Losses and Dispersion in

Waveguides
Wei-Chih Wang
Southern Taiwan University
of Technology

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• dB is a ratio of the power received verses the power transmitted
Loss (dB) = 10log (power transmitted / power received)
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 Higher order mode Lower order mode

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 Rayleigh Scattering
The random localized variations of the molecular positions
in glass create random inhomogeneities of the refractive index
that acts as tiny scattering centers. The amplitude of the
scattered field is proportional to ω2. The intensity is
therefore proportional to ω4 or 1/λ4

Joseph C. Palais
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 Absorption Coefficient Due to Rayleigh Scattering

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 Absorption Coefficient Due to Rayleigh Scattering

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 Mie scattering

If the size of the defect is greater than one-tenth of the

wavelength of light, the scattering mechanism is called
Mie scattering. Mie scattering, caused by these large
defects in the fiber core, scatters light out of the fiber
core. However, in commercial fibers, the effects of Mie
scattering are insignificant. Optical fibers are
manufactured with very few large defects.

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• Light striking the Ge molecules in the core can be scattered into
new pathways out of the fiber
• Rayleigh Scattering accounts for 95% of fiber attenuation
• Optical Time Domain Reflectometers (OTDR) use this property to
measure
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 Absorption

Joseph C. Palais

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 =

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 λ µ

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 Absorption in Silica based
Optical Fiber
• Imperfections in the atomic structure of the fiber material
- induce absorption by the presence of missing molecules or oxygen
defects.

• The intrinsic or basic fiber-material properties

- UV (due to electronic and molecular transitions)
- middle-infrared (due to vibrational transitions)

• The extrinsic (presence of impurities) fiber-material properties

- OH radicals
- transition metal ions

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 Dependence of the attenuation
coefficient of silica glass on
wavelengths

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Silica glass (SiO2) is strongly dependent on wavelength.

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The main cause of intrinsic absorption in the infrared region is the characteristic
vibration frequency of atomic bonds. In silica glass, absorption is caused by the
vibration of silicon-oxygen (Si-O) bonds. The interaction between the vibrating bond
and the electromagnetic field of the optical signal causes intrinsic absorption. Light
energy is transferred from the electromagnetic field to the bond. The tail of the
infrared absorption band is shown in figure.
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 UV- electric transitions associated with bandgap in SiO2
IR – molecules vibrations (phonons)

Fundamental
Molecular vibration
B-O 7.3 µm
P-O 8.0 µm
Si-O 9.0 µm
Ge-O 11.0 µm

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 UV and IR Absorption
Urbach Tail: GeO2 shifts to longer wavelength:

αuv = (1.59/(47g+60)) e4.6/λ

g= mole function =0.02 (GeO2) small @1.3µm
λ= wavelength in mm
αuv => dB/km

αIR= A eα.IR/λ
Where A = 8x1011 dB/km
α.IR/λν = 48.5µm

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Extrinsic Absorption. - Extrinsic absorption is caused by impurities introduced into the
fiber material. Trace metal impurities, such as iron, nickel, and chromium, are
introduced into the fiber during fabrication. 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) bond. This bond has a
fundamental absorption at 2700 nm. However, the harmonics or overtones of the
fundamental absorption occur in the region of operation. These harmonics increase
extrinsic absorption at 1383 nm, 1250 nm, and 950 nm. Last figure shows the presence
of the three OH- harmonics. The level of the OH- harmonic absorption is also indicated.
These absorption peaks define three regions or windows of preferred operation. The first
window is centered at 850 nm. The second window is centered at 1300 nm. The third
window is centered at 1550 nm. Fiber optic systems operate at wavelengths defined by
one of these windows.
The amount of water (OH-) impurities present in a fiber should be less than a few parts
per billion. Fiber attenuation caused by extrinsic absorption is affected by the level of
impurities (OH-) present in the fiber. If the amount of impurities in a fiber is reduced,
then fiber attenuation is reduced.

