LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55

Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

RNS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (EIE)
V SEMESTER Academic Year : 2021-22
Subject : LASERS & OPTICAL INSTRUMENTATION Sub Code : 18 EI 55
Faculty : Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept.

Module III Overview of Optical Fiber Communications: Motivations for light wave communications,
optical spectral bands, Decibel units, Network information rates, WDM concepts, Key elements of
optical fiber systems, standards for optical fiber communications.
Structures, Wave guiding, and Fabrication I: The nature of light, basic optical laws and definitions,
optical fiber modes and configurations, Mode theory for circular waveguides, Single mode fibers.
Ref: Optical fiber communications - Gerd Keiser, McGraw Hill education (India) private limited, Fifth
edition
Contents: 3.1 Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
3.2 Motivations for light wave communications
3.3 Optical spectral bands
3.4 Decibel units
3.5 Network information rates
3.6 WDM concepts
3.7 Key elements of optical fiber systems
3.8 Standards for optical fiber communications.
Part_b_Module_3: Structures, Wave guiding, and Fabrication I:
3.9 The nature of light, 3.10 basic optical laws and definitions, 3.11 optical fiber modes and
configurations, 3.12 Mode theory for circular waveguides, 3.13 Single mode fibers.

3.1 Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Since ancient times, people had a principal need to communicate with one another. Hence devised
communication systems for sending messages from one distant place to another. Special interest –
optical communication methods.
I. Earliest known optical transmission links – ‘Fire Signal Method’ used by Greeks in 8th century
BC. Used to send alarms, calls for help, announcements of certain events, etc.
Limitations: 1. Transmission rate depended on how fast the senders could move their hands.
2. Optical signal receiver was the error prone human eye.
3. Line-of-sight paths were required.
4. Atmospheric effects such as fog and rain made the transmission path unreliable.
Hence sending messages by a courier over the road network was found to be faster, more efficient
and dependable (reliable).
II. Till 1960s, no significant advances in optical communications.
In 1960s lasers were invented. These coherent optical source generated frequencies of the order of
5 x 10^14 Hz, which theoretically exceeded the information capacity of microwave systems by a
factor of 10^5. Experiments using optical channels were carried out in 1960s.
Disadvantages: 1. High cost of developing and implementing these systems.
2. Limitations imposed by rain, fog, snow and dust on the atmospheric optical channels.

III. During this time, it was recognized that an optical fiber can provide a more reliable
transmission channel as it is not subjected to adverse environmental conditions.
Initially optical fibers appeared to be impractical due to the high losses of 1000 dB/km.

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
In 1966, Kao and Hockman showed that these losses are due to impurities in the fiber material and
could be reduced significantly.
1970 – first ultrapure fiber was produced.
1978 – practical lightwave communication systems using optical fibers as the transmission medium
and operating in the near-IR region of EM spectrum ( 770 – 1675 nm) were used worldwide.
In 2009 – Charles K C Kao was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

3.2 Motivations for light wave communications

Path to Optical Networks
Prior to 1980 – electrical transmission mechanisms were used.
1837 – invention of telegraph by Samuel F B Morse, using Morse Code – letters and numbers represented
by a series of dots and dashes. These encoded symbols sent by short and long electrical pulses over
copper wire at rate of tens of pulses per second.
1874 – advanced telegraph system – Baudot system – speeds of 120 bits per second but required a skilled
operator.
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell – telephone – voice signal transmitted in an analog form.
Baseband transmission – signal is transmitted directly over a channel. Eg. Telephone & telegraph using
twisted-pair wire links. Also, baseband method is used in optical communications where the input
electrical (message) signal turns the light source on/off.
Later increasing portions of the electromagnetic spectrum was used for electrical communications.
Wide variety of communication systems based on using high-capacity long distance terrestrial and
undersea copper-based wire lines and wireless radio-frequency (RF), microwave and satellite links.
Carriers / carrier waves used for higher link capacity. Increasing the carrier frequency increases the
transmission bandwidth and hence provides a larger information capacity.
Fig. 1.1 shows the electromagnetic spectral bands used for radio transmission. Basic features of Fig.1.1:
a) HF – VHF – UHF bands with carrier frequencies of 10^7, 10^8 and 10^9 respectively.
b) optical frequencies – several orders of magnitude higher than those used by electrical communication
systems.
Basic motivation behind each new system application were:
1. to improve the transmission fidelity – so that fewer distortions or errors occur in the received signal.
2. to increase the data rate or capacity of the communication link so that more information can be sent.
3. to increase the transmission distance between the in-line repeater or amplification stations.
From 1990s, demand on communication-network assets for bandwidth hungry services such as database
queries, home shopping, high-definition interactive video, remote education, telemedicine and e-health,
blogging, Grid computing, etc. This demand fueled by Increase in PC storage capacity and processing
power, continuous expansion of the internet and an extremely large choice of remotely accessible
programs and information databases.

