Physics Unit 3

Chapter 3: Laser and Fiber optics
LASERS AND FIBER OPTICS

Part a: LASER
I. Basic properties of Laser
II. Spontaneous and stimulated emission
III. Population inversion, Pumping, Lasing action
IV. Types of LASER: Ruby Laser, He-Ne Laser, CO2 Laser, Semiconductor Laser
V. Applications
Part b: Fiber Optics
VI. Total internal reflection, principle and working of optical fibers

VII. Different types of optical fibers: step index single mode, step index multimode and
graded index multimode fiber
VIII. V-number, dispersion and losses in optical fiber
IX. Applications
Part a: LASER
LASER is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
I. Basic Properties of Laser
A laser is a device that produces a light beam with some remarkable properties, viz.
1. The light is nearly monochromatic.
2. The light is coherent (temporal as well as spatial), with the waves all exactly in phase
with one another.
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3. A laser beam hardly diverges. Such a beam sent from the earth to a mirror left on the
moon by the Apollo 11 expedition remained narrow enough to be detected on its return
to the earth (total distance covered 1/3 of a million kilometers). A light beam produced
by other means would have spread out too much for this to be done.
4. The beam is extremely intense (large energy density), more than the light from any
other source.
5. Highly collimated beam.
II. Mechanism of Light Emission
For atomic systems in thermal equilibrium with their surroundings, the emission of light is the
result of Absorption, and, subsequently, Spontaneous Emission of energy. There is another
process whereby the atom in an upper energy level can be triggered or stimulated to emit in
phase with an incoming photon. This process is called Stimulated Emission. It is the most
important process for laser action.
 Absorption
Every atom, according to the quantum theory, can reside only in certain discrete energy states
or energy levels. Normally, the atoms are in the lowest energy state or ground state. When light
from a powerful source like a flash lamp or a mercury arc with a photon of energy h = E2-E1
falls on a substance, the atoms in the ground state (E1, say) can be excited to go to one of the
higher levels (E2, say). This process is called absorption.
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 Spontaneous emission
Consider an atom (or molecule) of the material staying initially in an excited state E2. Since
E2>E1, the atom will tend to spontaneously decay to the ground state E1 to attain the lowest
energy state, and a photon of energy h = E2-E1 is released in a random direction as shown
above. No external radiation is required to initiate the emission. This process is called
“spontaneous emission”.
Note that when the released [equal to the energy difference E2-E1] is delivered in the form of
an electromagnetic (E.M.) wave, the process called "radiative emission" which is one of the
two possible ways. “Non-radiative” decay is occurred when the energy difference (E2-E1) is
delivered in some form other than electromagnetic radiation (e.g. it may be transferred to the
kinetic energy of the surrounding).
 Stimulated emission
Stimulated Emission requires the presence of external radiation when an incident photon of
energy h = E2-E1 passes by an atom in an excited state E2, it stimulates the atom to drop or
decay to the lower state E1. In this process, the atom releases a photon of the same energy,
direction, phase and polarization as that of the photon passing by, the net effect is two identical
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photons (i.e. energy = 2h) in the place of one, or an increase in the intensity of the incident
beam. It is precisely this process of stimulated emission that makes possible the amplification
of light in lasers.
The reason that the atom is stimulated to drop is that the incoming photon is an electromagnetic
wave and its EM field will exert an oscillating force on the excited atom. If the incoming photon
is of the correct frequency, this oscillating force will cause the excitedelectron to drop and both
photons will exit with the same frequency, phase and direction.
Theory of Lasing
Atoms exist most of the time in one of a number of certain characteristic energy levels. In any
group of atoms, thermal motion or agitation causes a constant motion of the atoms between
low and high energy levels. In the absence of any applied electromagnetic radiation the
distribution of the atoms in their various allowed states is governed by Boltzman’s law which
states that if an assemblage of atoms is in state of thermal equilibrium at an absolute temp. T,
the number of atoms N2 in one energy level E2 is related to the number N1 in another energy
level E1 by the equation
𝑁2 = 𝑁1𝑒−(𝐸2−𝐸1)/𝐾𝑇 (1)
Where E2>E1, thus clearly N2<N1. (K is Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38x10-16 erg / K

= 1.38x10-23 J/K and T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin).
At absolute zero all atoms will be in the ground state. As the temperature increases atoms move
randomly from low to the higher energy states and back again. The atoms are raised tohigher
energy states by chance and they return to the low energy state by their natural tendencyto seek
the lowest energy level. When they return to the lower energy state electromagnetic radiation
is emitted. This is spontaneous emission of radiation and because of its random nature, it is
incoherent.
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As indicated by the equation, the number of atoms decreases as the energy level increases. As
the temp increases, more atoms will attain higher energy levels. However, the lower energy
levels will be still more populated.
Einstein in 1917 first introduced the concept of stimulated or induced emission of

radiation by atomic systems. He showed that in order to describe completely the interaction of
matter and radiation, it is necessary to include that process in which an excited atom may be
induced by the presence of radiation to emit a photon and decay to lower energy state.
An atom in level E2 can decay to level E1 by emission of photon. Let us call A21 the transition
probability per unit time for spontaneous emission from level E2 to level E1. Then the number
of spontaneous decays per second is N2A21, i.e. the number of spontaneous decays per second
= N2A21.
In addition to these spontaneous transitions, there will be induced or stimulated transitions. The
total rate of these induced transitions between level 2 and level 1 is proportional to the density
(U) of radiation of frequency , where
 = (E2-E1)/ h , h being the Planck's constant.
Let B21 and B12 denote the proportionality constants for stimulated emission and absorption.
Then number of stimulated downward transition in stimulated emission per second = N2 B21 U
Similarly, the number of stimulated upward transitions per second = N1 B12 U
The proportionality constants A and B are known as the Einstein A and B coefficients.
Under equilibrium conditions we have
N2 A21 + N2 B21 U =N1 B12 U      

Solving for U (density of the radiation) we obtain
U [N1 B12 - N2 B21] = N2A21

or
𝑁2 𝐴21 𝐴21
𝑈𝜈 = =
𝑁1 𝐵12 − 𝑁2 𝐵21 𝐵 [𝐵12 𝑁1 − 1]
21 𝐵 𝑁
21 2
5
Since, 

N2
 e (E2 E1 ) / KT  eh / KT
N1
(From Boltzmann’s Equation)
Therefore,
𝐴21
𝑈𝜈 =
𝐵
𝐵21 [𝐵12 𝑒 ℎ𝜈−𝐾𝑇 − 1]
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(3)
According to Planck’s formula of radiation
8𝜋ℎ𝜈3 1
𝑈𝜈 = (4)
𝑐3 [𝑒 ℎ𝜈−𝐾𝑇 −1]
Comparing Eqns. (3) and (4)
B12 = B21 (5)
𝟖𝝅𝒉𝝂𝟑
𝑨𝟐𝟏 = 𝑩𝟐𝟏 (6)
𝒄𝟑
Eqn. (5) and (6) are Einstein’s relations.
Thus from atoms in equilibrium with thermal radiation
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Thus, we get
𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝟏
= 𝒉𝝂 (7)
𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
[𝒆𝑲𝑻 −𝟏]

Therefore, the rate of induced emission is extremely small in the visible region of the spectrum
with ordinary optical source. In such sources, most of the radiation is emitted through
spontaneous transitions. Since these transitions occur in a random manner, ordinary sources of
visible radiation are incoherent.
On the other hand, in a laser the induced transitions become completely dominant. One result
is that the emitted radiation is highly coherent. Another is that the spectral intensity at the
operating frequency of the laser is much greater than the spectral intensities of ordinary light
source.
III. Amplification in a Medium: Population Inversion and Active

