Fiber Optic Communication

Presented by
G.Eswaran,AP/ECE
PSNCET
EVOLUTION OF FIBER OPTIC SYSTEM
• In 1966 Charles K. Kao and George Hockham proposed optical fibers at STC Laboratories (STL), Harlow, when
they showed that the losses of 1000 db/km in existing glass (compared to 5-10 db/km in coaxial cable) was due to
contaminants, which could potentially be removed.
• Optical fiber was successfully developed in 1970 by Corning Glass Works, with attenuation low enough for
communication purposes (about 20dB/km), and at the same time GaAs semiconductor lasers were developed that
were compact and therefore suitable for transmitting light through fiber optic cables for long distances.
• The second generation of fiber-optic communication was developed for commercial use in the early 1980s,
operated at 1.3 μm, these systems were operating at bit rates of up to 1.7 Gb/s with repeater spacing up to 50 km.
• Third-generation fiber-optic systems operated at 1.55 μm and had losses of about 0.2 dB/km.
• These developments eventually allowed third-generation systems to operate commercially at 2.5 Gbit/s with
repeater spacing in excess of 100 km.
• The fourth generation of fiber-optic communication systems used optical amplification to reduce the need for
repeaters and wavelength-division multiplexing to increase data capacity.
• The wavelength range 1.53-1.57 μm, and the new dry fiber has a low-loss window promising an extension of
that range to 1.30-1.65 μm.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF AN OPTICAL FIBER TRANSMISSION LINK
A fiber optic data link sends input data through fiber optic components and provides this data as output information.
It has the following three basic functions:
• To convert an electrical input signal to an optical signal
• To send the optical signal over an optical fiber
• To convert the optical signal back to an electrical signal
A fiber optic data link consists of three parts - transmitter, optical fiber, and receiver. The transmitter, optical
fiber, and receiver perform the basic functions of the fiber optic data link. Each part of the data link is responsible
for the successful transfer of the data signal.
• The optical source launches the optical signal into the fiber. The optical signal will become progressively weakened
and distorted because of scattering, absorption, and dispersion mechanisms in the fiber waveguides.
• The receiver converts the optical signal exiting the fiber back into an electrical signal.
• The receiver consists of two parts, the optical detector and the signal-conditioning circuits. An optical detector
detects the optical signal.
• The signal-conditioning circuit conditions the detector output so that the receiver output matches the original input
to the transmitter.
• The receiver should amplify and process the optical signal without introducing noise or signal distortion. Noise is
any disturbance that obscures or reduces the quality of the signal.
• Noise effects and limitations of the signal-conditioning circuits cause the distortion of the receiver's electrical
output signal.
Major elements of an optical fiber link
Types of Fiber
• Both types of fiber described earlier are known as step-index fibers because
the index of refraction changes radically between the core and the cladding
• Graded-index fiber is a compromise multimode fiber, but the index of
refraction gradually decreases away from the center of the core
• Graded-index fiber has less dispersion than a multimode step-index fiber
Physics of optical fibers
• Index of refraction of material : ratio of speed of light in vacuum
to speed of light in medium
• Refraction of light : bending of light as it travels from
one media to another
Refraction of light
• Speed of light changes
as it across the
boundary of two media
• Angles w.r.t normal
 Refraction Indices
• Vacuum…….1.00000 (exactly)
• Air ……1.00029
• Alcohol ......1.329
• Diamond ...... 2.417
• Glass ........ 1.5
• Ice ....... 1.309
• Sodium Chloride (Salt) .... 1.544
• Sugar Solution (80%) ........ 1.49
• Water (20 C) ................ 1.333
 Snell’s Law

• Critical angle: Angle of incidence at which angle of refraction = 90 0

Total internal reflection
• Trapping light in the fiber
 Fibers can be bent!!

Fig: Illustration of total internal reflection

 Types of optical fibers
• Single mode
• only one signal can be transmitted
• use of single frequency

• Multi mode
• Several signals can be transmitted
• Several frequencies used to modulate the signal
Losses in optical fibers
• Attenuation loss
• Dispersion loss
• Waveguide loss
 Splices and Connectors
• To connect to fibers mechanically or by fusion
• Lot of signal loss possible
• Very accurate alignment necessary
• Most important cost factor
• Now being replaced by optical amplifiers
 Optical Receivers
• Must be very sensitive
• Capable of picking up and amplifying signals of nanowatts
• Photodiodes and phototransistors
• These devices get ‘turned ON’ by light
• Produce photocurrent
 Advantages of optical fibers
• Can carry much more information
• Much higher data rates
• Much longer distances than co-axial cables
• Immune to electromagnetic noise
• Light in weight
• Unaffected by atmospheric agents
Acceptance cone :
The imaginary light cone with twice the
acceptance angle as the vertex angle, is known as
the acceptance cone.

Numerical Aperture (NA) :

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.
 Numerical aperture
A ray of light is launched into the fiber at an angle 1 is
less than the acceptance angle a for the fiber as shown.
This ray enters from a medium namely air of
refractive index n0 to the fiber with a core of refractive
index n1 which is slightly greater than that of the
cladding n2 . Assume that the light is undergoing total
internal reflection within the core.
Applying Snell’s law of refraction at A,
sin1 n1
  n1 sin  1  n1 sin  2
sin2 n0
In the triangle ABC,
 or 
  2 2  
2 2
  
sin 1  n1 sin     n1 cos 
2 
 
1
cos  1  sin  2 2

From the above two equations,

 
1
sin 1  n1 1  sin  2 2

When the total internal reflection takes place, θ = θc and

θ1 = θa . Therefore,
 
1
sin  a  n1 1  sin 2  c 2
Also, at B, applying the Snell’s law of refraction,
we get
sin  c n 2 n2
 (or) sin  c 
sin 90 n1 n1
From the above equation,
1
we get
 n 2
2

 
1
sin  a  n1 1   2    n12  n 22 2
  n1  

This is called the numerical aperture (N.A). The numerical

aperture is also defined as the sine of the half of the
acceptance angle .
N . A  sin  a  n1 sin  c
In terms of refractive indices n1 and n2, where n1 is the
core index and n2 the cladding index
2 2 1 2
N . A  (n1  n 2 )
The half acceptance angle a is given by
 a  sin 1 ( N . A)
1 2 2 1 2
 sin ( n1  n 2 )
2 2
n1  n 2 ( N . A) 2
 2
 2
2n1 2n1
From the above eqns, we get
N.A  n1  ( 2 )1 2
Theories of Optics
• Light is an electromagentic phenomenon described by the same theoretical
principles that govern all forms of electromagnetic radiation. Maxwell’s
equations are in the hurt of electromagnetic theory & is fully successful in
providing treatment of light propagation. Electromagnetic optics provides
the most complete treatment of light phenomena in the context of classical
optics.
• Turning to phenomena involving the interaction of light & matter, such as
emission & absorption of light, quantum theory provides the successful
explanation for light-matter interaction. These phenomena are described by
quantum electrodynamics which is the marriage of electromagnetic theory
with quantum theory. For optical phenomena, this theory also referred to as
quantum optics. This theory provides an explanation of virtually all optical
phenomena.
• In the context of classical optics, electromagentic radiation propagates in the
form of two mutually coupled vector waves, an electric field-wave &
magnetic field wave. It is possible to describe many optical phenomena
such as diffraction, by scalar wave theory in which light is described by a
single scalar wavefunction. This approximate theory is called scalar wave
optics or simply wave optics. When light propagates through & around
objects whose dimensions are much greater than the optical wavelength, the
wave nature of light is not readily discerned, so that its behavior can be
adequately described by rays obeying a set of geometrical rules. This theory
is called ray optics. Ray optics is the limit of wave optics when the
wavelength is very short.