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Advantages of optical fibers (compared to copper wires):

• Long Distance Transmission: The lower transmission losses in fibers compared to copper
wires allow data to be sent over longer distances. Reduces the number of intermediate
repeaters required and hence decreases system cost and complexity.
• Large Information Capacity: Fibers have wider bandwidths than copper wires, so that
more information can be sent over a single physical line.
• Small Size and Low Weight: The low weight and the small dimensions of fibers offer a
distinct advantage over heavy, bulky wire cables in crowded underground city ducts or in
ceiling-mounted cable trays. Useful in aircraft, satellites and ships where small, low -weight

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
cables are advantageous and also in tactical military applications where large amounts of
cable must be unreeled and retrieved rapidly.
• Immunity to Electrical Interference: The dielectric nature of optical fibers makes them
immune to the electromagnetic interference effects. In copper wires electromagnetic
interference (EMI) is seen due to inductive coupling from near-by wires/ equipment.
• Enhanced Safety: Optical fibers do not have the problems of ground loops, sparks, and
potentially high voltages inherent in copper lines. But safety precautions w.r.t. laser light
emissions to prevent eye damage are required.
• Increased Signal Security: An optical signal is well-confined within the fiber and an opaque
coating around the fiber absorbs any signal emissions. In copper wires, electrical signals
could be tapped off easily. Used in financial, legal, government and muitary system
applications where information security is important.

3.3 Optical Spectral Bands

Electromagnetic Energy
Electromagnetic energy is a combination of electric and magnetic fields and includes power, radio
waves, micro waves, IR light, Visible, UV light, X-rays and gamma rays. There are three different
ways to measure the physical properties of a wave in various regions of the EM spectrum – length
of one period of the wave (λ), the energy (E) contained in the wave, the oscillating frequency (ν) of
the wave. Electrical signal transmission uses frequency (ν), Optical communication uses
wavelength (λ) to designate the spectral operating region and photon energy (E) or optical power
when discussing topics such as signal strength or electro-optical component performance.

These three measurement units are related by simple equations as shown below:
1. In a vacuum the speed of light c is equal to the wavelength λ times the frequency ν, so that
c=λν
2. The relationship between the energy of a photon and its frequency (or wavelength) is determined
by Planck’s Law E=hν
where h = 6.63 × 10–34 J-s = 4.14 × 10–15 eV-s is Planck’s constant.
3. In terms of wavelength (measured in units of μm), the energy in electron volts is given by
E(eV) = 1.2406/λ(μm)

Spectrum of Electromagnetic Energy

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Windows & Spectral Bands

Fig. shows the operating range of optical fiber systems and the characteristics of the 4 – key components
of a link – the optical fiber, light sources, photodetectors and optical amplifiers.

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
3.4 Decibel units

Advantages of using Decibel unit

1. A large ratio can be expressed easily using the Decibel
which is in logarithm form.
2. Power levels differing by many orders of magnitude can
be compared easily when they are in decibel form.
(example 1.3)
3. Easy to measure the changes in the strength of a signal
between two points by adding / subtracting the decibel
numbers.
Disadvantage: Doesnot indicate absolute power levels.

Eq. 1.5🡪 10 log (P / 1mW) =10 log (50μW/1mW) = 10 log(0.05) = -13dBm

Note: Eq. 1.5🡪 10 log10 (P / 1mW) = X dBm 🡺 P = 10 ^( X/10) mW

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

3.5 Network information rates

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

3.6 WDM concepts

WDM offers a further boost in fiber transmission capacity. Principle of WDM: Multiple sources operating at
slightly different wavelengths to transmit several independent information streams simultaneously over the
same fiber.

3.7 Key elements of optical fiber systems

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Role of Cable in optic fibers

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
Cable Installation

Transmitter

Receiver

Additional Components in optical fiber

3.8 Standards for optical fiber communications

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT

LASERS & Optical Instrumentation 18EI55
Module III: Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Dr. Andhe Pallavi, Prof & HoD, EIE Dept, RNSIT