System
Consider an optical medium, through which radiation is passing, contains atoms in various
energy levels E1, E2, E3,….Let us take two energy levels E1 & E2, with population of N1 and
N2, respectively, and where E2>E1. The rate of stimulated emission and absorption involving
these two levels are proportional to N2B21 & N1B12 respectively. Since B21=B12, the rate of
stimulated downward transitions will exceed that of the upward transitions when N2>N1, i.e.
the population of the upper state is greater than that of the lower state. Such a condition is
contrary to the thermal equilibrium distribution given by Boltzmann’s law and, therefore, it is
termed as population inversion. Thus, the term population inversion describes an assembly
of atoms in which the majority of atoms are in energy levels above the ground state;
normally theground state is occupied to the greatest extent.
If a population inversion exists, then a light beam will increase in intensity i.e. it will be
amplified as it passes through the medium. This is because the gain due to the induced emission
exceeds the loss due to absorption.
A system in which population inversion has been achieved is called an active system.
 Metastable State
The atoms remain in the excited state for a very short period of time ~ 10 -8 sec, after that they
spontaneously release the excess energy. For stimulated emission to occur, the atoms should
stay longer (typically ~ 10-4 sec) in the excited state to compensate for the loss in population
due to spontaneous emission till the condition N2>N1 gets satisfied. Such relatively long-lived
states with life time ~10-3 sec are called metastable (temporarily stable) states and their
energy lie between upper excited state and the lower state.
The population of atoms in metastable state is greater than that in lower state, which leads to
population inversion.
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PUMPING
To attain and sustain population inversion, the atoms in the material must be continuously
excited from lower energy level to higher energy level. This is done by continuous supply of
energy to the medium. The process is known as pumping.
N.B.
By heating the material the state of population inversion cannot be achieved. By heating the
material, the average energy of the atoms is increased (i.e. overall system is shifted to the higher
energy level) without achieving the required condition for population inversion, i.e. N2 > N1.
Therefore, to achieve the condition different methods are used.
 OPTICAL PUMPING
Here optical energy in the form of photon with right frequency is used to excite the atoms in
the medium. For supplying optical energy, a discharge tube is employed to excite atoms from
the ground state to a higher or excited state. Optical pumping is suitable for any medium which
is transparent to light.
 ELECTRICAL PUMPING
It is used for some mediums which can conduct electricity without affecting laser activity.
Suitable for gas and semiconductor lasers. In gaseous medium, the gas is ionised by a pulse of
high electric voltage, current flowing through the gas provides necessary energy to excite the
atoms to uppermost level from where they decay to metastable level.
In semiconductor lasers charge carriers are excited.
As the atoms have a large number of energy levels, 2, 3 or 4 levels are eligible for a pumping
process. The transition between two levels for which stimulated emission occurs is called
lasing transition.
N.B.
It is not possible to achieve population inversion with a 2-state (level) system. If the incoming
radiation flux is made very large the probability of stimulated emission and absorption can be
made to far exceed the rate of spontaneous emission. But in 2-state system, the best we can get
is N1 = N2.
Suppose there are only 2 levels, a metastable state, corresponding to

energy hν, above the ground state. The more photons with frequency ν we pump into the
assembly of atoms, the more upward transitions there will be from the ground state to the
metastable state. However, pumping will also stimulate downward transitions from metastable
state to the ground state. i.e. population and depopulation processes take place simultaneously.
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In other words, the incoming flood of photons is just as likely to cause an electron to drop
(stimulated emission) as it is to cause an electron to rise (absorption). When half the atoms are
in each state, the rate of stimulated emissions will be equal the rate of stimulated absorption,
so the assembly can’t have more than half its atoms in metastable state. In this situation laser
amplification cannot occur.
A population inversion is only possible when the stimulated absorptions are to a higher
energy level than the metastable one from which the stimulated emission takes place, which
prevents the pumping from depopulating the metastable state.
Lasers with different levels
N.B.
Pumping is a process of upward transition of atoms and molecules above the metastable state
from the lowest state. Whereas, lasing involves both upward and downward transitions of atoms
and molecules. Hence, the designation of pumping schemes as 3 or 4 level is technicallywrong.
Three-level and four-level lasers
Advantages of four level lasers Compared to three level lasers
– The lasing threshold of a four level laser is lower.
– The efficiency is higher.
– Required pumping rate is lower.
– Continuous operation is possible in four level laser (e.g. He-Ne laser). Three
level laser gives pulsed operation (e.g. Ruby laser)
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Key mechanism to produce a laser: Optical Resonator
1. Pumping process prepares amplifying medium in suitable state.

2. Optical power increases on each pass through amplifying medium (Optical resonator)
3. If gain exceeds loss, device will oscillate, generating a coherent output.
Optical resonator
In laser, active medium is an amplifier, which is converted into an oscillator through the
feedback mechanism established by an optical resonator. A pair of optically plane parallel
mirrors, enclosing laser medium in between them, is known as an optical resonant cavity. One
of the mirror is partially reflecting and the other is fully reflecting. The laser oscillation is
initiated by photons spontaneously emitted by some of the excited atoms. The photons emitted
along the optic axis of the resonant cavity travel through the medium and trigger stimulated
emissions. They are reflected by the end mirror and reverse their path. The optical resonator
selects the direction in which the light is to be amplified; the direction being the optical axis of
the pair of mirrors. Thus, the optical cavity makes the laser beam directional. The photons, thus
fed back into the medium, travel toward the opposite end mirror causing more stimulated
emissions. It is again reflected back from that end. As the process repeats itself substantial light
amplification takes place.
In order to make the stimulated emission dominate spontaneous emission, a high radiation
density is required to be present in the active medium. The optical cavity builds up the photon
density to a very high value through repeated reflection of photons and confines them within
the medium.
Optical cavity selects and amplifies only certain frequencies causing the laser output to be
highly monochromatic.
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IV. Types of Lasers
• Solid-state lasers
– Ruby laser, Nd:YAG laser etc.
• Gas lasers
– Helium-Neon laser, CO2 laser etc.
• Semiconductor diode lasers

– GaAs laser, InP laser etc.
Lasers work in continuous mode or in pulsed mode.
The Ruby Laser
Ruby belongs to the family of gems consisting of Al2O3 with various types of impurities. For
example pink Ruby contains 0.05% Cr atoms. The construction of ruby laser is given below.
The ruby laser consists of a ruby rod made of chromium doped ruby material. At the opposite
ends of this rod there are two silver polished mirrors. Whose one is fully polished and other is
partially (~ 98%) polished. A spring is attached to the rod with fully polished end for adjustment
of wave length of the laser light. Around the ruby rod a flash light is kept for the pump input.
The whole assembly is kept in the glass tube. Around the neck of the glass tube the R.F source
and switching control is designed in order to switch on and off the flash light for desired intervals.
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When the R.F is switched on a flash of light is obtained around the ruby rod. This causes the
Cr3+ ions within ruby rod to move from lower energy band E1 towards higher E3 and E4 bands
by the green and blue components of the white light. The Cr3+ ions undergo non-radiative
transitions from these energy levels to level E2, which is a metastable state. Population
inversion takes between E2 and the ground state E1, making these two levels suitable for lasing
action. Transitions between the levels E2 and E1 result in emission of the laser light of
wavelength 693.4 nm. The energy level diagram is given below.
Advantages of Ruby Laser
1. The ruby lasers are economical.
2. Since the ruby is in solid form therefore there is no chance of wasting material of active
medium.
3. Construction and function of ruby laser is self-explanatory.
Disadvantages of Ruby Laser
1. In ruby lasers no significant stimulated emission occurs, until at least half of the ground
state electrons have been excited to the Meta stable state.
2. Efficiency of ruby laser is comparatively low.
3. Optical cavity of ruby laser is short as compared to other lasers, which may be
considered a disadvantage.
Uses of Ruby Laser
Due to low output power they are used as toys for children, used in schools, colleges and
universities for science programs and as decoration piece and artistic display.
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The Helium-Neon (He-Ne) Laser
A helium-neon laser, usually called a He-Ne laser, is a type of small gas laser. It is a four-level
laser. Its usual operation wavelength is 632.8 nm, in the red portion of the visible spectrum. It
operates in Continuous Working (CW) mode.
The basic construction of a He-Ne laser is shown above. The setup consists of a discharge tube
of length 80 cm and bore diameter of 1.5cm. A mixture of helium and neon gases, in
approximately a 10:1 ratio, contained at low pressure in a glass envelope. The energy or
pumping of the laser is provided by a high voltage electrical discharge passed through the gas
between the anode and cathode within the tube. The optical cavity of the laser usually consists
of two concave mirrors or one plane and one concave mirror, one having very high (typically
99.9%) reflectance and the output coupler mirror allowing approximately 1% transmission.
In order to pump the ground state Ne atoms to the excited state, the ground state atoms of He
are pumped to the 23S1 and 21S0 long-lived, metastable excited states by passing an electric
discharge. The excited He atoms then collide with the ground state Ne atoms and transfer their
energy to the Ne atoms exciting them into the 2s and 3s states. This is due to a coincidence of
energy levels between the helium and neon atoms.
This process is given by the reaction equation:
He* + Ne → He + Ne* + ΔE
where (*) represents an excited state, and ΔE is the small energy difference between the energy
states of the two atoms, of the order of 0.05 eV. The typical energy diagram is shown below.
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The reason behind the above indirect transfer of energy to Ne is the small atomic cross-section
of Ne which makes direct energy transfer a bit difficult to realize.
The number of neon atoms entering the excited states builds up as further collisions between
helium and neon atoms occur, causing a population inversion between the neon 3s and 2s, and
3p and 2p states. Spontaneous emission between the 3s and 2p states results in emission of
632.8 nm wavelength light, the typical operating wavelength of a He-Ne laser.
After this, fast radiative decay occurs from the 2p to the 1s energy levels, which then decay to
the ground state via collisions of the neon atoms with the container walls. Because of this last
required step, the bore size of the laser cannot be made very large and the He-Ne laser is limited
in size and power.
Typical power output for He-Ne lasers lie between 1 and 50 mW for continuous wave
operations for inputs of ~ 5-10 W.
Advantages of He-Ne lasers
1. The biggest advantages of He-Ne laser is its continuous wave operation.

