors
– Partially Overhead & partially ground
• Mechanical properties of Optical Fibres assume greater
importance for the above purpose. However, bare optical
fibres after handling suffers from abrasive damage and
become very weak structures & are characterized as under
– Brittle
– Small cross sectional area
– Low tensile strength
– Low durability
– Prone to chemical contamination / abrasion
• There is a need to cover these fibres to improve their
tensile strength & protect them from surrounding
environments. Thus a series of protective layers surround
optical fibre
• Initial protective plastic coating is applied to the cladding
with high elastic modulus
• Plastic coated & buffered fibre is then placed into an
optical cable to increase its resistance to mechanical strain
as well as adverse circumstances
 Functions of Cabling
• Provide fibre protection against fibre damage & breakage.
• Provide stability in transmission characteristics of the fibre
comparable to the uncabled fibres. Generally cabling increase
attenuation but it must be reduced during manufacture of cable.
• Provide cable strength: optical cable must possess similar
mechanical properties as those of conductor cables. For this
purpose a strength member thick outer sheath is incorporated in
the design.
• Facilitate identification & jointing of the fibres is very
important for multi-fibre cables. If the fibres are arranged in a
suitable geometry, it may be possible to use multiple jointing kits
/ techniques rather than jointing each fibre individually.
 Fibre buffering
• Fibre is given a protective primary coating to prevent abrasion of
the glass surface & subsequent flaws in the material. Then a
secondary buffer coating or jacket to provide protection against
external mechanical & environmental effects. It also protects fibre
against micro bending.
 Cable Construction
• Fiber strands are extremely thin and made of silica glass so highly fragile.
• A layer of plastic as coating(250 to 900 µm) reinforces the fiber, absorbs
shocks and provides protection against cable bending.
• Strengthening fibers gives protection against excessive tension during
installation and other hazards (material depends upon the strength needed).
• Cable jacket gives extra strength, protection from water vapors and other
hazards.(Non porous PVC material)

26
 Cable Construction

•SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4
 Fiber Types
• Single Mode Fiber
– Much lower core diameter(8 to 10 µm).
– Single mode (single ray path).
– No intermodal dispersion – higher bandwidth carrying
capability over longer ranges (50 times more than
multimode fiber).
– Needs optical source with narrow spectral width.
– Presently SMF is the lowest loss and the highest data rates
fiber; it is also most costly. It is considered cost effective
when the cost is related to the data rate.
• Multimode Fiber
– Larger Core diameter. (up to 100 µm)
– Large diameter allows a multiple routes including direct
and zigzag routes (intermodal dispersion).
– Primarily used for short range communication. (< 2 km)
– Improvement can be made by making graded index
fiber.
– In graded index fiber outer rays that have to travel more
distance are traveling at a faster speed and rays close to
center that have to travel less distance are traveling at a
lower speed so in this way all the rays arrive at the
same time at the receiver (light travel faster in low
index of refraction and vice versa).
 Multi-mode Step-index Fiber

50-200 µm Output
pulse
Input n1 =1.48-1.5
pulse120-400µm
n2 = 1.46
•Advantages
• Facilitates connecting together similar fibers
• Imposes lower tolerance requirements on fibre connectors.
• Cost effective

•Disadvantages
• Suffer from dispersion
• High power loss
 Graded-index Multi-mode Fiber

Input 50-100 µm
Output
pulse pulse
120-140µm n2 n1
• ncore has high value at the centre of the core and then gradually decreases towards
the core-cladding interface.
• The index of refraction in the fibre core has a parabolic profile.
•Advantages
• Facilitates similar fibers connection
• Imposes lower tolerance requirements on fiber connectors.
• Reduced dispersion compared to multi-mode step index fiber (?)
•Disadvantages:
• Lower bandwidth compared to single-mode step index fiber
• High power loss compared to single-mode step index fiber
 Single-mode Step-index Fiber

8-12 µm Output
Input pulse
pulse n1 =1.48-1.5
100-120µm
n2 = 1.46
•Core is so small that only lowest order can propagate through fiber
• Low dispersion, therefore high bandwidth (a few GHz)
•Ray model break down when core ~ wavelength of light, needs wave model

•Advantages
•Allows the use of high power laser source
• Low dispersion (zero modal dispersion), therefore high bandwidth (a few GHz).
• Low loss (0.1 dB/km)
•Disadvantages
• Cost
 Comparison
Property Multimode Single mode

Core diameter (approx) 50 µm graded index fiber 9 µm

62.5 µm graded index fiber

100 µm step index fiber

Cladding diameter 125 µm graded index fiber 125 µm

140 µm step index fiber

Modal dispersion Yes No

Modal noise Yes No

Coupling light into fiber No special equipment needed Requires fusion splicing

Usually Orange Jacket, easier Usually Yellow Jacket

interconnection, lower cost
components.
 Advantages of Optical Fiber
Immunity to EM interference
– No effect of EM radiation (jamming) on optical transmission
• Data Security
– Fluctuation of magnetic field around a conductor gives the
information carried by the current inside the conductor
– For the signal to be ‘tapped’ the fiber must be broken (since
effectively no energy escapes from the fiber) and this can
easily be detected (when no signal reaches the other end of
the fiber).
• High bandwidth over long distance
– 10 Gbps to 90 km
• Low power
– Only micro watt optical power required
• Less signal degradation
– 0.35 dB/km at 1300 nm
– 0.2 dB/km at 1550 nm
 Single Mode Fiber Development
• Three basic classes of single-mode fiber used in modern telecomm
systems.
• Non dispersion-shifted fiber (NDSF). 1310 nm.
• 1550 nm systems made NDSF fiber undesirable due to its very
high dispersion at the 1550 nm wavelength. To address this
shortcoming fiber manufacturers developed dispersion-shifted
fiber (DSF) that moved the zero-dispersion point to the 1550 nm
region.
• Years later, scientists discovered that while DSF worked
extremely well with a single 1550 nm wavelength, it exhibits
serious nonlinearities when multiple, closely-spaced wavelengths
in the 1550 nm were transmitted in DWDM systems.
• To address the problem of nonlinearities, a new class of fibers
were introduced. These are classified as non zero-dispersion-
shifted fibers (NZ-DSF). The fiber is available in both positive
and negative dispersion varieties and is rapidly becoming the
fiber of choice in new fiber deployment.
• One additional important variety of single-mode fiber is
polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. All other single-mode fibers
discussed so far have been capable of carrying randomly
polarized light.
• PM fiber is designed to propagate only one polarization of the
input light. This is important for components such as external
modulators that require a polarized light input.