Quantum Optics

Electromagnetic Optics
Wave Optics

Ray Optics
Electromagnetic Optics
• Electromagnetic radiation propagates in the form of two mutually coupled
vector waves, an electric field wave & a magnetic field wave. Both are
vector functions of position & time.
• In a source-free, linear, homogeneous, isotropic & non-dispersive media,
such as free space, these electric & magnetic fields satisfy the following
partial differential equations, known as Maxwell’ equations:

 E [2-1]
H 
t

 H [2-2]
  E  
t

E  0 [2-3]

H  0 [2-4]
• In Maxwell’s equations, E is the electric field expressed in [V/m], H is the
magnetic field expressed in [A/m].

 [F/m] : Electric permittivity

 [H/m] : Magnetic permeability

  : is divergence operation
 : is curl operation

• The solution of Maxwell’s equations in free space, through the wave

equation, can be easily obtained for monochromatic electromagnetic wave.
All electric & magnetic fields are harmonic functions of time of the same
frequency. Electric & magnetic fields are perpendicular to each other & both
perpendicular to the direction of propagation, k, known as transverse wave
(TEM). E, H & k form a set of orthogonal vectors.
 Electromagnetic Plane wave in Free space

Ex
Direction of Propagation k
x

z z

y
By

An electromagnetic wave is a travelling wave which has time
varying electric and magnetic fields which are perpendicular to each
other and the direction of propagation, z.
S.O.Kasap, optoelectronics and Photonics Principles and Practices, prentice hall, 2001
What are electromagnetic waves?
• How electromagnetic waves are formed
• How electric charges produce electromagnetic waves
• Properties of electromagnetic waves
Electromagnetic Waves…
• Do not need matter to transfer energy.
• Are made by vibrating electric charges and can travel through space
by transferring energy between vibrating electric and magnetic fields.
• Do not need matter to transfer energy.
How do moving charges create magnetic
fields?
• Any moving electric charge is surrounded by an electric field and a
magnetic field.
What happens when electric and
magnetic fields change?
• A changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field.
• One example of this is a transformer which transfers electric energy
from one circuit to another circuit.
• In the main coil changing electric current produces a changing magnetic field
• Which then creates a changing electric field in another coil producing an
electric current
• The reverse is also true.
Properties of EM Waves
• All matter contains charged particles that are always moving;
therefore, all objects emit EM waves.
Properties of EM Waves
• All matter contains charged particles that are always moving;
therefore, all objects emit EM waves.
• The wavelengths become shorter as the temperature of the material
increases.
Properties of EM Waves
• All matter contains charged particles that are always moving;
therefore, all objects emit EM waves.
• The wavelengths become shorter as the temperature of the material
increases.
• EM waves carry radiant energy.
What is the speed of EM waves?

• All EM waves travel 300,000

km/sec in space. (speed of light-
nature’s limit!)
Single Mode cable is a single stand of glass fiber with a diameter of 8.3 to 10 microns that has one mode of
transmission. Single Mode Fiber with a relatively narrow diameter, through which only one mode will
propagate typically 1310nm or 1550nm. Carries higher bandwidth than multimode fiber, but requires a light
source with a narrow spectral width. Synonyms mono-mode optical fiber, single-mode fiber, single-mode
optical waveguide, uni-mode fiber.

Single-mode fiber gives you a higher transmission rate and up to 50 times more distance than multimode, but
it also costs more. Single-mode fiber has a much smaller core than multimode. The small core and single light-
wave virtually eliminate any distortion that could result from overlapping light pulses, providing the least
signal attenuation and the highest transmission speeds of any fiber cable type.

Single-mode optical fiber is an optical fiber in which only the lowest order bound mode can propagate at the
wavelength of interest typically 1300 to 1320nm.
Multimode cable is made of of glass fibers, with a common diameters in the 50-to-100 micron range for the
light carry component (the most common size is 62.5). POF is a newer plastic-based cable which promises
performance similar to glass cable on very short runs, but at a lower cost.

Multimode fiber gives you high bandwidth at high speeds over medium distances. Light waves are dispersed
into numerous paths, or modes, as they travel through the cable’s core typically 850 or 1300nm. Typical
multimode fiber core diameters are 50, 62.5, and 100 micrometers. However, in long cable runs (greater than
3000 feet [914.4 ml), multiple paths of light can cause signal distortion at the receiving end, resulting in an
unclear and incomplete data transmission.

How do I know what type of fiber I need?

This is based on transmission distance to be covered as well as the overall budget allowed. If the distance is
less than a couple of miles, multimode fiber will work well and transmission system costs (transmitter and
receiver) will be in the $500 to $800 range. If the distance to be covered is more than 3-5 miles, single mode
fiber is the choice. Transmission systems designed for use with this fiber will typically cost more than $1000
(due to the increased cost of the laser diode).
 Phase velocity
• Phase velocity is the rate at which the phase of the wave propagates in
space.
• This is the velocity at which the phase of any one frequency component
of the wave will propagate.
• You could pick one particular phase of the wave and it would appear to
travel at the phase velocity.
• The phase velocity is given in terms of the wave's angular frequency ω
and wave vector k by
 Group velocity

Group velocity of a wave is the velocity with which the variations in the shape of the wave's
amplitude (known as the modulation or envelope of the wave) propagate through space.
The group velocity is defined by the equation

where:
vg is the group velocity;
ω is the wave's angular frequency;
k is the wave number.
The function ω(k), which gives ω as a function of k, is known as the dispersion relation.
Velocity of De-Broglie Waves-Phase
velocity
• Moving material particle-De broglie said a wave is associated which
travel with the same velocity as that of the wave.