2. Compared to solid state lasers He-Ne laser is more directional and much more
monochromatic.
Disadvantage of He-Ne lasers
1. Since this type of lasers use internal mirrors (i.e. with mirrors sealed inside the discharge
tube), mirrors are very easily eroded by gas discharge and have to be replaced.
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The Carbon Dioxide Laser
The carbon dioxide laser (CO2 laser) is a type of molecular gas laser (invented by Kumar Patel
of Bell Labs in 1964). It is the highest-power continuous wave lasers that are currently
available. They are also quite efficient: the ratio of output power to pump power can be as large
as 20%. The CO2 laser produces a beam of infrared light with the principal wavelength bands
centering around 9.4 and 10.6 µm.
Active medium
It consists of a mixture of CO2, N2 and helium or water vapor. The active centers are
CO2 molecules lasing on the transition between the rotational levels of vibrational bands of the
electronic ground state.
Optical resonator
A pair of concave mirrors placed on either side of the discharge tube, one completely
polished and the other partially polished, constitute the optical resonator. Population inversion
is created by electric discharge of the mixture. A basic construction of carbon dioxide laser is
shown alongside
The energy level diagram of vibrational – rotational energy levels with which the main physical
processes take place in this laser is shown below.
As the electric discharge takes place in the tube, which contains a mixture of carbon dioxide,
nitrogen and helium gases, the electrons striking nitrogen molecules impart sufficient energy
to raise them to their first excited vibrational-rotational energy level. This energy level
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corresponds to one of the vibrational - rotational level of CO2 molecules, designated as level
4. Due to collision with N2 molecules, the CO2 molecules are raised to level 4.
Different vibrational level of CO2 molecule
The lifetime of CO2 molecules in level 4 is quiet significant to serve as a metastable state.
Hence, the desired population inversion of CO2 molecules is established between levels 4 and
3, and between levels 4 and 2. The transition of CO2 molecules between levels 4 and 3 produce
lasers of wavelength 10.6 microns and that between levels 4 and 2 produce lasers of wavelength
9.6 microns.
The He molecules increase the population of level 4, and also help in emptying the lower laser
levels. The molecules that arrive at the levels 3 and 2 decay to the ground state through collision
induced transitions to the lower level 1, which in turn decays to the ground state.
The power output of a CO2 laser increases linearly with length.

Advantages of CO2 lasers
1. Compared to other gas lasers, CO2 laser is much more efficient.
2. Output powers of several watts to several hundred watts may be obtained from CO2
lasers.
3. The output wavelength of CO2 laser falls in a band where atmospheric attenuation is
very little. Hence it is suitable for open air communication and optical radar systems.
Disadvantage of CO2 laser
1. Because CO2 lasers operate in the infrared, special materials are necessary for their
construction. Typically, the mirrors are silvered, while windows and lenses are made
of either germanium or zinc selenide. For high power applications, gold mirrors and
zinc selenide windows and lenses are preferred.
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The Semiconductor (Diode) Lasers
The basic structure of a standard ‘edge emitting’ semiconductor laser is shown below. The
whole block shown below is a semiconductor chip with dimensions approximately 0.5mm ×
0.5mm × 1mm, as shown below.
The mirrors are due to the semiconductor-air boundary at the edges of the chip. [This in fact
gives 40% reflection only (at both sides).] This low reflectivity is still efficient for
semiconductor laser because
1. The population inversion inside the semiconductor sandwich area is millions of times
higher than in gas lasers [~1025 electrons/m3].
2. The exponential increase in light intensity (i.e. 1 photon becoming two, becoming four
etc.) occurs far more quickly because of the higher population inversion.
3. So the fact that we lose 60% of the light at each reflection is compensated for by
having huge gains between the mirrors.
The energy bend diagram of a degenerately doped direct band gap semiconductor p-n junction
is shown below.
In case of degenerate doping Fermi level (EFP) on P-side is in the valence band (VB) and EFN
on the N-side is in the conduction band (CB). Energy levels up to the Fermi level are occupied
by electrons. When there is no applied voltage the Fermi level is continuous across the diode
(EFN = EFP). Band diagram with a sufficient forward bias will cause population inversion (as
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shown in the figure in the right side). Now there’s a small region in the middle between the p-
type and the n-type where we have a high concentration of electrons above holes. These
electrons can be stimulated to drop and give away laser light.
The advantages of semiconductor lasers are
1. Cheaper
2. Smaller
3. More efficient
4. Easy for mass production.
V. Applications of Laser
1. The narrow red beam of He-Ne laser is used in supermarkets to read bar codes.
2. Measuring distances
3. Red He-Ne laser have many industrial and scientific uses. They are widely used in
laboratory demonstrations.
4. Laser is used in guided smart weapon.
5. Because of the high power levels available (combined with reasonable cost for the
laser), CO2 lasers are frequently used in industrial applications for cutting and welding,
while lower power level lasers are used for engraving. They are also very useful in
surgical procedures because water (which makes up most biological tissue) absorbs this
frequency of light very well. Some examples of medical uses are laser surgery, skin
resurfacing etc.
6. Semiconductor lasers are used in DVD and CD players, as Barcode readers, in
telecommunications (via optical fibres), Image scanning etc.
7. Holography.
Holography
Holography is a technique that enables a light field, which is generally the product of a light
source scattered off objects, to be recorded and later reconstructed when the original light field
is no longer present, due to the absence of the original objects.
[Holography was invented in 1947 by Hungarian physicist Dennis Gabor (1900–1979), work
for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971.]
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When the two laser beams reach the recording medium, their light waves, intersect and interfere
with each other. It is this interference pattern that is imprinted on the recording medium. The
pattern itself is seemingly random, as it represents the way in which the scene's light interfered
with the original light source — but not the original light source itself. The interference pattern
can be considered as an encoded version of the scene, requiring a particular key — the original
light source — in order to view its contents.
If a laser, identical to the one used to record the hologram, is shined onto the developed film
(hologram), it illuminates the hologram, it is diffracted by the hologram's surface pattern. This
produces a light field identical to the one originally produced by the scene and scattered onto
the hologram. The image this, therefore, known as a virtual image.
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Part b: FIBER OPTICS
An optical fiber is essentially a waveguide for light. It transmits light pulses and can be
used for analog or digital transmission of voice, computer data, video, etc.
Copper wires (or other metals) can carry the same types of signals with electrical pulses.
Advantages of optical fibers vis-a-vis metal wires
1. Optical fiber has large bandwidth, i.e. it can transmit more data per second.
2. It is of very low loss. This implies that longer distance communication is
possible using the optical fibers.
3. Carries signal at a much faster rate.
4. Immune to crosstalk.
5. Since the data is carried as light, there is no electrical hazard.
6. Special applications like medical imaging and quantum key distribution are
only possible with fiber because they use light and are made of dielectrics.
VI. BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE OF FIBER OPTICS
Optical fibers work on the principle of total internal reflection.
The angle of refraction at the interface between two media is governed by Snell’s law
n1 sin 1  n2 sin 2
Where θ1 is the angle of incidence in a medium with refractive index n1, and θ2 is the angle of
incidence in a medium with refractive index n2.
Fig. 1 Direction of light at the interface of two media
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When a ray of light travel from a high to a low refractive index material, it will move away
from the normal. i.e. the angle of incidence is smaller than the angle of refracted ray. The
reverse is true for rays travelling from low to high index material. The relation between the
incident and refracted angles are related in terms of propagation velocities in the media as
sin 𝜃1 𝑣1 𝑐 𝑐
= where 𝑣1 = 𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣2 = 𝑛
sin 𝜃2 𝑣2 1 2
(the above relation is valid provided the two materials involved are transparent and allow
light propagation and vi is the speed of light in medium i)
When 2, the angle of refraction, becomes 90 the refracted beam is not traveling through the
n2 material. Applying Snell’s law of refraction,
n2
sin 1 
n1
The angle of incidence θ1 for which θ2 = 90o is called the critical angle θc.
From the above discussion following important conclusions can be drawn:
• The light can be restricted to the material with the higher index of refraction if the
incident angle is kept above the critical angle.
• A sandwich of high index material placed between two slabs of low index material will
allow a beam of light to propagate in the high index material with relatively low loss.
• This concept is used in constructing fibers for fiber optic communication.
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 Structure of an optical fiber
Fig. 2 Main parts of an optical fiber
A typical optical fiber consists of a core, a cladding, and a polymer jacket (buffer coating).
• Core
– Glass or plastic with a higher index of refraction than the cladding
– Carries the signal
• Cladding
– Glass or plastic with a lower index of refraction than the core
• Buffer
– Protects the fiber from damage and moisture (mechanical protection)
• Jacket
– Holds one or more fibers in a cable
VII. Types of optical fiber

