ABOUT THE COURSE

Course Code: ET472

Course Name: Optical Communication

Total Units: 3

Duration: 15 weeks of classes

Number of Contact hours per

week: 5 lecture hours

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 1

 OVERVIEW OF OPTICAL FIBER
COMMUNICATIONS

 Electromagnetic spectrum

 Evolution of fiber optic system

 Elements of an optical fiber transmission link

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 2

 INTRODUCTION
A communication system transmits information from
one place to another, whether separated by a few
kilometers or by transoceanic distances.

Information is often carried by an electromagnetic

carrier wave whose frequency can vary from a few
megahertz to several hundred terahertz.

Optical communication systems use high carrier

frequencies (∼100 THz) in the visible or near-infrared
region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 3
 INTRODUCTION -2
Communication systems are sometimes called lightwave
systems to distinguish them from microwave systems,
whose carrier frequency is typically smaller by five orders
of magnitude (∼1 GHz).

 Fiber-optic communication systems are lightwave

systems that employ optical fibers for information
transmission.

Such systems have been deployed worldwide since 1980

and have indeed revolutionized the technology behind
telecommunications.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 4
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 5

 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -2
Communication systems with BL∼100 (Mb/s)-km were
available by 1970 and were limited to such values because of
fundamental limitations.

It was realized during the second half of the twentieth

century that an increase of several orders of magnitude in the
BL product would be possible if optical waves were used as the
carrier. However, neither a coherent optical source nor a
suitable transmission medium was available during the 1950s.

The invention of the laser and its demonstration in 1960

solved the first problem. Attention was then focused on finding
ways for using laser light for optical communications.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 6
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -3
It was suggested in 1966 that optical fibers might be the best
choice, as they are capable of guiding the light in a manner
similar to the guiding of electrons in copper wires.

 The main problem was the high losses of optical fibers

fibers available during the 1960s had losses in excess of

1000dB/km.

A breakthrough occurred in 1970 when fiber losses could be

reduced to below 20dB/km in the wavelength region near 1µm
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 7
 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE -4
The simultaneous availability of compact optical sources
and a low-loss optical fibers led to a worldwide effort for
developing fiber-optic communication systems.

The progress has indeed been rapid as evident from an

increase in the bit rate by a factor of 100,000 over a period
of less than 25 years. Transmission distances have also
increased from 10 to 10,000 km over the same time
period.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 8

 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
The research phase of fiber-optic communication
systems started around 1975.

The enormous progress realized over the 25-year period

extending from 1975 to 2000 can be grouped into several
distinct generations.

The following Figure shows the increase in the BL

product over this time period as quantified through
various laboratory experiments.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 9

EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS - 2

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 10

 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(FIRST GENERATION)
In every generation, BL increases initially but then begins to
saturate as the technology matures.
Each new generation brings a fundamental change that helps
to improve the system performance further.
The first generation of lightwave systems operated near 0.8 µ
m and used GaAs semiconductor lasers.
After severalfield trials duringthe period1977–79, such
systems became available commercially in 1980.
They operated at a bit rate of 45 Mb/s and allowed repeater
spacings of up to 10 km.
The larger repeater spacing compared with 1-km spacing of
coaxial systems was an important motivation for system
designers because it decreased the installation and
maintenance costs associated with each repeater.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 11
 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(SECOND GENERATION)
It was clear during the 1970s that the repeater spacing could
be increased considerably by operating the lightwave system in
the wavelength region near 1.3 µ m, where fiber loss is below
1 dB/km and optical fibers exhibit minimum dispersion.

This realization led to a worldwide effort for the

development of InGaAsP semiconductor lasers and detectors
operating near 1.3 µ m.

The second generation of fiber-optic communication systems

became available in the early 1980s, but the bit rate of early
systems was limited to below 100 Mb/s because of dispersion
in multimode fibers.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 12
 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(SECOND GENERATION - 2)
This limitation was overcome by the use of single-mode
fibers

A laboratory experiment in 1981 demonstrated

transmission at 2 Gb/s over 44 km of single-mode fiber.

By 1987, second-generation lightwave systems,

operating at bit rates of up to 1.7 Gb/s with a repeater
spacing of about 50 km, were commercially available.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 13

 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(THIRD GENERATION)
 Losses of silica fibers become minimum near 1.55µm and a 0.2-
dB/km loss was realized in 1979

However, the introduction of third-generation lightwave systems

operating at 1.55 µ m was considerably delayed by a large fiber
dispersion near 1.55 µ m.

Conventional InGaAsP semiconductor lasers could not be used

because of pulse spreading occurring as a result of simultaneous
oscillation of several longitudinal modes.

The dispersion problem can be overcome either by using

dispersion-shifted fibers designed to have minimum dispersion near
1.55µm or by limiting the laser spectrum to a single longitudinal
mode.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 14

 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(THIRD GENERATION - 2)
 Both approaches were followed during the 1980s.