• Let De-broglie wave velocity is W, so Vp or W=

Phase Velocity - continued

• we know that
=h/mv

•From Planck`s Law

E = h

• From mass energy relation

E = mc2
2
Phase Velocity - continued
• h = mc2  = mc2/h

W=

Therefore
W= mc2/h X h/mv

• W = C2/v

•So Particle velocity must be less than the velocity of light. W>c
• We can say that De-Broglie waves must travel faster than the velocity of light.
Group Velocity=Particle
y  A cos   t  kx 
velocity
1

y 2  A cos   d   t   k  dk  x 
y  y1  y 2
y  A cos   t  kx   A cos   d   t   k  dk  x 

 ( 2  d  )t ( 2 k  dk ) x   ( d  )t ( dk ) x 
y  2 A cos    cos   
 2 2   2 2
with d    , dk  k

 d dk 
y  2 A cos  t  x  cos  t  kx       (1 )
 2 2 
Group Velocity=Particle velocity
Equation1 represent a wave of angular ve locity w and
. wave number k which has superimpos ed upon it a wave
(the process is called modulation ) of angular ve locity
d dk
and wave number
2 2 
phase velocity = wave velocity of carrier :v p 
k

group velocity = wave velocity of envelope :v g 
k
d
for more than two wave contiribut ions : v g 
dk
 UNIT -2
TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF OPTICAL FIBERS
Attenuation
• Attenuation is result of internal friction, motions of point defects,
dislocations, grain boundaries
• QP is usually larger than QS
• Higher frequency harmonics attenuate faster
• Temperature and pressure affects on attenuation mechanism
• Problem is to distinguish between attenuation and other amplitude
related effects…
Definition of the quality factor
If a volume of material is cycled in stress at a frequency  , then a
dimensionless measure of the internal friction (or the anelasticity) is given by

1 E
  (3.1)
Q   2 E
For a medium with linear stress-strain relation, wave amplitude is proportional
to the square root of energy. With assumption that 1/Q is small

1 A
 
Q   A (3.2)
 Definition of the quality factor
If A=A(t)

n
�  � 2 n
A  t   A 0 �1  � , fo r t  (3.3)
� Q � 
Therefore,

n
� t � � t �
A  t   A 0 �1  � � A 0 e x p � � (3.4)
� 2 Q n � � 2 Q �
 Definition of the quality factor
Plane wave solution:

exp �
�i  k x x   t  �
� (3.5)

Temporal attenuation: complex frequency

Spatial attenuation: complex wavenumber
Attenuation versus velocity dispersion
Each Fourier component:
�
� x � � x �
� d �t  �e x p  i  t  d t  e x p �i  � (3.6)
� � v � � v �
Pulse shape at distance x:
1
�
�  x � �x �
u  x, t  � e x p � �e x p �  t �d  (3.7)
2 � � 2 vQ � �v �
If Q is constant -

� x �

u ( x ,t)
� �
1 � 2 vQ �
u  x, t  (3.8)
 �� x �2 �x 2 �
��
�� � �  t � 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 2 0 ,0 4 0 ,0 6 0 ,0 8 0 ,1 0 0 ,1 2 0 ,1 4 0 ,1 6 0 ,1 8 0 ,2 0

��2 v Q � �v �� T im e

Figure 3.1. Causality!!!

Attenuation versus velocity dispersion
Each Fourier component can be factored as

u  x ,   u  0 ,   e x p  iK x  (3.7)

Complex wavenumber can be given in terms of phase velocity and

attenuation coefficient


K   ia   
v   (3.8)

To satisfy the causality we need the following (Kramers-Krønig dispersion relation)

   1
�
a z  dz
 a  �
 H �
� �  P � (3.9)
v   v� v �  � z  
Amplitude spectrum versus phase
spectrum
The amplitude and phase are related

j   �lo g u  
 H �  �
� (3.10)

This is a minimum-delay pulse…

Material absorption losses in silica glass fibers

Material absorption is a loss mechanism related to the material composition and the fabrication process for the
fiber, which results in the dissipation of some of the transmitted optical power as heat in the waveguide. The
absorption of the light may be intrinsic (caused by the interaction with one or more of the major components of
the glass) or extrinsic (caused by impurities within the glass).
1. Intrinsic absorption

An absolutely pure silicate glass has little intrinsic absorption due to its basic material structure in the near-infrared
region. However, it does have two major intrinsic absorption mechanisms at optical wavelengths which leave a low
intrinsic absorption window over the 0.8 to 1.7 µm wavelength range, as illustrated in Figure 2.1, which shows a
possible optical attenuation against wavelength characteristic for absolutely pure glass.

It may be observed that there is a fundamental absorption edge, the peaks of which are centered in the ultraviolet
wavelength region. This is due to the stimulation of electron transitions within the glass by higher energy excitations.
The tail of this peak may extend into the window region at the shorter wavelengths, as illustrated in Figure
2.1. Also in the infrared and far infrared, normally at wavelengths above 7 µm, fundamentals of absorption
bands from the interaction of photons with molecular vibrations within the glass occur.

These give absorption peaks which again extend into the window region. The strong absorption bands occur
due to oscillations of structural units such as Si–O (9.2 µm), P–O (8.1 µm), B–O (7.2 µm) and Ge–O (11.0µm)
within the glass. Hence, above 1.5 µm the tails of these largely far-infrared absorption peaks tend to cause
most of the pure glass losses.

However, the effects of both these processes may be minimized by suitable choice of both core and cladding
compositions. For instance, in some non oxide glasses such as fluorides and chlorides, the infrared absorption
peaks occur at much longer wavelengths which are well into the far infrared (up to 50 µm), giving less
attenuation to longer wavelength transmission compared with oxide glasses.
Extrinsic absorption

In practical optical fibers prepared by conventional melting techniques, a major source of signal attenuation is
extrinsic absorption from transition metal element impurities.

Some of the more common metallic impurities found in glasses are shown in the Table 2.1, together with the
absorption losses caused by one part in 109
It may be noted that certain of these impurities, namely chromium and copper, in their worst valence state can
cause attenuation in excess of 1 dB km−1 in the near-infrared region. Transition element contamination may be
reduced to acceptable levels (i.e. one part in 1010) by glass refining techniques such as vapor-phase oxidation,
which largely eliminates the effects of these metallic impurities.