• The fibers in which the index of refraction changes radically between the core and the
cladding are known as step-index fibers.
• In case of Graded-index (GRIN) fiber the index of refraction gradually decreases

away from the center of the core eventually to meet the cladding.
• Graded-index fiber has less dispersion than a multimode step-index fiber.
Fig. 3 Different types of optical fiber according to their refractive index profile
22
 Modes in an optical fiber and fiber classifications in terms of number of modes

they support
In simple terms, modes in an optical fiber can be visualized as the possible number of allowed
paths in the optical fiber. For a particular fiber the maximum number of modes it can support
is constant.
In a fiber of fixed thickness, the modes that propagates at angles close to the critical angle are
called higher order modes, and modes that propagate with angles larger than the critical angles
are called lower order modes.
Depending on the number of modes that a fiber allows to propagate, the fibers are
classified mainly into three categories, viz. (i) single-mode step index fiber, (ii) multimode
step indexfiber, and (iii) multimode graded index fiber. A comparative Table is given below.
Table 1: Comparison between single-mode step index, multimode step index and multimode
graded index fibers
Single-mode step index Multimode step index fiber Multimode graded index
fiber fiber
Allows only one mode to Allows more than one mode Allows more than one mode
propagate. to propagate to propagate
Core diameter ~10 µm. Core diameter ~50- 200 µm Core diameter ~50- 100 µm
Low numerical aperture. Numerical aperture varies Low numerical aperture.

between 0.2 and 0.29.
Very high band width. Low band width. Intermediate bandwidth.
Low attenuation and High dispersion loss affects Multimode graded-index

dispersion. the performance of such fibers have less modal
fiber. dispersion than multimode
step-index fibers.
Generally laser is used as Generally LED is used as Laser and LED both can be
light source. light source. used as light source.
Very expansive. Less expansive. Very expansive.
Can be used in long distance Used mainly in local area Used for transmitting
communication. networks (LAN). information to the distance of
a couple of kilometers.
23
Discussion on graded-index multimode fiber
Let a multimode graded-index fiber has a core of radius equal to a. Unlike the step-index
fibers, the value of the refractive index of the core (n1) varies according to the radial
distance (r). The value of n1 decreases as the distance (r) from the center of the fiber
increases.
The value of n1 decreases until it approaches the value of the refractive index of the
cladding (n2). The value of n1 must be higher than the value of n2 to allow for proper
mode propagation. Like the step-index fiber, the value of n2 is constant. The relative
refractive index difference (Δ) is determined using the maximum value of n1 and the
value of n2.
The NA of a multimode graded-index fiber is at its maximum value at the fiber axis.
The gradual decrease in the core's refractive index from the center of the fiber causes
propagating modes to be refracted many times.
Higher order modes compensate the larger distance travelled due to the higher speed
compared to the lower order modes as a result of the varying refractive index.
Multimode graded-index fibers have less INTERMODAL DISPERSION than

multimode step-index fibers. Lower modal dispersion means that multimode graded-
index fibers have higher bandwidth capabilities than multimode step-index fibers.
24

 Propagation of light through an optical fiber
Fig. 4 Ray Diagram for light propagation through an optical fiber
To be guided through an optical fiber, a light ray must enter the core with an angle less than a
particular angle called the acceptance angle of the fiber. A ray which enters the fiber with an
angle greater than the acceptance angle will be lost in the cladding, as shown in Fig. 4 and 5.
The imaginary light cone with the acceptance angle as the vertex angle, is known as the
acceptance cone.
Numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber is the light collecting efficiency of the fiber and is a
measure of the amount of light rays can be accepted by the fiber.
Fig. 5 Ray diagram for an optical fiber

From Fig. 5, we have
θ' = (90o – θ)
n0 sin i = n1 sin θ for air, n0 = 1
So it may be totally reflected back to the core medium if θ' exceeds the critical angle θ'c. Using
Snell’s laws at the core-cladding interface,
25
n1 sin θ’c = n2 sin 90o
𝑛2
sin 𝜃𝑐′ = (2)
𝑛1
Therefore, for light to be propagated within the core of optical fiber as guided wave, the angle of
incidence at core-cladding interface should be greater than θ'c. As i increases, θ increases and so
θ' decreases. Therefore, there is maximum value of angle of incidence beyond which it does not
propagate rather it is refracted in to cladding medium. This maximum value of i, say im, is
called the half of the maximum angle of acceptance and n0 sin im is termed as the
numerical aperture (NA).
NA = n0.sin im = n1.sinθ = n1.sin (90o – θ’c)

𝑛22
or 𝑁𝐴 = 𝑛1 cos 𝜃𝑐′ = 𝑛1 √1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃𝑐′ = 𝑛1 √1 − [using Eqn. 2]
𝑛12
or 𝑁𝐴 = √𝑛12 − 𝑛22 (3)
The significance of NA is that light entering in the cone of semi vertical angle im only propagate
through the fiber by total internal reflection. The higher the value of im or NA means more is the
light collected for propagation in the fiber. Numerical aperture is thus considered as a lightgathering
capacity of an optical fiber.
Numerical Aperture can also be defined as the sine of half of the angle of fiber’s light
acceptance angle (θa). Therefore, as per our discussion θa = 2 im
The general expression relating acceptance angle θa and NA is given by

  
−1
√𝑛12 − 𝑛22
𝜃𝑎 = 2𝑠𝑖𝑛
𝑛0

A parameter known as Fractional refractive index is defined as
𝑛12 −𝑛22 (𝑁𝐴)2

∆= = (5)
2𝑛12 2𝑛12
Hence, NA = n1 x (2Δ)1/2 (6)
26
Problem:
A fiber has the following characteristics: n1 = 1.35 (core index) and  =2%. Find the N.A and the
acceptance angle.
Ans: Given, core refractive index, n1 = 1.35
and fractional index change  = 2% = 0.02
Using Eqn. 6 NA= 1.35  (2  0.02)1/2 = 0.27
Using Eqn. 3 im = sin – 1 (N.A) = sin – 1 (0.27) = 15.66
Acceptance angle = 2im = 31.33



VIII. NORMALIZED FREQUENCY OR ‘CUT-OFF FREQUENCY’ OR ‘CUT-OFF
PARAMETER’ OR ‘V- NUMBER’ FOR FIBER
A dimensionless parameter that combines the key variables of the optical fiber isknown as
normalized frequency or “V” number and is defined as
2𝜋𝑎 2𝜋𝑎 2𝜋𝑎

𝑉= √𝑛12 − 𝑛22 = 𝑛1 (2∆)1/2 = (𝑁𝐴) (7)
𝜆 𝜆 𝜆
Where a is the fiber radius and λ is the operating wavelength.
The maximum number of modes, Nm, supported by a step index fiber is given by
Nm = 0.5 V2 (8)
Thus, For V =10, Nm is 50. When the normalized frequency V is less than 2.405, the fiber can
support only one mode, which propagates along the axial length of the fiber, and the fiber
becomes a single mode fiber. The wavelength at which the fiber becomes a single mode is
called the cut-off wavelength, λc, of the fiber.