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 µ
µ
µ
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 Radiation loss due to bending

straight Small bend Large bend

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Extrinsic attenuation can be controlled by the cable installer

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 Macrobend loss
Radiation attenuation coefficient is

αt= c1exp (-c2R)

Where R is radius of curvature, c1 and c2 are constants independent

of R

Large bending loss tends to occurs at critical radius Rc

Rc~ 3n12λ/ (4π(n12-n22)3/2)

Loss maybe reduced by

-large relative refractive index difference
-Operating at shortest wavelength possible
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 Fiber bend losses
• Bend losses can be approximated using a combination
of raytracing results (H. Lambrecht, et.al.)
• Validation through optical path measurements

90° bend
X axis: NA fiber
Y axis: bending radius
Blue color = high losses

(source: H. Lambrecht)
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 • Microbends may not be visible with the naked eye
• Microbends may be:
o bend related
o temperature related
o tensile related
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 Microbend Loss

Microbends are caused by small discontinuities or imperfections in the fiber.

Uneven coating applications and improper cabling procedures increase microbend
loss. External forces are also a source of microbends. An external force deforms the
cabled jacket surrounding the fiber but causes only a small bend in the fiber.
Microbends change the path that propagating modes take, as shown in figure.
Microbend loss increases attenuation because low-order modes become coupled
with high-order modes that are naturally lossy.
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w.wang Cleaving the waveguide
 Measure only overall light loss

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 Dispersion

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 Sources of Dispersion

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 Chromatic (Intramodal) Dispersion

Intramodal, or chromatic, dispersion depends

primarily on fiber materials. There are two types of
intramodal dispersion:

- Material dispersion
- Waveguide dispersion.

Dispersion occurs in all types of fibers

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 • Index of refraction is a function of wavelength n(λ)
• Since light velocity is a function of index of refraction
o light velocity in a given medium is a function of wavelength

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pulses at different wavelengths will have different propagation
times
 Material Dispersion
We noted that the velocity of light in a medium is given by

v = c/n(λ)

Here n is the refractive index of the medium, which, in general, depends on the
wavelength. The dependence of the refractive index on wavelength leads to what
is known as dispersion
Now, the quantity v defined by above equation is usually referred to as the phase
velocity. However, a pulse travels with what is known as the group velocity, which is
given by

vg = c/ng(λ)

where ng is known as the group index and, in most cases its value is slightly larger
than n.

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 Material Dispersion

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Dispersion of white light as it passes through a prism

For example, for crown glass the refractive indices at 656.3 nm
(orange), 589.0 nm (yellow), and 486.1 nm (green) are
respectively given by 1.5244, 1.5270, and 1.5330. Thus, if the
angle of incidence i = 45º the angle of refraction, r, will be
r = 27.64°, 27.58°, and 27.47° for the orange, yellow, and blue
colors respectively.
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group index (ng ): for a given mode propagating in a medium
of refractive index n , the velocity of light in vacuum, c,
divided by the group velocity of the mode. Note: For a plane
wave of wavelength , the group index may also be expressed,

ng = n- λ(dn/dλ)

where n is the phase index of wavelength , ng is value is

slightly larger than n.

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 Material Dispersion

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Variation of n and ng with wavelength for pure silica. Notice that ng has a minimum value
of around 1270 nm

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 Material Dispersion
Material dispersion occurs because the spreading of a light pulse is
dependent on the wavelengths' interaction with the refractive index of the
waveguide core,

τm = Dm × L × ∆λ

Where Dm represents the material dispersion in picoseconds per kilometer length

of the fiber per nanometer spectral width of the source

Different wavelengths travel at different speeds in the fwaveguide material.

Different wavelengths of a light pulse that enter a waveguide at one time
exit the waveguide at different times. Material dispersion is a function of
the source spectral width. The spectral width specifies the range of
wavelengths that can propagate in the waveguide. Material dispersion is
less at longer wavelengths.
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 λ0 (nm) λ 0)
n (λ λ 0)
ng (λ Dm (ps/nm-km)