However, another major extrinsic loss mechanism is caused by absorption due to water (as the hydroxyl or OH
ion) dissolved in the glass. These hydroxyl groups are bonded into the glass structure and have fundamental
stretching vibrations which occur at wavelengths between 2.7 and 4.2µm depending on group position in the
glass network. The fundamental vibrations give rise to overtones appearing almost harmonically at 1.38, 0.95
and 0.72 µm, as illustrated in Figure 2.2. This shows the absorption spectrum for the hydroxyl group in silica.
Bending Losses
Bending losses are the result of distortion of the fiber from the ideal straight-line configuration. While the light is
traveling inside the fiber, part of the wave front on the outside of the bend must travel faster than the part of the
smaller inner radius of the bend. Since this is not possible, a portion of the wave must be radiated away. Losses are
greater for bends with smaller radii, particularly for kinks or micro-bends in a fiber. An important cause of attenuation
is due to micro-bending of the fiber. Micro-bends arise from mechanical tensile forces by which the fiber is pressed
against a rough surface. Although the effect of variations in diameter can be discussed at length by waveguide theory,
here it will be sufficient to say that those components of the light that are traveling in the fiber near its acceptance
limit cross outside this boundary and are lost from the fiber. These losses may be avoided by careful cable
constructions, avoiding excessive mechanical forces, and controlling the temperature variations of the cable.
Launching Losses
The term launching loss refers to an optical fiber not being able to propagate all the incoming light rays from an
optical source. These occur during the process of coupling light into the fiber (e.g., losses at the interface
stages). Rays launched outside the angle of acceptance excite only dissipative radiation modes in the fiber. In
general, elaborate techniques have been developed to realize efficient coupling between the light source and
the fiber, mainly achieved by means of condensers and focusing lenses. The focused input beam of light needs
to be carefully matched by fiber parameters for good coupling. Equally, once the light is transmitted through
the fiber, output fiber characteristics must also match the output target characteristics to be able to couple the
largest proportion of the transmitted light. This can be done by a suitable focusing lens arrangements in the
output end. There are also initial face (Fresnel) losses due to reflections at the entrance aperture. The Fresnel
losses are greater if the fiber/source is air coupled. Hence, most optical couplings to a fiber utilize index
matching materials, thus reducing coupling loss substantially.
Connector Losses
Connector losses are associated with the coupling of the output of one fiber with the input of another fiber, or
couplings with detectors or other components. The significant losses may arise in fiber connectors and splices of
the cores of the joined fibers having unequal diameters or misaligned centers, or if their axes are tilted.
Mismatching of fiber diameters causes losses that can be approximated by –10 log(d/D). There are other
connection losses such as offsets or tilts or air gaps between fibers, and poor surface finishes.
Dispersion
Intermodal delay/ modal delay

Intermodal distortion or modal delay appears only in multimode fibers.

This signal distortion mechanism is a result of each mode having a different value of the
group velocity at a single frequency.

The amount of spreading that occurs in a fiber is a function of the number of modes
propagated by the fiber and length of the fiber

Group Velocity: It is the speed at which energy in a particular mode travels along the fiber.
Intermodal delay/ modal delay

The maximum pulse broadening arising from the modal delay is the difference between
the travel time Tmax of the longest ray and the travel time Tmin of the shortest ray .

This broadening is simply obtained from ray tracing for a fiber of length L:

∆T= Tmax – Tmin = n1/c ( L/sinøc –L) = (Ln12/cn2)∆

∆T= Tmax – Tmin = (Ln12/cn2)∆

Intermodal delay/ modal delay
Fiber Capacity:

Fiber capacity is specified in terms of the bit rate-distance product BL.

(Bit rate times the possible transmission distance L)

For neighboring signal pulses to remain distinguishable at the receiver, the pulse spread
should be less than 1/B.
Or
Pulse spread should be less than the width of a bit period.

∆T < 1 /B General requirement

∆T ≤ 0.1 /B For high performance link

Bit rate distance product BL < n2 c/ n12 ∆

Light rays with steep incident angles have longer path lengths than lower-angle rays.
How to minimize the effect of modal dispersion?
Answer is

1. Graded index fiber

2. Single mode fiber

How to get one mode and solve the problem

V = 2πa / λ x (n12 – n22)1/2 = 2πa / λ x (NA)

Fiber Joints
• Optical fiber links with any line communication system have a
requirement for both jointing and termination.
• A single mode fiber has continuous preform length of around 200Km
but such fiber spans cannot be installed
Why we need joints
• Fiber can only be installed in lengths upto 2Km, for longer spans a
joint is needed.
• For the repair of damaged fiber.
• For test purpose at terminal equipment.
• All of the fiber cable in a building cannot be installed as one continues
cable run.
• joints are needed to complete network cabling.
• Temporary access is needed for test purposes.
 Fiber Pigtail

• Fiber optic transmitter and receivers are terminated to a fiber optic

Pigtail.
• A fiber pigtail is a short length of optical fiber (usually 1 meter or less)
permanently fixed to the optical source or detector.
• Manufacturers supply transmitters and receivers with pigtails and
connectors
• Reduced coupling loss results when source-to-fiber and fiber-to-detector
coupling is done in a controlled manufacturing environment
Fiber joint loss
• In fiber-fiber connection the optical loss encountered at interface.
• The loss in optical power through a connection is defined as

Po is the power emitted from the source fiber

Pi is the power accepted by the connected fiber
Fiber joint loss (cont…)
• Fiber-to-fiber connection loss is affected by intrinsic and extrinsic coupling losses.
• Intrinsic coupling losses are caused by inherent fiber characteristics.
• Extrinsic coupling losses are caused by jointing techniques.
sources of loss in Fiber-to-fiber joint
Fiber joint loss (cont…)
• Intrinsic coupling losses are limited by reducing fiber mismatches between the
connected fibers.
• This is done by procuring only fibers that meet stringent geometrical and optical
specifications
• Extrinsic coupling losses are limited by proper connection procedures.
Fiber Splice

A permanent joint formed between two individual optical fibers in

the field or factory is known as a FIBER SPLICE.
Used to establish long haul optical fiber links

Two types of splicing:

1. Fusion splicing

2. Mechanical splicing
Prior to splicing both fibers must be prepared:
Remove plastic buffer coatings on both fibres

Cleave fibre end and clean with isopropyl alcohol

Good fibre end preparation is vital if a low loss splice

is to be achieved.
Fusion Splice
• Melts the fibers together to form a continuous fiber
• The source of heat is usually an electric arc, but can also be a laser, or
a gas flame, or a tungsten filament through which current is passed.
Fusion Splice Principles

Cleaved fiber ends are fused permanently together using an electric arc

During splicing fibers area held in V-grooves for alignment

A variety of splices have developed to cater for multimode and singlemode

fiber
Cleaving Steps
Fiber End Face
Steps in Fusion Splice Process
Which Splice?

• If cost is the issue, we've given you the clues to make a choice: fusion is expensive equipment and
cheap splices, while mechanical is cheap equipment and expensive splices. So if you make a lot of
splices (like thousands in an big telco or CATV network) use fusion splices. If you need just a few,
use mechanical splices. Fusion splices give very low back reflections and are preferred for
singlemode high speed digital or CATV networks. However, they don't work too well on
multimode splices, so mechanical splices are preferred for MM, unless it is an underwater or
aerial application, where the greater reliability of the fusion splice is preferred.
• Butt Joint Connectors
• Fiber is epoxied into precision hole and ferrules are used for each
fiber. The fibers are secured in a precision alignment sleeve. But joints
are used for single mode as well as for multimode fiber systems. Two
commonly used butt-joint alignment designs are : 1. Straight-Sleeve.
2. Tapered-Sleeve/Biconical. In straight sleeve mechanism, the length
of the sleeve and guided ferrules determines the end separation of
two fibers. Fig. 4.8.4 shows straight sleeve alignment mechanism of
fiber optic
• In tapered sleeve or biconical connector mechanism, a tapered sleeve
is used to accommodate tapered ferrules. The fiber end separations
are determined by sleeve length and guide rings. connectors
• Installing Fiber Connectors The method of attaching fiber optic
connectors to optical fibers various among connector types. Following
are the basic steps for installing fibers –
• i) Cut the cable one inch longer than the required finished length.
• ii) Carefully strip the outer jacket of the fiber with ‘no nick’ fiber
strippers. Cut the exposed strength members and remove fiber coating.
• iii) Thoroughly clean the bared fiber with isopropyl alcohol poured onto
a soft, lint free cloth such as kimvipes. Never clean the fiber with dry
tissue.
• iv) The connector may be attached by applying epoxy or by crimping.
• v) Anchor the cable strength members to the corner body. This
prevents direct stress on the fiber.
 UNIT III