Dispersion and attenuation in optical fiber
When a signal pulse travels on an optical fiber it goes on broadening due to dispersion and its
amplitude starts to reduce due to attenuation as shown in Fig. 6. As a result of these, after
traversing certain distance the pulse shape is completely distorted not to resemble with the
original pulse shape.
27
Fig. 6 Dispersion and attenuation of light signal propagating through an optical fiber
The spreading of light pulses as they propagate along the fiber is known as dispersion. It is tobe
noted that
• Dispersion in fiber optics results from the fact that in multimode propagation, the signal
travels faster in some modes than it would in others.
• Single-mode fibers are relatively free from dispersion except for intra-modal
dispersion.
• Graded-index fibers reduce dispersion by taking advantage of higher-order modes.
• One form of intra-modal dispersion is called material dispersion because it depends

upon the material of the core. Another form of dispersion is called waveguide
dispersion.
• Dispersion increases with the bandwidth of the light source.
The loss of optical power as light travels down the optical fiber is called attenuation. It is defined
as the ratio of the output optical power (P0) to input optical power (Pi) from a fiber oflength L.
Mathematically,
𝑃0 = 𝑃𝑖 𝑒 −𝛼𝐿 (9)
Where α is the fiber attenuation coefficient expressed in units of km-1. Thus

1 𝑃𝑖
𝛼= 𝑙𝑛
𝐿 𝑃o
In units of dB/km, α is defined by the equation

10 𝑃
𝛼𝑑𝐵/𝑘𝑚 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑃𝑖 (10)
𝐿 0
For an ideal fiber, Pi = Po and the attenuation would be zero.
 Losses in optical fiber
Losses in optical fiber result from attenuation in the material itself and from scattering, which
causes some light to strike the cladding at less than the critical angle. Bending the optical fiber
too sharply can also cause losses by causing some of the light to meet the cladding at less than
28
the critical angle. It varies greatly depending upon the type of fiber
– Plastic fiber may have losses of several hundred dB per kilometer
– Graded-index multimode glass fiber has a loss of about 2–4 dB

per kilometer
– Single-mode fiber has a loss of 0.4 dB/km or less
Major types of losses are
Materials loss
• Due to impurities: The material loss is due to the impurities (e.g. Fe, Ni, Co) present
in glass used for making fibers. The Fig. 7 shows attenuation due to various molecules
inside glass as a function of wavelength. It can be noted from the Fig. 7 that the material
loss due to impurities reduces substantially beyond about 1200 nm wavelength.
• Due to OH molecule: In addition, the OH molecule diffuses in the material and causes
absorption of light. The OH molecule has main absorption peak somewhere in the deep
infra-red wavelength region. However, it shows substantial loss in the range of 1000 to
2000 nm.
• Due to infra-red absorption: Glass intrinsically is a good infra-red absorber. As we

increase the wavelength the infra-red loss increases rapidly.
Fig. 7 Materials loss as a function of wavelength and bending loss in an optical fiber
Scattering loss
• The scattering loss results from the non-uniformity of the refractive index inside the
core of the fiber. The refractive index of an optical fiber has fluctuation over spatial
scales much smaller than the optical wavelength. These fluctuations act as scattering
centers for the light passing through the fiber. The process is known as Rayleigh
scattering. A very tiny fraction of light gets scattered and therefore contributes to the
loss.
• The Rayleigh scattering is a very strong function of the wavelength. The scattering loss
varies as λ-4. This loss therefore rapidly reduces as the wavelength increases. For each
doubling of the wavelength, the scattering loss reduces by a factor of 16. It is then clear
that the scattering loss at 1550 nm is about factor of 16 lower than that at 800 nm.
29
IX. APPLICATIONS OF FIBER OPTICS
Optical fiber finds applications in the field of medical (endoscopes), defence and most
notably in communication networks. A fiber optic communication network is shown in
Fig. 8.
Fig. 8 Schematic of a fiber optic communication network.
 Limitations of the Ray-model
1. The ray model assumes that during total internal reflection the energy is confined
to the core only. However, in reality, the optical energy spreads also in the cladding.
2. It does not speak of the discrete field patterns for propagation inside a fiber.
3. The ray model breaks down when the core size becomes comparable to the
wavelength of light. It is, therefore, not quite justified for a SM fiber.
The limitations of the Ray model can be overcome in the wave model.
(All figures are taken from the freely available images in the internet)
30
B.TECH/MBATECH-SEMESTER 1-A.Y. 2022-23
Unit 3 : LASERS AND FIBER OPTICS NUMERICALS

Numerical Problems on LASER
1. A ruby laser has its metastable state at 1.79 eV from which the stimulated emission
produces laser light. Calculate the wavelength of the light. If 1 mole of Cr+3 ions are
involved in population inversion process in a pulse, calculate the pulse energy in eV.
[Given, h = 6.625 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟑𝟒 J-s = 4.14 x 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟓 eV-s, c= 3 x 𝟏𝟎𝟖 m/s]
Solution:
Given: Metastable state energy (E)= 1.79 eV
h = 6.625 x10−34J-s = 4.14 x10−15 eV-s,
c= 3 x108 m/s
To find: Wavelength of light ()
Pulse energy (E)
hc
Formula: 1) E =

hc
 =
E
nhc
2) E= 
……(for n number of Cr ions)
Calculation:
hc 4.14 x 10−15 x 3 x 108
= E = 1.79
= 6.939x10−7 m
nhc
Pulse Energy E= ……(for n number of Cr ions)

3x 6.022x1023 x 4.14 x 10−15 x 3 x 108

E= 6.939 x10−7
= 3.233x1024eV
Result: Wavelength of light()= 6.939x10−7 m
Pulse energy (E)= 3.233x1024 eV
2. A laser having power of 75 mW, wavelength 720 nm and an aperture 5 mm is focused

with a lens of focal length of 0.1 m. Calculate the area and intensity of the image.
Solution:
Given: power = 75 mW = 75x 10−3 W
wavelength = 720 nm= 720x10−9 m
aperture (d)= 5 mm= 5x10−3m

focal length(f) = 0.1 m
To find: area and intensity of the image.

Formula: 1) Angular spread of laser beam d=d
2) Areal spread= (dxf)2

 720x10−9 0
Calculation: Angular spread of laser beam is d=d = 5x10−3
= 1.44x10−4
Areal spread= (dxf)2 =(1.44x10−4 x 0.1)2 = 2.073x10−10 m2

power 75x 10−3
Intensity = = = 3.616x108 W/m2
area 2.073x10−10
Result: area of the image = = 2.073x 10−10 m2
intensity of the image = 3.616 x108 W/m2
3. In a He-Ne laser system, the two energy levels of Ne involved in lasing action have
energy values of 20.66 eV and 18.70 eV. Population inversion occurs between these two
levels. What will be the wavelength of the laser beam produced? What will be the
population of the metastable energy level with respect to the upper excited level at room
temperature (𝟐𝟕𝟎 C)?
Solution:
Given: 𝐸2 =20.66 eV , 𝐸1 = 18.70 eV, T= 300 K
To find: wavelength, population of metastable level wrt upper excited level
hc
Formula:1) 𝐸2 - 𝐸1 =

(𝐸2 − 𝐸1 )
𝑁
2) 𝑁3 = e− kT
2
…...(where N3=population of atoms in higher energy state, N2=population of atoms
in lower energy state)
Calculation:
hc
𝐸2 - 𝐸1 = 
hc 6.625 x 10−34 x3 x 108
= E2-E1 = (20.66- 18.70) x 1.6x10−19 = 6.337 x10−7 m
(𝐸2 − 𝐸1 )
𝑁3
𝑁2
= e− kT
(20.66−18.70)x
1.6x 10 −19
𝑁3 −
𝑁2
= e 1.38x10−23 x300
𝑁3
𝑁2
=1.26x10−33
𝑁2
𝑁3
= 7.93x1032 and
𝑁2 = 7.93x1032 𝑁3
Result:  =6.337 x10−7 𝑚, 𝑁2 = 7.93x1032 𝑁3

4. Find the separation between metastable and excited levels for two wavelengths of 9.6 µm
and 10.6 µm emitted from a 𝐂𝐎𝟐 laser source. Calculate the frequency and hence the
energy of the light photons emitted. How many photons are required to be emitted per
second to obtain a laser output power of 10 kW?
Solution:
Given:1 = 9.6 µm=9.6x10−6m, 2 = 10.6 µm = 10.6x10−6m
To find: 1) separation between metastable and excited levels (E2 − E1 )
2) Frequency ()
3) Number of photons required to be emitted per second
hc hc
Formula:1) E1 = , E2 =
1 2
E 2 − E1
2)  =
h
1 power
3) t = E
1 1
1 power
4) =
t2 E2
hc
Calculation: E1 =
1
6.625x10−34 x3x108
E1 = 9.6x10−6
= 2.075x10−20 J
hc
E2 = 
2
6.625x10−34 x3x108
E2 = 10.6x10−6
= 1.879x10−20 J
 E2 − E1 = 1.879x10−20 - 2.075x10−20 = 0.196x10−20 J
E2 − E1 0.196x10−20
Frequency,  = h
= 6.625x10−34
= 2.95x1012 Hz
We know that,
Energy
Power = Time
1 power 10x103
t = E1
= 2.075x10−20= 4.81x1023photons per second
1
1 power 10x103
t = E2
= 1.879x10−20= 5.33x1023photons per second
2
Result: 1) E1 = 2.075x10−20 J
2) E2 = 1.879x10−20 J
3) separation between metastable and excited levels (E2 − E1 ) = 0.196x10−20 J
4) Frequency ()=2.95x 1012 Hz
5) Number of photons required to be emitted per second,
1
 t = 4.81x1023 photons per second
1
1
t2
= 5.33x1023 photons per second
5. Calculate the wavelength of emission from GaAs semiconductor laser whose band gap
energy is 1.44 eV (plank’s constant is 6.625 x 10-34 J-s and charge of an electron is 1.6 x
𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟗 C.)
Solution:
Given: E= 1.44 eV = 1.44 x 1.6x 10−19 = 2.304X10−19J
To find: wavelength of Emission()
hc
Formula: E= 
hc
Calculation: E=