700 1.45561 1.47154 –172.902

750 1.45456 1.46924 –135.313
800 1.45364 1.46744 –106.609
850 1.45282 1.46601 –84.2077
900 1.45208 1.46489 –66.382
950 1.45139 1.46401 –51.9441
1000 1.45075 1.46332 –40.0577
1050 1.45013 1.46279 –30.1214
1100 1.44954 1.46241 –21.6951
1150 1.44896 1.46214 –14.4511
1200 1.44839 1.46197 –8.14213
1250 1.44783 1.46189 –2.57872
1300 1.44726 1.46189 2.38579
1350 1.44670 1.46196 6.86631
1400 1.44613 1.46209 10.9539
1450 1.44556 1.46229 14.7211
1500 1.44498 1.46253 18.2268
1550 1.44439 1.46283 21.5187
1600 1.44379 1.46318 24.6358
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Values of n, ng, and Dm for pure silica for different values of wavelength lying
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between 700 nm and 1600 nm
 Examples
The LEDs used in early optical communication systems had a spectral width ∆λ0 of about 20 nm
around λ0 = 825 nm. Using Dm in Table (at 850 nm), such a pulse will broaden by
τm = Dm × L × ∆λ = 84.2 (ps/km-nm) × 1 (km) × 20 (nm) ~ 1700 ps = 1.7 ns
in traversing a 1-km length of the fiber. It is very interesting to note that, if we carry out a similar
calculation around λ0 ≈ 1300 nm, we will obtain a much smaller value of τm; thus
τm = Dm × L × ∆λ = 2.4 (ps/km-nm) × 1 (km) × 20 (nm) ~ 0.05 ns
in traversing 1-km length of the fiber. The very small value of τm is due to the fact that ng is
approximately constant around λ0 = 1300 nm. Indeed, the wavelength λ0 ≈ 1270 nm is usually
referred to as the zero material dispersion wavelength, and it is because of such low material
dispersion that the optical communication systems shifted their operation to around λ0 ≈ 1300 nm.

In the optical communication systems that are in operation today, one uses laser diodes (LD) with
λ0 ≈ 1550 nm having a spectral width of about 2 nm. Thus, for a 1-km length of the fiber, the
material dispersion τm becomes
τm = Dm × L × ∆λ = 21.5 (ps/km-nm) × 1 (km) × 2 (nm) ~ 43 ps
the positive sign indicating that higher wavelengths travel more slowly than lower wavelengths.
[Notice from Table that, for λ0 ≥ 1300 nm, ng increases with λ0.]
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 Waveguide Dispersion
Waveguide dispersion occurs because the mode propagation constant (β β) is
a function of the size of the fiber's core relative to the wavelength of
operation. Waveguide dispersion also occurs because light propagates
differently in the core than in the cladding.

- In multimode fibers, waveguide dispersion and material dispersion are

basically separate properties. Multimode waveguide dispersion is generally
small compared to material dispersion. Waveguide dispersion is usually
neglected.
- However, in single mode fibers, material and waveguide dispersion are
interrelated.
- The total dispersion present in single mode fibers may be minimized by
trading material and waveguide properties depending on the wavelength of
operation.
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 Waveguide Dispersion
we discussed material dispersion that results from the dependence of the
refractive index of the fiber on wavelength. Even if we assume the refractive
indices n1 and n2 to be independent of λ0, the group velocity of each mode does
depend on the wavelength. This leads to what is known as waveguide dispersion.
The detailed theory is rather involved [see, e.g., Chapter 10, Ghatak and
Thyagarajan]; we may mention here two important points:

1.The waveguide dispersion is usually negative for a given single-mode

fiber. The magnitude increases with an increase in wavelength.

2.If the core radius a (of a single-mode fiber) is made smaller and the value
of ∆ is made larger, the magnitude of the waveguide dispersion increases.
Thus we can tailor the waveguide dispersion by changing the refractive
index profile.
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 We consider the fiber for which n2 = 1.447, ∆ = 0.003, and a = 4.2 µm. The variations of
the waveguide dispersion (τw), material dispersion (τm), and total dispersion (τtot = τw + τm)
with λ0 are shown in Figure below. From the figure it can be seen that the total dispersion
passes through zero around λ0 ≈ 1300 nm. This is known as zero total-dispersion
wavelength and represents an extremely important parameter.