FIBER OPTIC SOURCES

Considerations with Optical Sources
• Physical dimensions to suit the fiber

• Narrow radiation pattern (beam width)

• Linearity (output light power proportional to driving current)

Considerations with Optical Sources
• Ability to be directly modulated by varying driving current

• Fast response time (wide band)

• Adequate output power into the fiber

Considerations…

• Narrow spectral width (or line width)

• Stability and efficiency

• Driving circuit issues

• Reliability and cost

Semiconductor Light Sources
• A PN junction (that consists of direct band gap semiconductor
materials) acts as the active or recombination region.
• When the PN junction is forward biased, electrons and holes
recombine either radiatively (emitting photons) or non-radiatively
(emitting heat). This is simple LED operation.
• In a LASER, the photon is further processed in a resonance cavity to
achieve a coherent, highly directional optical beam with narrow
linewidth.
Light Emission

• Basic LED operation: When an electron jumps from a higher energy

state (Ec) to a lower energy state (Ev) the difference in energy Ec- Ev is
released either
• as a photon of energy E = h (radiative recombination)
• as heat (non-radiative recombination)
Energy-Bands

In a pure Gp. IV material, equal number of holes and electrons

exist at different energy levels.
 n-type material

Adding group V impurity will create an n- type material

 p-type material

Adding group III impurity will create a p-type material

The Light Emitting Diode (LED)

• For fiber-optics, the LED should have a high radiance (light intensity),
fast response time and a high quantum efficiency
• Double or single hetero-structure devices
• Surface emitting (diffused radiation) Vs Edge emitting (more
directional) LED’s
• Emitted wavelength depends on bandgap energy

E g  h   hc / 
Heterojunction
• Heterojunction is the advanced junction design to reduce diffraction
loss in the optical cavity.
• This is accomplished by modification of the laser material to control
the index of refraction of the cavity and the width of the junction.
• The p-n junction of the basic GaAs LED/laser described
before is called a homojunction because only one type of
semiconductor material is used in the junction with
different dopants to produce the junction itself.
• The index of refraction of the material depends upon the
impurity used and the doping level.
• The Heterojunction region is actually lightly doped with p-type
material and has the highest index of refraction.
• The n-type material and the more heavily doped p-type material both
have lower indices of refraction.
• This produces a light pipe effect that helps to confine the laser light to
the active junction region. In the homojunction, however, this index
difference is low and much light is lost.
Gallium Arsenide-Aluminum Gallium
Arsenide Heterojunction
• Structure and index of refraction n for various types of junctions in gallium arsenide with a
junction width d.
• (a) is for a homojunction.
• (b) is for a gallium arsenide-aluminum gallium arsenide single heterojunction.
• (c) is for a gallium arsenide-aluminum gallium arsenide double heterojunction with improved
optical confinement.
• (d) is for a double heterojunction with a large optical cavity of width w.
Double-
heterostructure
configuration
Structure of a Generic Light Emitter:
Double-Heterostructure Device
LED Wavelength

1 . 2399
 (  m) 
E (eV)

 = hc/E(eV)

 = wavelength in microns
H = Planks constant
C = speed of light
E = Photon energy in eV
 Specification Light Emitting Diode Laser Diode

It emits light by spontaneous It emits light by stimulated

Working operation emission. emission.

The emitted light is incoherent i.e. It possesses a coherent beam

photons are in random phase with identical phase relation of
Coherent/Incoherent among themselves. emitted photons.

Emitted light power is relatively Output power is high (Few mW to

low, Linearly proportional to drive GW) , Proportional to current
Output power current above the threshold

It requires small applied bias and It requires high driving power and
operates under relatively low high injected current density is
Bias/Current current densities. needed.
Coupled power Moderate High

Speed Slower Faster

Output pattern Higher Lower

Fiber Type Multimode only Singlemode and multimode

Ease of use Easier Harder

Lifetime Longer Long

Wider, 25 to 100 nm Narrower, <10-5 to 5 nm

Spectral width (10 to 50 THz) (<1 MHz to 2 MHz)
 Moderate, Tens of KHz to High, Tens of MHz to tens of
Modulation Bandwidth tens of MHz GHz

Available Wavelength 0.66 to 1.65 mm 0.78 to 1.65 mm

E/O Conversion Efficiency 10 to 20 % 30 to 70 %

Generally considered eye- Must be rendered eye-safe,

Eye Safety safe especially for λ < 1400 nm

Cost Low Moderate to High

 Photo Detectors
• Optical receivers convert optical signal (light) to electrical signal
(current/voltage)
• Hence referred ‘O/E Converter’
• Photodetector is the fundamental element of optical receiver, followed
by amplifiers and signal conditioning circuitry
• There are several photodetector types:
• Photodiodes, Phototransistors, Photon multipliers, Photo-resistors etc.
Requirements
• Compatible physical dimensions (small size)
• Low sensitivity (high responsivity) at the desired wavelength and low
responsivity elsewhere  wavelength selectivity
• Low noise and high gain
• Fast response time  high bandwidth
• Insensitive to temperature variations
• Long operating life and low cost
 Photodiodes
• Photodiodes meet most the requirements, hence widely used as photo
detectors.
• Positive-Intrinsic-Negative (pin) photodiode
• No internal gain, robust detector
• Avalanche Photo Diode (APD)
• Advanced version with internal gain M due to self multiplication process
• Photodiodes are sufficiently reverse biased during normal operation  no
current flow without illumination, the intrinsic region is fully depleted of
carriers
Physical Principles of Photodiodes
• As a photon flux Φ penetrates into a semiconductor, it will be absorbed as it
progresses through the material.
• If αs(λ) is the photon absorption coefficient at a wavelength λ, the power level at a
distance x into the material is

Absorbed photons trigger

photocurrent Ip in the external
circuitry
Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs)
• High resistivity p-doped layer increases electric field across absorbing
region
• High-energy electron-hole pairs ionize other sites to multiply the
current
• Leads to greater sensitivity
 Avalanche Photodiode (APD)
APDs internally multiply the primary
photocurrent before it enters to following
circuitry.
In order to carrier multiplication take place,
the photogenerated carriers must traverse
along a high field region. In this region,
photogenerated electrons and holes gain
enough energy to ionize bound electrons in
VB upon colliding with them. This
multiplication is known as impact
ionization. The newly created carriers in the
presence of high electric field result in more Optical radiation
ionization called avalanche effect.
Reach-Through APD structure (RAPD)
showing the electric fields in depletion region and multiplication
region.
Responsivity of APD