hc
 =
E
6.625x10−34 x 3x 108
= = 8.62X10−7 𝑚
1.44 x 1.6x 10−19
Result: The wavelength of emission from GaAs semiconductor laser is 8.62X10−7 m
*******************
Numerical Problems on Fibre optics
1. Find out the numerical aperture and acceptance angle of an optical fiber. [Given,
𝐧𝟏 =1.55, 𝐧𝟐 = 1.50]
Solution:
Given: n1 = 1.55, n2 = 1.50
To find: Numerical aperture (NA)
Acceptance angle((a )
Formula : 1) 𝑁𝐴 = √n12 − n22
2) Acceptance angle (a )= sin−1 (NA)
Calculation: 𝑁𝐴 = √n12 − n22
𝑁𝐴 = √1.552. − 1.502.
NA= 0.390
Acceptance angle (a )= sin−1 (NA) = sin−1 (0.390) = 22.950
Result: NA= 0.390

Acceptance angle (a )= 22.950
2. A fiber cable has an acceptance angle of 𝟑𝟎𝟎 and a core index of refraction of 1.4.
Calculate the refractive index of the cladding.
Solution:
Given: Acceptance angle (a ) = 300 , refractive index of core n1. = 1.4
To find: refractive index of the cladding(n.2 )
Formula: n.2 = √n12 − NA2.
Calculation: Acceptance angle (a ) = sin−1 (NA)
NA = sin(a ) = sin (300 ) = 0.5
n1. = 1.4 ……….(given refractive index of core)
n.2 = √n12 − NA2.
n.2 = √1.42. − 0.52. = 1.30
Result: refractive index of the cladding(n.2 )=1.30
3. Calculate the refractive indices of the core and cladding material of a fibre from
following data. Numerical aperture = 0.22 and fractional difference of indices = 0.122.
Solution:
Given: Numerical aperture (NA) = 0.22 and fractional difference of indices (∆) = 0.122.
To find: refractive indices of the core and cladding
NA
Formula:1) n1 =
√2∆
2) n2 = n1 - n1 ∆
Calculation: fractional index change ∆= 0.122 ………(Given)

NA = 0.22
NA = n1 √2∆
NA 0.22
n1 = = 2x0.122= 0.44
√2∆ √
n1 −n2
Since, ∆ =
n1
n2 = n1 - n1 ∆ = 0.44- 0.44(0.122) = 0.386
Result: refractive indices of the core (n1 )=0.44 and cladding (n2 )=0.386
4. In an optical fiber, the core material has R.I 1.6 and R.I. of clad material is 1.3. What is
the value of critical angle? Also calculate the value of angle of acceptance cone.
Solution:
Given: n1 = 1.6, n2 = 1.3
To find: critical angle ( c ) , acceptance cone = 2 a
n2
Formula: 1) sin c =
n1
n
2) (c )= sin−1 (n2 )
1
3) acceptance cone = 2 a
Calculation: n1 = 1.6, n2 = 1.3

n 1.3
sin c =n2 = 1.6 = 0.8125
1
(c )= sin−1 (0.8125) = 54.3 0
NA = sin a = √n12 − n22 = √1.62. − 1.32. = 0.932

a = sin−1 (0.932) = 68.860
Therefore, acceptance cone = 2 a = 2x 68.86 = 137.7 0
Result: c = 54.3 0 , Therefore acceptance cone = 2 𝑎 = 137.7 0
5. A step index fiber is made with a core of R.I 1.52, a diameter of 29 micrometer and a
fractional difference index of 0.0007. It is operated at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. Find the
V-number and the number of modes the fiber will support.
Solution:
Given: refractive index of core(n1)=1.52,
diameter = 29 micrometer
radius (a)=14.5 micrometer = 14.5x10−6 m
To find: V-number and the number of modes (𝑁𝑚 ) the fiber will support
2a
Formula: 1) V= 
n1 √2∆
V2
2) Nm = 2
2a
Calculation: V= 
(NA)
2a
V= n1 √2∆ …………….(since, NA = n1 √2∆)

2x 3.142x 14.5 x 10−6
V= 1.52√2x 0.0007
1.3x10−6
V= 3.99
V2 3.992
𝑁𝑚 = 2
= 2
= 8 modes
Result: V-number is 3.99 and the number of modes the fiber will support = 8 modes
6. Optical power of 1 mW is launched into an optical fiber of length 100 m. If the power
emerging from the other end is 0.3 mW, calculate the fiber attenuation.
Solution:
Given: power input (Pi ) = 1mW, power output (P0 ) = 0.3 W, L= 100m = 0.1 km
To find: fiber attenuation
10 Pi
Formula: αdB/km = L
𝑙𝑜𝑔 P0
10 Pi
Calculation: αdB/km =L
𝑙𝑜𝑔 P0
10 1x10−3
αdB/km = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 = 52.28 dB/km
0.1 0.3x 10−3
Result: The fiber attenuation is αdB/km = 52.28 dB/km
7. What is the attenuation in dB/km, if 15% of the power fed at the launching end of a 0.5
km fiber is lost during propagation?
Solution:
Given: power output (P0)=15%=0.15, Length of optical fiber= 0.5km
To find: attenuation in dB/km
10 Pi
Formula: αdB/km = L
𝑙𝑜𝑔 P0
10 Pi
Calculation: αdB/km =L
𝑙𝑜𝑔 P0
10 1
αdB/km = 0.5𝑙𝑜𝑔 0.15 = 16.478 dB/km
Result: The fiber attenuation is αdB/km = 16.478 dB/km
8. A step-index fiber has a normalized frequency V = 26.6 at 1300 nm wavelength. If the

core radius is 25 µm, calculate the numerical aperture
Solution:
Given: V = 26.6 ,  =1300 nm = 1300 X 10−9 m, radius(a) =25 µm = 25 x 10−6 m
To find: numerical aperture (NA)
V
Formula: NA =
2a
2a
Calculation: V= NA

V 26.6 X 1300 X 10−9
NA = = = 0.22
2a 2 x 3.142 x 25 x 10−6
Result: Numerical Aperture (NA) is 0.22

Physics Chapter 3, Laser and Fiber optics
Question Bank for LASER and Fiber Optics
Lasers
1. What is LASER? Discuss its different characteristics.