By 1985, laboratory experiments indicated the possibility of

transmitting information at bit rates of up to 4 Gb/s over
distances in excess of 100 km.

Third-generation lightwave systems operating at 2.5 Gb/s

became available commercially in 1990. Such systems are
capable of operating at a bit rate of up to 10 Gb/s

The best performance is achieved using dispersion-shifted

fibers in combination with lasers oscillating in a single
longitudinal mode.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 15

 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(FOURTH GENERATION)
A drawback of third-generation 1.55µ m systems is that
the signal is regenerated periodically by using electronic
repeaters spaced apart typically by 60–70 km

The fourth generation of lightwave systems makes use of

optical amplification for increasing the repeater spacing
and of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) for
increasing the bit rate

A 1991 experiment showed the possibility of data

transmission over 21,000 km at 2.5 Gb/s, and over 14,300
km at 5 Gb/s, using a recirculating-loop configuration.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 16
 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(FOURTH GENERATION - 2)
This performance indicated that an amplifier-based, all-
optical, submarine transmission system was feasible for
intercontinental communication.

By 1996, not only transmission over 11,300 km at a bit

rate of 5 Gb/s had been demonstrated by using actual
submarine cables, but commercial transatlantic and
transpacific cable systems also became available.

Since then, a large number of submarine lightwave

systems have been deployed worldwide.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 17
 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(FIFTH GENERATION )
 The fifth generation of fiber-optic communication
systems is concerned with extending the wavelength
range over which a WDM system can operate
simultaneously.

The conventional wavelength window, known as the C

band, covers the wavelength range 1.53–1.57µm. It is
being extended on both the long- and short-wavelength
sides, resulting in the L and S bands, respectively.

The Raman amplification technique can be used for

signals in all three wavelength bands.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 18
 EVOLUTION OF LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS
(FIFTH GENERATION - 2)
Moreover, a new kind of fiber, known as the dry fiber
has been developed with the property that fiber losses are
small over the entire wavelength region extending from
1.30 to 1.65µm.

Availability of such fibers and new amplification

schemes may lead to lightwave systems with thousands of
WDM channels.
The fifth-generation systems also attempt to increase the
bit rate of each channel withinthe WDM signal

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 19

 OPTICAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

An optical communication system consists of a transmitter, a

communication channel, and a receiver.
It differs in principle from microwave systems only in the frequency
range of the carrier wave used to carry the information. The optical carrier
frequencies are typically ∼200 THz, in contrast with the microwave carrier
frequencies (∼1 GHz).
 It can be classified into two broad categories: guided and unguided.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 202

0
 GUIDED TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM
 In guided lightwave systems, the optical beam emitted by the
transmitter remains spatially confined.
 This is realized in practice by using optical fibers
Since all guided optical communication systems currently use
optical fibers, the commonly used term for them is fiber-optic
communication systems.
The term lightwave system is also sometimes used for fiber-optic
communication systems, although it should generally include both
guided and unguided systems.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 21

 UNGUIDED TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM
In the case of unguided optical communication systems, the
optical beam emitted by the transmitter spreads in space, similar to
the spreading of microwaves.
However, unguided optical systems are less suitable for
broadcasting applications than microwave systems because optical
beams spread mainly in the forward direction

 They are used only for short distance communication.

 Their use generally requires accurate pointing between the
transmitter and the receiver

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 22

 OPTICAL FIBERS AS A COMMUNICATION
CHANNEL
 The role of a communication channel is to transport the optical
signal from transmitter to receiver without distorting it.
Most lightwave systems use optical fibers as the communication
channel because silica fibers can transmit light with losses as small
as 0.2 dB/km.

Even then, optical power reduces to only 1% after 100 km. For this
reason, fiber losses remain an important design issue and
determines the repeater or amplifier spacing of a long-haul
lightwave system
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 23
 OPTICAL FIBERS AS A COMMUNICATION
CHANNEL
 The role of a communication channel is to transport the optical
signal from transmitter to receiver without distorting it.
Most lightwave systems use optical fibers as the communication
channel because silica fibers can transmit light with losses as small
as 0.2 dB/km.

Even then, optical power reduces to only 1% after 100 km. For this
reason, fiber losses remain an important design issue and
determines the repeater or amplifier spacing of a long-haul
lightwave system
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 24
 OPTICAL FIBERS AS A COMMUNICATION
CHANNEL -2
 Another important design issue is fiber dispersion, which leads to
broadening of individual optical pulses with propagation.
The problem is most severe in the case of multimode fibers, since
pulses spread rapidly because of different speeds associated with
different fiber modes. It is for this reason that most optical
communication systems use single-mode fibers for long distance
communications.