• The multiplication factor (current gain) M for all carriers generated in the photodiode is defined as:
IM
M  [6-6]
I p
• Where isIthe average value of the total multiplied output current & is the primary photocurrent.
M I P

• The responsivity of APD can be calculated by considering the current gain as:

q
 APD  M   0 M
[6-7]

h
Current gain (M) vs. Voltage for different optical wavelengths
 APD Detectors
� q �
Signal Current is  M � �P
�h  �

APD Structure and field distribution (Albrecht 1986)

APDs Continued
Comparison of photodetectors
Signal to Noise Ratio
S i p2 M 2


N 2 q  I p  I D M 2
F  M  B  2 qI L B  4 k B TB / R L

ip= average signal photocurrent level

based on modulation index m where
2 2
m I p
i 2
p 
2
 Signal to Noise Ratio
Detected current = AC (ip) + DC (Ip)
Signal Power = <ip2>M2
i p2 M 2

SN R 
2q(I p  ID )M 2
F ( M ) B  2 q I L B  4 k BT B / R L

Typically not all the noise terms will have equal weight.
Often thermal and quantum noise are the most significant.
 UNIT- 4
FIBER OPTIC RECEIVER AND MEASUREMENTS
Receiver Functional Block Diagram

Fiber-Optic Communications Technology-Mynbaev & Scheiner

 Receiver Types
+Bias Rf
+Bias +Bias

Is
Is Is
Output
Output Output

Ct
RL RL Ct
50 Equalizer Amplifier
Amplifier Amplifier

Low Impedance High Impedance Transimpedance

Low Sensitivity Requires Equalizer for high BW High Dynamic Range

Easily Made High Sensitivity High Sensitivity
Wide Band Low Dynamic Range Stability Problems
Careful Equalizer Placement Required Difficult to equalize
 Equivalent Circuits of an Optical
Receiver

High Impedance Design Transimpedance Design

Transimpedance with Automatic Gain Control

Fiber-Optic Communications Technology-Mynbaev & Scheiner

Receiver Noise Sources
•Photon Noise
Also called shot noise or Quantum noise, described
by poisson statistics
•Photoelectron Noise
Randomness of photodetection process leads to
noise
•Gain Noise
eg. gain process in APDs or EDFAs is noisy
•Receiver Circuit noise
Resistors and transistors in the the electrical
amplifier contribute to circuit noise

Photodetector without gain Photodetector with gain (APD)

• A preamplifier

(preamp or "pre") is an electronic amplifier that converts a weak

electrical signal into an output signal strong enough to be noise-tolerant and
strong enough for further processing, or for sending to a power amplifier and
a loudspeaker. Without this, the final signal would be noisy or distorted. They
are typically used to amplify signals from analog sensors such
as microphones and pickups. Because of this, the preamplifier is often placed
close to the sensor to reduce the effects of noise and interference.
Introduction(1)
• Advantages of Optical Transmission
• Large bandwidth permits high data transmission, which also supports the aggregation of
voice, video, and data
• Technological improvements are occurring rapidly, often permitting increased capacity
over existing optical fiber
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference reduces bit error rate and eliminates the need
for shielding within or outside a building
• Glass fiber has low attenuation, which permits extended cable transmission distance
• Light as a transmission medium provides the ability for the use of optical fiber in
dangerous environments
• Optical fiber is difficult to tap, thus providing a higher degree of security than possible
with copper wire
• Light weight and small diameter of fiber permit high capacity through existing conduits

Naser Tarhuni 126

 Introduction(2)
• Disadvantages of Optical Transmission
• Cable splicing:
• Welding or fusing: you must clean each fiber end, then align and carefully fuse the ends using
an electric arc.
• Time consuming
• Least amount of signal loss between joined elements.
• Gluing
• Bonding material that matches the refractive index of the core of the fiber.
• Time consuming
• Higher loss of signal power than fusing.
• mechanical connectors
• Considerably facilitate the joining of fibers,
• More signal loss than do the other two methods
• Can reduce the span of the fiber to a smaller distance.

Naser Tarhuni 127

Introduction(3)

• Fiber cost:
• On a (bit/s)/km basis, the fiber cost will always be less than that for
copper cable.

• Some organizations may require only a fraction of the capacity of the

optical fiber.
• It is often difficult to justify fiber to the desktop and similar applications where the cost of
copper cable may be half or less than the cost of fiber.

Naser Tarhuni 128

 Introduction(4)
• The big picture

Naser Tarhuni 129

 SONET/SDH(1)
• Current transmission and multiplexing standard for high speed signals
• North America: Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
• Europe, Japan and rest of the world: Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
• Prior to SONET and SDH: Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH)
• 4KHz sampled at 8KHz quantized at 8 bits per sample  64kb/s

Transmission rates for PDH

Level North America [Mb/s] Europe [Mb/s] Japan [Mb/s]
0 DS0 0.064 0.064 0.064
1 DS1/T1 1.544 E1 2.048 1.544
2 DS2/T2 6.312 E2 8.448 6.312
3 DS3/T3 44.736 E3 34.368 32.064
4 139.264 E4 139.264 97.728

Naser Tarhuni 130

 SONET/SDH(2)
• PDH versus SONET/SDH
• Multiplexing
• PDH: Difficult to pick low bit rate stream from high bit rate stream
• In PDH, clocks of lower bit streams are not perfectly synchronous
• Higher rates are not integral multiples of 64Kb/s
• Bit stuffing needed
• Mulltiplexers and Demultiplexers complicated
• In SONET/SDH a master clock is usedMUX and DEMUX much easier
• Management
• Unlike PDH, SONET/SDH standards are rich of management and traffic performance monitoring
information
• Interoperability
• SONET/SDH define standard optical interfaces
• PDH: different vendors define different line coding, optical interfaces,...
• Networking
• SONET/SDH: Service restoration time is less than 60 ms
• PDH: restoration time is several seconds to minutes

Naser Tarhuni 131

• SONET/SDH(3)
SONET/SDH
• Lower speed PDH is mapped into synchronous payload envelope (SPE), or synchronous container
in SDH
• Path overhead bytes are added to the SPE
• Path overhead unchanged during transmission
• Allows PDH monitoring end-to-end
• SPE+path overhead = virtual tributary VT (container in SDH)
• VT may be placed at different points within a frame (125 µs)
• Many small VTs can be multiplexed into a larger VT (see next slide)
• The overhead of each VT includes a pointer to smaller VTs multiplexed into the payload of the
larger VT
• This hierarchical structure simplifies extraction of low speed stream from high speed stream