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The variations of τm, τw, and τtot with λ0 for a typical conventional single-mode fiber (CSF)
with parameters given in above Example. The total dispersion passes through zero at
around λ0 ≈ 1300 nm, known as zero total dispersion wavelength.

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 We next consider the fiber for which n2 = 1.444, ∆ = 0.0075, and a = 2.3 µm. For this fiber, at
λ0 ≈ 1550 nm,

τw = –20 ps/km-nm

On the other hand, the material dispersion at this wavelength—per km and per unit
wavelength interval in nm—is given by Table as

` Dm = τm = +21 ps/km-nm

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The variations of τm, τw, and τtot with λ0 for a typical dispersion-shifted single-mode fiber (DSF)
parameters given. The total dispersion passes through zero at around λ0 ≈ 1550 nm.
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 Dispersion Shift Fibers
Since the lowest loss lies at around λ0 ≈ 1550 nm, if the zero-
dispersion wavelength could be shifted to the λ0 ≈ 1550-nm region,
one could have both minimum loss and very low dispersion. This
would lead to very-high-bandwidth systems with very long (~ 100 km)
repeater spacings. Apart from this, extremely efficient optical fiber
amplifiers capable of amplifying optical signals in the 1550-nm band
have also been developed. Thus, shifting the operating wavelength
from 1310 nm to 1550 nm would be very advantageous. By reducing
the core size and increasing the value of ∆, we can shift the zero-
dispersion wavelength to 1550 nm, which represents the low-loss
window. Indeed, the current fourth-generation optical communication
systems operate at 1550 nm, using dispersion-shifted single-mode
fibers with repeater spacing of about 100 km, carrying about 10 Gbit/s
of information (equivalent to about 150,000 telephone channels)
through one hair-thin single-mode fiber.
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Various modes follow different paths causing pulse broadening

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 Intermodal Dispersion
For a ray making an angle θ with the axis, the distance AB is traversed in time.

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 Intermodal Dispersion
Since the ray path will repeat itself, the time taken by a ray to traverse a length L of the
fiber would be

The above expression shows that the time taken by a ray is a function of the angle θ
made by the ray with the z-axis (fiber axis), which leads to pulse dispersion.

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 Intermodal Dispersion
If we assume that all rays lying between θ = 0 and θ = θc = cos-1(n2/n1), the time taken by the
following extreme rays for a fiber of length L would be given by

corresponding to rays at θ = 0

corresponding to rays at θ = θc = cos-1(n2/n1)

Hence, if all the input rays were excited simultaneously, the rays would occupy a time interval at the
output end of duration. or, finally, the intermodal dispersion in a multimode Step index fiber (SIF) is

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 Assignment
For a typical (multimode) step-index fiber, if we assume n1 = 1.5, ∆ = 0.01, L = 1 km, we would get

That is, a pulse traversing through the fiber of length 1 km will be broadened by 50 ns. Thus, two
pulses separated by, say, 500 ns at the input end will be quite resolvable at the end of 1 km of the
fiber. However, if consecutive pulses were separated by, say, 10 ns at the input end, they would be
absolutely unresolvable at the output end. Hence, in a 1-Mbit/s fiber optic system, where we have
one pulse every 10–6 s, a 50-ns/km dispersion would require repeaters to be placed every 3 to 4 km.
On the other hand, in a 1-Gbit/s fiber optic communication system, which requires the transmission
of one pulse every 10–9 s, a dispersion of 50 ns/km would result in intolerable broadening even
within 50 meters or so. This would be highly inefficient and uneconomical from a system point of
view.

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 Fiber types

Single mode fiber

Multimode fiber

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 Step index fiber

Joseph C. Palais

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 Multimode Step Index Fiber

The delay between these two rays when travels in the core allows
Estimation of the pulse broadening resulting from intermodal
Dispersion. The minimum time delay travel along given fiber
length L is,

Tmin = distance/velocity= L/(c/n1)

Tmax = L/cosθ/(c/n1)= L n12/c n2
∆T = Tmax – Tmin = (Ln12 /c n2) ((n1-n2)/n1)~ Ln12∆/ c n2

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 Graded Index fiber

Joseph C. Palais

The graded-index(GRIN)fiber has a core material whose

reflective index varies with distance from the fiber axis. The
light waves in a GRIN travel through the fiber in the ocillatory
fashion of the above figure. The changing refractive index causes
the rays to be continually redirected toward the fiber axis.