Material dispersion sets the ultimate limit on the bit rate and the
transmission distance of fiber-optic communication systems
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 25
 OPTICAL
TRANSMITTERS

 The role of an optical transmitter is to convert the electrical signal into

optical form and to launch the resulting optical signal into the optical fiber.
 It consists of an optical source, a modulator, and a channel coupler

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 26

 OPTICAL
TRANSMITTERS - 2
LIGHT SOURCE
Semiconductor lasers or light-emitting diodes (LED) are used as
optical sources because of their compatibility with the optical-fiber
communication channel.
The optical signal is generated by modulating the optical carrier
wave
Although an external modulator is sometimes used, it can be
dispensed with in some cases, since the output of a semiconductor
optical source can be modulated directly by varying the injection
current (Direct Modulation). Such a scheme simplifies the
transmitter design and is generally cost-effective, but limited in bit
rate.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 27

 OPTICAL
TRANSMITTERS - 3
LAUNCHED POWER (OF LIGHT SOURCE)
One can increase the amplifier (or repeater) spacing by increasing
it, but the onset of various nonlinear effects limits how much the
input power can be increased.
The launched power is often expressed in “dBm” units with 1 mW
as the reference level.
 The general definition is

 Thus, 1 mW is 0 dBm, but 1 µ W corresponds to −30 dBm.

The launched power is rather low (<−10 dBm) for light-emitting
diodes but semiconductor lasers can launch powers∼10 dBm or
more
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 28
 OPTICAL
TRANSMITTERS - 4
LED VS SEMICONDUCTOR LASER (AS LIGHT SOURCE)

As light-emitting diodes are also limited in their modulation

capabilities, most lightwave systems use semiconductor lasers as
optical sources.

The bit rate of optical transmitters is often limited by electronics

rather than by the semiconductor laser itself. With proper design,
optical transmitters can be made to operate at a bit rate of up to 40
Gb/s or more

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 29

 OPTICAL
TRANSMITTERS - 5
CHANNEL COUPLER

The coupler is typically a microlens that focuses the optical signal

onto the entrance plane of an optical fiber with the maximum
possible efficiency

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 30

 OPTICAL
RECEIVER

It converts the optical signal received at the output end of the optical fiber back
into the original electrical signal.
It consists of a coupler, a photodetector, and a demodulator. The coupler
focuses the received optical signal onto the photodetector

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 31

 OPTICAL RECEIVER - 2

PHOTODETECTOR
The coupler focuses the received optical signal onto the
photodetector

Photodector is the one that responsible on converting light energy

into electrical energy.

Semiconductor photodiodes are used as photodetectors because

of their compatibility with the whole system;

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 32

 OPTICAL RECEIVER - 3

DEMODULATOR
The design of the demodulator depends on the modulation
format used by the lightwave system.

For example, the use of FSK (Frequency shifting keying) and PSK
(Phase shisting Keying) formats generally requires heterodyne or
homodyne demodulation techniques

Most lightwave systems employ a scheme referred to as “intensity

modulation with direct detection” (IM/DD). Demodulation in this
case is done by a decision circuit that identifies bits as 1 or 0,
depending on the amplitude of the electric signal.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 33
 OPTICAL RECEIVER - 4

 RECEIVER PERFORMANCE

The accuracy of the decision circuit depends on the SNR of the electrical
signal generated at the photodetector
 The performance of a digital lightwave system is characterized through
the bit error ratio (BER).
 BER is defined as the number of errors made per second
It is customary to define the BER as the average probability of incorrect
bit identification.
Therefore, a BER of 10−6 corresponds to on average one error per million
bits.
 Most lightwave systems specify a BER of 10-9 as the operating
requirement; some even require a BER as small as 10−14 .
The error-correction codes are sometimes used to improve the raw BER
of a lightwave systems.
Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 34
 OPTICAL RECEIVER - 5

RECEIVER SENSITIVITY

It is usually defined as the minimum average optical power

required to realize a BER of 10−9 .

Receiver sensitivity depends on the SNR (Signal to noise ratio),

which in turn depends on various noise sources that corrupt the
signal received.

Even for a perfect receiver, some noise is introduced by the

process of photodetection itself. This is referred to as the quantum
noise or the shot noise, as it has its origin in the particle nature of
electrons

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 35

 OPTICAL RECEIVER - 6

RECEIVER SENSITIVITY -2
Some of the noise sources such as thermal noise are internal to the receiver.
 Others originate at the transmitter or during propagation along the fiber
link. For instance:

(i) any amplification of the optical signal along the transmission

line with the help of optical amplifiers introduces the so-
called amplifier noise
Chromatic dispersion in optical fibers can add additional noise
(ii) through phenomena such as intersymbol interference and
mode-partition noise.
 The receiver sensitivity is determined by a cumulative effect of all
possible noise mechanisms that degrade the SNR at the decision circuit.
In general, it also depends on the bit rate as the contribution of some
noise sources (e.g., shot noise) increases in proportion to the signal
bandwidth.

Optical Fiber Communication, Lecture 1 36