Naser Tarhuni 132

 SONET/SDH(4)
Hierarchical multiplexing structure employed in SONET and SDH

Big VT

Small VT Small VT Small VT

Pointer
Pointer

Pointer

Pointer
Smaller VT

• In SONET: VTs with four sizes

• VT1.5, VT2, VT3, VT6 that carry 1.5, 2, 3, 6 Mb/s PDH streams
• VT group = 4 VT1.5s or 3 VT2s or 2 VT3s or a single VT6
• Basic SONET SPE (STS-1) = 7 VT groups = 51.84 Mb/s
• STS-N = N × STS-1 (byte interleaved) STS = Synchronous Transport Signal
• STM-1 = synchronous Transport Module = 155 MB/s

Naser Tarhuni 133

 The mapping of lower-speed PDH streams into

DS1
SONET/SDH(5) VTs in SONET
Optical Carrier
(SPE + path overhead)
1.544 Mb/s SONET Signal SDH Bit rate
VT1.5 SPE VT1.5 ×4 signal [Mb/s]
E1 STS-1 51.84
2.048 Mb/s ×3
VT2 SPE VT2 VT group STS-3 (OC-3) STM-1 155.52
DS1C STS-12 (OC-12) STM-4 622.08
3.152 Mb/s ×2
VT3 SPE VT3 STS-24 1244.16
DS2 ×1 ×7 STS-48 (OC-48) STM-16 2488.32
6.312 Mb/s byte
interleaved STS-192 (OC-192) STM-64 9953.28
VT6 SPE VT6
DS3
44.736 Mb/s
STS-1 SPE STS-1 ×N
ATM
48.384 Mb/s
STS-N
E4
139.264 Mb/s
× N/3
STS-3c SPE STS-3c
ATM
149.760 Mb/s
Locked payload: not possible to demultiplex into lower-speed streams

Naser Tarhuni 134

 SONET/SDH(6)
• SONET/SDH network configurations (see next slide)
• Point-to-point
• Node at ends
• Terminal Multiplexers (TM)
• Line Terminating Equipment (LTE)
• Linear
• Inserting add/drop multiplexers (ADM) between TM in point-to point-links.
• Allows insertion or extraction of smaller traffic at mid-points
• Rings
• ADM with added function of protection: High level of availability
• Unidirectional path-switched rings (UPSRs)
• Bidirectional line-switched rings (BLSRs)
• Two fibers BLSR/2, four fibers BLSR/4

Naser Tarhuni 135

 SONET/SDH(7) TM Backbone ring

Backbone ring ADM Point to point ADM

BLSR/2 BLSR/2
ADM Or ADM DCS ADM Or ADM
BLSR/4 BLSR/4
OC-12/OC-48 Central office OC-12/OC-48

ADM Central ADM ADM

ADM office ADM

UPSR UPSR
ADM DCS ADM Linear add/drop
ADM
OC-3/OC-12 OC-3/OC-12

ADM ADM ADM Access ring

TM
Access ring
UPSR
ADM ADM
OC-3/OC-12
 Digital crossconnect (DCS):
Manage all transmission facilities in the central
Access ring office
ADM

Naser Tarhuni 136

 • Path layer: End-to-end connections
• Line layer:
SONET/SDH(8)
SONET/SDH layers
• Multiplexes a numer of path-layer connection into a single link
• Responsible for protection switching
• Section layer: Links consist of sections
• Present at each regenerator
Path layer Path layer

Line layer Line layer Line layer

Section layer Section layer Section layer Section layer

Physical layer Physical layer Physical layer Physical layer

connection
Regenerator
SONET SONET SONET
terminal ADM terminal

Naser Tarhuni 137

 SONET/SDH(9)
SELF-HEALING SONET/SDH RINGS
• Causes for a ring to go down:
• Failure of a fiber link:
• Fiber is accidentally cutoff
• The transmission or receiver equipment on the fiber link fail.
• SONET/SDH device fails (rare)
• Services automatically restored: using the automatic protection switching (APS) protocol.
• The time to restore the services has to be less than 60 msec.
• Link protection:
• Dedicated 1 + 1,
• The two devices are connected with two
different fibers.
• The SONET/SDH signal is split and simultaneously transmitted over both fibers.
• The destination selects the best of the two signals based on their quality.
• The working and protection fibers have to be diversely routed

Naser Tarhuni 138

 Why WDM?
• Capacity upgrade of existing fiber networks (without adding fibers)
• Transparency: Each optical channel can carry any transmission format
(different asynchronous bit rates, analog or digital)
• Scalability– Buy and install equipment for additional demand as needed
• Wavelength routing and switching: Wavelength is used as another
dimension to time and space
 Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Each wavelength is like a separate channel (fiber)

 Ex: SONET

TDM Vs WDM
Wavelength Division Multiplexing

• Passive/active devices are needed to combine, distribute, isolate and

amplify optical power at different wavelengths
 WDM, CWDM and DWDM
• WDM technology uses multiple wavelengths to transmit information over a single fiber
• Coarse WDM (CWDM) has wider channel spacing (20 nm) – low cost
• Dense WDM (DWDM) has dense channel spacing (0.8 nm) which allows simultaneous
transmission of 16+ wavelengths – high capacity
 WDM and DWDM
• First WDM networks used just two wavelengths, 1310 nm and 1550 nm
• Today's DWDM systems utilize 16, 32,64,128 or more wavelengths in the
1550 nm window
• Each of these wavelength provide an independent channel (Ex: each may
transmit 10 Gb/s digital or SCMA analog)
• The range of standardized channel grids includes 50, 100, 200 and 1000
GHz spacing
• Wavelength spacing practically depends on:
• laser linewidth
• optical filter bandwidth
SONET/SDH(10)
SELF-HEALING SONET/SDH RINGS

• Link protection:
• 1:1 scheme,
• Two diversely routed fibers: a working fiber and a protection fiber.
• The signal is transmitted over the working fiber.
• If this fiber fails, then the source and destination both switch to the protection fiber.
• The 1:N scheme
• Generalization of the 1:1 scheme,
• N working fibers are protected by a single protection fiber.
• Only one working fiber can be protected at any time.
• Once a working fiber has been repaired, the signal is switched back, either automatically
or manually, from the protection fiber to the working fiber.