2. Explain absorption, spontaneous emission and stimulated emission with suitable
diagrams.
3. Write short note on stimulated emission explaining its importance for laser
production.
4. State Boltzmann’s distribution law and hence show that in normal conditions ground
state will remain most populated.
5. Explain Einstein’s A and B coefficients in relation with the theory of lasing.
6. What is meant by metastable state? What is its significance?
7. Explain population inversion, active system and pumping.
8. What is meant by pumping? Why it is necessary for laser production? Discuss
different types of pumping mechanisms.
9. Explain why simple heating cannot achieve population inversion.
10. Why lasing cannot be obtained using only two energy levels?
11. Distinguish between 3-level and 4-level lasers.
12. What is an optical resonator? Explain in detail how it plays a key role in laser
production.
13. Explain the construction and working of Ruby and He-Ne lasers with energy level
diagrams.
14. Explain the construction and working of a carbon-dioxide laser with energy level
diagram. What are the roles of Helium and Nitrogen gases?
15. Explain semiconductor laser. What are the advantages of it?
16. List the applications of laser in different fields.
17. Write a short note on holography.
Fiber optics
1. What is an optical fiber? What is the main principle involved in its working?
2. With a neat diagram explain the structure of an optical fiber.
3. Explain the following terms related to optical fiber: a) critical angle, b) acceptance
cone, c) numerical aperture and d) V-number.
4. Describe the propagation of light in an optical fiber and obtain expressions for critical
angle, acceptance angle and numerical aperture in terms of its core and cladding
refractive indices.
5. Classify the optical fibers on the basis of refractive index profile, on the basis of
modes and on the basis of materials.
6. Differentiate between the step-index and graded-index (GRIN) fiber.
7. Discuss different loss mechanisms encountered in an optical fiber.
8. What is attenuation in an optical fiber? Explain the attenuation mechanism.
1
9. What is meant by dispersion in an optical fiber? What are the different causes of
dispersion in optical fiber? Explain in detail.
10. What are the advantages of optical fiber over conventional cables?
11. What is meant by normalized frequency or V-number for an optical fiber? How it is
related to the number of modes that the fiber can support?
12. Explain the important applications of optical fiber.
Numerical Problems on LASER
1. A ruby laser has its metastable state at 1.79 eV from which the stimulated emission
produces laser light. Calculate the wave length of the light. If 1 mole of Cr+3 ions are
involved in population inversion process in a pulse, calculate the pulse energy in eV.
[Given, h = 6.625 x 10-34 J-s = 4.14 x 10-15 eV-s, c= 3 x 108 m/s]
[Ans. 693.95 nm, 1.077 x 1024 eV]
2. A laser having power of 75 mW, wavelength 720 nm and an aperture 5 mm is focussed
with a lens of focal length of 0.1 m. Calculate the area and intensity of the image.
[Ans. 2.074x10-10 m2, 3.616x108 W/m2]
3. In a He-Ne laser system, the two energy levels of Ne involved in lasing action have energy
values of 20.66 eV and 18.70 eV. Population inversion occurs between these two levels. What
will be the wavelength of the laser beam produced? What will be the population of the
metastable energy level with respect to the upper excited level at room temperature (27oC)?
[Ans. 633.76 nm, N2,Ne= 7.89x1032 N3,Ne]
4. Find the separation between metastable and excited levels for two wavelengths of 9.6 µm and
10.6 µm emitted from a CO2 laser source. Calculate the frequency and hence the energy of the
light photons emitted. How many photons are required to be emitted per second to obtain a
laser output power of 10 kW?
[Ans. 4.83x1023 and 5.34x1023 photons per sec]
5. Calculate the wavelength of emission from GaAs semiconductor laser whose band gap energy
is 1.44 ev (plank’s constant is 6.625 x 10-34 Js and charge of an electron is 1.6 x 10-19 C.
[Ans. 8626.3 Ao ]
Numerical Problems on Optical Fiber

1. Find out the numerical aperture and acceptance angle of an optical fibre. [Given, n1
=1.55, n2 = 1.50]
2. A fibre cable has an acceptance angle of 300 and a core index of refraction of 1.4.
Calculate the refractive index of the cladding.
3. Calculate the refractive indices of the core and cladding material of a fibre from
following data. Numerical aperture = 0.22 and fractional difference of indices = 0.122.
2
4. In an optical fiber, the core material has R.I 1.6 and R.I. of clad material is 1.3. What is
the value of critical angle? Also calculate the value of angle of acceptance cone.
5. A step index fibre is made with a core of R.I 1.52, a diameter of 29 micrometer and a
fractional difference index of 0.0007. It is operated at a wavelength of 1.3 μm. Find
the V-number and the number of modes the fiber will support.
6. Optical power of 1 mW is launched into an optical fiber of length 100 m. If the power
emerging from the other end is 0.3 mW, calculate the fiber attenuation.
7. What is the attenuation in dB/km, if 15% of the power fed at the launching end of a 0.5
km fiber is lost during propagation?
8. A step-index fiber has a normalized frequency V = 26.6 at 1300 nm wavelength. If the
core radius is 25 µm, calculate the numerical aperture.
3
Unit 3: Laser and Fibre optics
• 1. The light is monochromatic.
• The light is coherent (temporal as well as spatial), with the waves all
exactly in phase with one another.
• 3. A laser beam hardly diverges.
• 4. The beam is extremely intense (large energy density), more than
the light from any other source.
• 5. Highly collimated beam
1. Absorption
• 2. Spontaneous emission
• 3. Stimulated emission
Theory of Lasing:
…………..(Boltzmann’s Equation)
An atom in level E2 can decay to level E1 by emission of photon. Let us call A21 the
transition probability per unit time for spontaneous emission from level E2 to level
E1. Then the number of spontaneous decays per second is N2A21.
.
Let B21 and B12 denote the proportionality constants for stimulated
emission and absorption. Then number of stimulated downward transition
in stimulated emission per second = N2 B21 Uv
Similarly, the number of stimulated upward transitions per second
= N1 B12 Uv
Under Equilibrium condition:
.
………Divide by N2B21
.
…………..Eq 1
…………..Eq 2
Comparing equations 1 and 2 and divide by
B21,
Above equations are Einstein’s relations.

A and B are Einstein’s coefficients.
Thus from atoms in equilibrium with thermal
radiation,
III. Amplification in a Medium: Population
Inversion and Active System
• Population Inversion describes an assembly of atoms in which the
majority of atoms are in energy levels above the ground state.
• A system in which population inversion has been achieved is called an

Active System.
How to achieve Population Inversion?
• 1. Metastable State
• 2. Pumping
1. Metastable State
• Metastable (temporarily stable) states has lifetime ~10−3 sec.

• Their energy lie between upper excited state and the lower state.
• The population of atoms in metastable state is greater than that in
lower state, which leads to population inversion.
PUMPING
• To attain and sustain population inversion, the atoms in the material
must be continuously excited from lower energy level to higher
energy level.
• This is done by continuous supply of energy to the medium.
• The process is known as pumping.
Types of pumping:
• OPTICAL PUMPING
• ELECTRICAL PUMPING
Lasers with different levels
• Three-level and four-level lasers
Advantages of four level lasers Compared to
three level lasers
• The lasing threshold of a four level laser is lower.
• The efficiency is higher.
• Required pumping rate is lower.
• Continuous operation is possible in four level laser (e.g. He-Ne laser).
Three level laser gives pulsed operation (e.g. Ruby laser
Can we achieve population inversion with a
2-state (level) system?
• It is not possible to achieve population inversion with a 2-state (level)
system.
Key mechanism to produce a laser: Optical
Resonator
Optical Resonator
• A pair of optically plane parallel mirrors, enclosing laser medium in
between them, is known as an optical resonant cavity.
• When some excited atoms deexcite, photons are emitted
spontaneously and Laser oscillation is initiated.
• The optical resonator selects the direction in which the light is to be
amplified and the direction is the optical axis of the pair of mirrors.
Thus, the optical cavity makes the laser beam directional.
Optical Resonator
• The optical cavity builds up the photon density to a very high value
through repeated reflection of photons and confines them within the
medium.
• Optical cavity selects and amplifies only certain frequencies causing
the laser output to be highly monochromatic.
Types of Lasers:
• Solid-state lasers –Eg: Ruby laser, Nd:YAG laser etc.
• Gas lasers – Eg: Helium-Neon laser, CO2 laser etc.
• Semiconductor diode lasers –Eg: GaAs laser, InP laser etc
The Ruby Laser:
• Ruby belongs to the family of gems consisting of Al2O3 with various
types of impurities.
.
Advantages of Ruby Laser:
• The ruby lasers are economical.
• 2. Since the ruby is in solid form therefore there is no chance of
wasting material of active medium.
• 3. Construction and function of ruby laser is self-explanatory.
Disadvantages of Ruby Laser:
• 1. In ruby lasers no significant stimulated emission occurs, until at
least half of the ground state electrons have been excited to the Meta
stable state.
• 2. Efficiency of ruby laser is comparatively low.
• 3. Optical cavity of ruby laser is short as compared to other lasers,
which may be considered a disadvantage.
Uses of Ruby Laser:
• Due to low power output, Ruby Laser is used as toys for children,
• used in schools and universities for science programs and also as
decoration piece and artistic displays.
The Helium-Neon (He-Ne) Laser:
.
The Carbon Dioxide Laser:
Active medium:
• It consists of a mixture of CO2, N2 and helium or water vapor.
The Carbon Dioxide Laser:
Advantages of CO2 lasers
• Compared to other gas lasers, CO2 laser is much more efficient.
• Output powers of several watts to several hundred watts may be
obtained from CO2 lasers.
• it is suitable for open air communication and optical radar systems
disadvantages of CO2 lasers
• Because CO2 lasers operate in the infrared, special materials are
necessary for their construction.
• Typically, the mirrors are silvered, while windows and lenses are made
of either germanium or zinc selenide.
• For high power applications, gold mirrors and zinc selenide windows
and lenses are preferred
The Semiconductor (Diode) Lasers:
The basic structure of a standard ‘edge emitting’ semiconductor laser is shown. The whole block
shown below is a semiconductor chip with dimensions approximately 0.5mm × 0.5mm × 1mm as
shown.
The Semiconductor (Diode) Lasers:
• The mirrors are due to the semiconductor-air boundary at the edges
. of the chip. [This in fact gives 40% reflection only (at both sides).] This
low reflectivity is still efficient for semiconductor laser because
• 1. The population inversion inside the semiconductor sandwich area
is millions of times higher than in gas lasers.
• 2. The exponential increase in light intensity (i.e. 1 photon becoming
two, becoming four etc.) occurs far more quickly because of the
higher population inversion.
• 3. So the fact that we lose 60% of the light at each reflection is
compensated for by having huge gains between the mirrors.
Applications of Laser
• Used in supermarkets to read barcodes.
• Measuring distances.
• Laboratory demonstrations.
• Guided smart weapons
• Carbon dioxide lasers used for cutting and welding.
• Medical uses are laser surgery, skin resurfacing etc
• Semiconductor laser used in DVD , CD players, barcode readers,
telecommunication.
• Holography
Holography:
Part b: FIBER OPTICS
• An optical fiber is a waveguide for light.
• It transmits light pulses and can be used for analog or digital
transmission.
Advantages of optical fibers :
• Optical fiber has large bandwidth
• It is of very low loss.
• Carries signal at a much faster rate.
• Immune to crosstalk.
• Since the data is carried as light, there is no electrical hazard.
• Special applications like medical imaging and quantum key
distribution .
BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE OF FIBER OPTICS
• Optical fibers work on the principle of total internal reflection.
• The angle of refraction at the interface between two media is
governed by Snell’s law.
.
.
.
The relation between the incident and refracted
angles are related in terms of propagation
velocities in the media as,
The angle of incidence θ1 for which θ2 = 𝟗𝟎𝟎 is called the critical angle θc.
And it is given as,