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 Joseph C. Palais

A characteristics of the GRIN fiber is the fact that the order

of the wave is irrelevant to the distance it travels. In the
above animation this phenomenon is shown, the ray that
travels directly along the axis reaches the end of the fiber at
the same time as the higher order ray .
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 Graded index fibers
Why graded index in multimode fiber?

• Multimode graded index fibers exhibits less

intermodal dispersion

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 Parabolic-Index Fibers
In a step-index fiber, the refractive index of the core has a constant value. By contrast, in a
parabolic-index fiber, the refractive index in the core decreases continuously (in a quadratic
fashion) from a maximum value at the center of the core to a constant value at the core-
cladding interface. The refractive index variation is given by

0<r<a core

r>a cladding

with ∆ as defined in lecture. For a typical (multimode) parabolic-index silica fiber, ∆ ≈ 0.01,
n2 ≈ 1.45, and a ≈ 25 µm. On the other hand, for a typical plastic fiber, n1 ≈ 1.49, n2 ≈ 1.40, and
a ≈ 500 µm.
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 Parabolic-Index Fibers
This follows from Snell's law because the ray continuously encounters a medium of lower
refractive index and hence bends continuously away from the normal. Even though rays making
larger angles with the fiber axis traverse a longer path, they do so now in a region of lower
refractive index (and hence greater speed). The longer path length is almost compensated for by a
greater average speed such that all rays take approximately the same amount of time in traversing
the fiber. This leads to a much smaller pulse dispersion. The detailed calculations are a bit involved
[see, e.g., Chapters 4 and 5, Ghatak and Thyagarajan]. The final result for the intermodal
dispersion in a parabolic-index fiber (PIF) is given by

Pulse dispersion in multimode PIF

Note that, as compared to a step-index fiber, the pulse dispersion is proportional to the fourth
power of NA. For a typical (multimode parabolic-index) fiber with n2 ≈ 1.45 and ∆ ≈ 0.01, we
would get
τim ≈ 0.25 ns/km
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 Plastic Optical Fiber
Plastic optical fibers are made from materials such as polymethyl methacrylate PMMA
(n = 1.49), polystyrene (n = 1.59), polycarbonates (n = 1.5-1.57), fluorinated polymers,
and so on. These fibers share the advantages of glass optical fibers in terms of
insensitivity to electromagnetic interference, small size and weight, low cost, and
potential capability of carrying information at high rates. The most important attribute of
POFs is their large core diameters of around 1 mm as compared to glass fibers with cores
of 50 µm or 62.5 µm. Such a large diameter results in easier alignment at joints. They are
also more durable and flexible than glass fibers. In addition, they usually have a large NA,
resulting in larger light-gathering power .

Although glass optical fibers dominate long-distance data communication, POFs are
expected to provide low-cost solutions to short-distance applications such as local area
networks (LAN) and high-speed Internet access. At gigabit rates of transmission, glass
fibers are at least 30% more expensive than POFs, while the cost of copper increases
dramatically.

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Attenuation is one of the important parameters of an optical fiber. Figure shows typical loss spectra
of 1-mm-diameter step-index (SI) and graded-index (GI) PMMA-based POF. There are three low-
loss windows, at 570 nm, 650 nm, and 780 nm. The loss of SI POF at the 650-nm window is about
110 dB/km. This is, of course, very large compared to silica fibers, which have typical losses of
about a few dB/km in this wavelength region. The large losses are due to Rayleigh scattering,
intrinsic absorption of the material itself, and impurities and absorption due to vibrational modes of
the molecules. Because of the high losses, these fibers are used in only short-distance (~ a few
hundred meters) communication links.

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Typical attenuation spectra of 1-mm-diameter (a) step-index (SI) and (b) graded-index (GI) PMMA
plastic fiber [Adapted from Koeppen, Shi, Chen, and Garito]

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