Naser Tarhuni 145

 A wavelength routing
network
This is an optical network that consists of OXCs
interconnected by WDM fibers, with each fiber
consisting of W wavelengths

Switch fabric
…

…
Input Output
WDM WDM

…
…

fibers fibers
…

DCS

...
• A block diagram of a unidirectional WDM link is shown in Figure 1. The light sources,
transmitters, one for each wavelength, are usually DFB (distributed feedback) lasers. The light
sources are modulated with the electronic client signals (e.g. an STM-64 signal at 10 Gb/s),
typically by on-off keying (OOK) them. The resulting optical information signals at different
wavelengths are then combined to be transported over a single fiber in a multiplexer. The
optical amplifiers, which are used along the fiber link, come in thre
• e different configurations and are able to amplify several WDM channels simultaneously. A
power amplifier may be used in front of a transmitter to give a maximal increase of the output
power, and an preamplifier may be used in front the receiver to increase sensitivity by providing
high gain and the least amount of additional noise. A line amplifier, typically used in the middle
of the link to compensate for link losses, is designed to provide a combination of the properties
of power- and preamplifiers. After traversing the link, the signals enter a demultiplexer, which
separates the individual signals at different wavelengths. Finally, the signals are received in
photodetectors, which generate an electrical current proportional to the incident optical power.
• [RS98]
• In on-off keying, a 1 bit is encoded by the presence of light, and a 0 bit is encoded by the
absence of light.
   , . . . ,  
Transmitter Receiver
 De- 
Transmitter Multiplexer Receiver
multiplexer

...
...

 Power Line Preamplifier 

Transmitter amplifier amplifier Receiver
 What is EDFA

• Type of Optical amplifier

• Stands for “Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier”
• Used to boost the intensity of optical signals being carried through a fiber optic
communications system
• Has a fiber whose core is heavily doped with Erbium ions
• Works on the concept of stimulated emission
• Operates in the C band (1530-1560) and L band (1570-1610)
 Why Erbium?

• Erbium has several important properties that make it an excellent choice for an optical
amplifier
• Erbium ions (Er3+) have quantum levels that allows them to be stimulated to emit in
the 1540nm band, which is the band that has the least power loss in most silica-based
fiber.
• Erbium's quantum levels also allow it to be excited by a signal at either 980nm or
1480nm, both of which silica-based fiber can carry without great losses
How it works
• Energy band of Erbium

Demo
Basic block diagram of EDFA
Block diagram of EDFA

• Copropogating Pump EDFA

Block diagram of EDFA

• Counterpropogating Pump EDFA

Characteristics of EDFA

• Gain and Noise

Characteristics of EDFA (Contd….)
Characteristics of EDFA (Contd….)
 Advantages

• Commercially available in C-band & L-band

• Insensitivity to light polarization state
• High gain
• Low noise figure: 4.5 dB to 6dB
• No distortion at high bit rates
• Simultaneous amplification of wavelength division multiplexed signals
• Immunity to cross talk among wavelength multiplexed channels
 Advantages (Cont…)

• Do not require high speed electronics

• Independent of bit rate (Bit rate transparency)
 Drawbacks

• Pump laser necessary

• Need to use a gain equalizer for multistage amplification
• Difficult to integrate with other components
• Dropping channels can give rise to errors in surviving channels
Introduction
• CDMA used extensively in radio frequency communication systems,
especially in 2G and 3G cellular telephone networks.
• Basic Advantage is the way it handles a finite BW among a large
number of users (more users can transmit the same data over the
same Bandwidth)
…introduction (comparison)
• TDMA and WDMA schemes present significant drawbacks in Local
Area Systems when large number of users must be considered.
• TDMA: one user tx at a time 
• System capacity = users * tx rate
• WDMA: Four wave mixing as discussed (next slide)
 Drawbacks DWDM (revisited)
• Dispersion
• Attenuation
• Four wave mixing
• Non-linear nature of refractive index of optical fiber
• Limits channel capacity of the DWDM System
Difficult to construct for dynamic set of multiple users because of the
significant amount of coordination among the nodes required for successful
operation.
…comparison
• Optical CDMA does not need time and frequency management
because all the users transmit using the whole BW at the same time!
• It can also operate asynchronously (as in wireless applications)
without packet collisions.
• Slot allocation requirements are not needed here in contradiction to
TDMA and WDMA
…comparison (Advantages)
• Simple implementation, using existing fiber networks
• Reduce the cost in every aspect:
• Equipment , outside plant
• Facilities , Operational Support systems
• SECURITY
• Eliminate many of intermediate time-division multiplexing steps required by
SONET
How does o-CDMA work
• The principle is the same as in wireless application. Each user is
assigned a unique code (spreading length -L-) which is multiplied by
each bit. This code is only known to the receiver in order to
demodulate the data.
• The most important part for correct detection is the code. This code
must be uncorrelated from other user’s codes and be orthogonal.
Orthogonal Code example
Two optical orthogonal Code with length L = 32 and λα = λc =1.

(a) First code is represented by placing

a pulse at the 1st, 10th 13th and 28th
chip positions.

(b) Second code is represented by

placing a pulse at the 1st, 5th 12th
and 31st chip positions.
…how does o-CDMA works
• O-CDMA divides the fiber spectrum into individual codes, all derived
from a single broadband optical source (WDM divides the spectrum
into narrow optical wavelengths)
• It is a simple 3 – step process:
• Source – Filter – Modulator
Filter: Spatial Filter can be thought an optical Bar code (fixed or programmable)
• Optical CDMA is a broadcast technology, with all information going to all parts of
the network.
• When a receiver is placed anywhere on the network with a bar code that
matches a transmitter, that signal alone is decoded and extracted from the
network.
• The second requirement for an all-optical network, the ability to economically
add users.
• A simple tap and insert coupler is installed in the lateral fiber run to multiple users, and a
receiver is installed at each terminating location
10.2 Passive Optical Couplers
• Passive devices operate completely in the optical domain to split and combine light
streams.
• They include N  N couplers (with N ≥ 2), power splitters, power taps, and star
couplers.
• They can be fabricated either from optical fibers or by means of planar optical
waveguides using material such as LiNbO3, InP, silica, silicon oxynitride, or various
polymers.

173
 The 2  2 Fiber Coupler
• P0 is the input power, P1 is the throughout power, and P2 is the power coupled into the second fiber.
• P3 and P4 are extremely low signal levels (-50 to -70 dB below the input level) resulting from backward
reflections and scattering in the device

The evanescent tail from one

fiber core couples into
another closely spaced fiber
core

Optical power
coupling

174
Performance of an Optical
Coupler

• 3-dB coupler: P1 = P2 = 0.5 P0

• Tap coupler: P2 = 0.005 P0 (- 23 dB)

175
Example Coupler Performance

176
Star Couplers
• In general, an N  M coupler has N inputs and M outputs

177
N  N Star Coupler
• Can construct star couplers by cascading 3-dB couplers
• The number of 3-dB couplers needed to construct an N  N star is

178
Optical Isolators
Optical isolators allow light to pass in only one direction.
• This prevents scattered or reflected light from traveling in the reverse direction.
• E.g., can keep backward-traveling light from entering a laser diode and possibly
causing instabilities in the optical output.

Polarization-independent
isolator made of three
miniature optical components

179
 Optical Circulators
• An optical circulator is a nonreciprocal multiport
passive device that directs light sequentially
from port to port in only one direction.
• In the 3–port example, an input on port 1 is sent
out on port 2, an input on port 2 is sent out on
port 3, and an input on port 3 is sent out on port
1.

180
Isolator and Circulator
Parameters

181