Following important conclusions can be
drawn:
• The light can be restricted to the material with the higher index of
refraction if the incident angle is kept above the critical angle.
• A sandwich of high index material placed between two slabs of low
index material will allow a beam of light to propagate in the high
index material with relatively low loss.
• This concept is used in constructing fibers for fiber optic
communication.
Structure of an optical fiber
Optical fiber consists of a core, a cladding, and
a polymer jacket (buffer coating).
• Core – Glass or plastic with a higher index of refraction than the
cladding – Carries the signal
• Cladding – Glass or plastic with a lower index of refraction than the
core
• Buffer – Protects the fiber from damage and moisture (mechanical
protection)
• Jacket – Holds one or more fibers in a cable
Types of optical fiber:
• Step-index
• Graded-index (GRIN)
.
Modes in an optical fiber
• modes in an optical fiber is the possible number of allowed paths in
the optical fiber.
• In a fiber of fixed thickness, the modes that propagates at angles
close to the critical angle are called higher order modes
• modes that propagate with angles larger than the critical angles are
called lower order modes.
.
• Depending on the number of modes that a fiber allows to propagate,
the fibers are classified mainly into three categories, viz. (i) single-
mode step index fiber, (ii) multimode step index fiber, and (iii)
multimode graded index fiber.
Discussion on graded-index multimode fiber
.
Propagation of light through an optical fiber
.
.
…………..Eqn 2
Acceptance angle:
• Acceptance angle is defined as the maximum angle that a light wave
can have relative to the axis of the fibre for its propagation through
the fibre.
Acceptance cone:
• The imaginary light cone with the acceptance angle as the vertex
angle is known as the acceptance cone.
Numerical aperture:
• Numerical aperture of the fibre is the light collecting efficiency of the

fibre and is a measure of the amount of light rays that can be
accepted by the fibre.
NORMALIZED FREQUENCY OR ‘CUT-OFF FREQUENCY’ OR ‘CUT-
OFF PARAMETER’ OR ‘V- NUMBER’ FOR FIBRE
Dispersion and attenuation in optical fiber:
• When a signal pulse travels on an optical fiber it goes on broadening
due to dispersion and its amplitude starts to reduce due to
attenuation as shown in Fig
•
As a result of these, after traversing certain distance the pulse shape is

completely distorted not to resemble with the original pulse shape.
.
• The spreading of light pulses as they propagate along the fiber is
known as dispersion.
• The loss of optical power as light travels down the optical fiber is
called attenuation.
.
• Dispersion in fiber optics results from the fact that in multimode
propagation, the signal travels faster in some modes than it would in
others.
intra-modal dispersion:
1) material dispersion
2) waveguide dispersionn
• Dispersion increases with the bandwidth of the light source.
.
• Attenuation is defined as the ratio of the output optical power (P0) to

input optical power (Pi) from a fiber of length L.
Losses in optical fibre:
• Losses in optical fiber result from attenuation in the material itself
and from scattering, which causes some light to strike the cladding at
less than the critical angle.
• Bending the optical fiber too sharply can also cause losses by causing
some of the light to meet the cladding at less than the critical angle.
Losses in optical fibre:
• Plastic fiber may have losses of several hundred dB per kilometer
• Graded-index multimode glass fiber has a loss of about 2–4 dB per
kilometer
• Single-mode fiber has a loss of 0.4 dB/km or less
Major types of losses are:
• Materials loss
• Scattering loss
Materials loss:
• Due to impurities: The material loss is due to the impurities (e.g. Fe,
Ni, Co) present in glass used for making fibers.
• Due to OH molecule: In addition, the OH molecule diffuses in the
material and causes absorption of light.
• The OH molecule has main absorption peak somewhere in the deep
infra-red wavelength region. However, it shows substantial loss in the
range of 1000 to 2000 nm.
• Due to infra-red absorption: Glass intrinsically is a good infra-red
absorber. As we increase the wavelength the infra-red loss increases
rapidly.
Fig. Materials loss as a function of wavelength and bending loss in
an optical fiber
Scattering loss
• The scattering loss results from the non-uniformity of the refractive
index inside the core of the fiber.
• The refractive index of an optical fiber has fluctuation over spatial
scales much smaller than the optical wavelength.
• These fluctuations act as scattering centers for the light passing
through the fiber. The process is known as Rayleigh scattering.
• A very tiny fraction of light gets scattered and therefore contributes
to the loss.
APPLICATIONS OF FIBER OPTICS
• field of medical (endoscopes)
• Defense
• communication networks.

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Chapter 3: Laser and Fiber optics

LASERS AND FIBER OPTICS

I. Basic properties of Laser

II. Spontaneous and stimulated emission

III. Population inversion, Pumping, Lasing action

Part b: Fiber Optics

VI. Total internal reflection, principle and working of optical fibers

LASER is the acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

I. Basic Properties of Laser

1. The light is nearly monochromatic.

5. Highly collimated beam.

II. Mechanism of Light Emission

Where E2>E1, thus clearly N2<N1. (K is Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38x10-16 erg / K

Einstein in 1917 first introduced the concept of stimulated or induced emission of

 = (E2-E1)/ h , h being the Planck's constant.

N2 A21 + N2 B21 U =N1 B12 U      

U [N1 B12 - N2 B21] = N2A21

According to Planck’s formula of radiation

Comparing Eqns. (3) and (4)

B12 = B21 (5)

Eqn. (5) and (6) are Einstein’s relations.

Thus from atoms in equilibrium with thermal radiation

III. Amplification in a Medium: Population Inversion and Active

Suppose there are only 2 levels, a metastable state, corresponding to

Lasers with different levels

Three-level and four-level lasers

Advantages of four level lasers Compared to three level lasers

– The lasing threshold of a four level laser is lower.

– The efficiency is higher.

– Required pumping rate is lower.

Key mechanism to produce a laser: Optical Resonator

1. Pumping process prepares amplifying medium in suitable state.

IV. Types of Lasers

– Helium-Neon laser, CO2 laser etc.

• Semiconductor diode lasers

The Ruby Laser

Advantages of Ruby Laser

1. The ruby lasers are economical.

Uses of Ruby Laser

The Helium-Neon (He-Ne) Laser

This process is given by the reaction equation:

Advantages of He-Ne lasers

1. The biggest advantages of He-Ne laser is its continuous wave operation.

Disadvantage of He-Ne lasers

The Carbon Dioxide Laser

Different vibrational level of CO2 molecule

The power output of a CO2 laser increases linearly with length.

Disadvantage of CO2 laser

The Semiconductor (Diode) Lasers

The advantages of semiconductor lasers are

Part b: FIBER OPTICS

Advantages of optical fibers vis-a-vis metal wires

3. Carries signal at a much faster rate.

5. Since the data is carried as light, there is no electrical hazard.

VI. BASIC WORKING PRINCIPLE OF FIBER OPTICS

Optical fibers work on the principle of total internal reflection.

Fig. 1 Direction of light at the interface of two media

• This concept is used in constructing fibers for fiber optic communication.

 Structure of an optical fiber

Fig. 2 Main parts of an optical fiber