Fiber Characterization in Singlemode Optical Networks

Optical Time Domain

Reflectometry
Fiber Characterization
Optical Return Loss

Fibers joined using splices and • IEC 61786 – Calibration of optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDR)
ORL is the ratio (expressed in dB) of • IEC 61300-3-6 – Fiber optic interconnecting devices and passive components - connectors provoke two types of • GR-196 – Generic Requirements for Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) Type Equipment
reflected power to incident power from a Basic test and measurement - Part 3-6: Examinations and measurements - Return loss attenuation: loss and reflectance. • ITU-T G650.1 – Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable
fiber optic system or a link. The reflected

Test Requirements Summary

There are both due essentially to
power is due to Fresnel reflections or Fresnel reflections.
changes in the index of refraction. OTDR

OTDR Method OCWR Method The OTDR injects a short,intense laser pulse into
Connector Pulsed the optical fiber and measures the backscatter
Laser Souce FUT and reflection of light as a function of time.It’s
OTDR
OCWR
Why measure loss and reflectance?
Pinc
Prefl
Ptrans This table is greatly simplified and each user must review and modify it in accordance with their specific Network Element equipment and application. Splices and connectors are important
Coupler then analyzed to determine the location of any
fiber optic breaks or splice losses.
Pulsed Light Souce FUT Optical
Laser Souce FUT
Termination
components to be tested as their losses and Receiver
Coupler
Coupler Plug reflectances are having a strong impact on
Optical
Optical
Receiver
Power Meter the link quality. Tests can be performed
ORL = 10 log ( Pinc /Prefl)
Test STM-16/OC-48 1550 STM-16/OC-48 DWDM STM-64/OC-192 1550 STM-64/OC-192 DWDM Equipment Req’d Techs Req’d Testing during installation or for commissioning.
Recommended Connector Fusion Connector Fiber Mechanical Fiber
Pair Splice Pair Bend Splice End

The OTDR launches light pulses into the device under The OCWR launches a stable,continuous wave signal Insertion Loss 1310/1550 nm 1550/1625 nm 1310/1550 nm 1550/1625 nm PM & LS or OFI 2E Bi OTDR

Why measure ORL? test and collects backscatter information as well as into the optical fiber and measures the strength of the Return Loss (Note 1) 1550 nm 1550 nm 1550 nm 1550 nm OFI (w/ORL option) 1E (Note 6) Bi (Note 8)
It is essential to measure backreflection Fresnel reflections. time-integrated return signal. Physical Plant Verification 1310/1550 nm 1550/1625 nm 1310/1550 nm 1550/1625 nm 2 or 3 Lambda 1E Bi (Note 9)
when installing and maintaining (Incl. Connector/Splice/Point OTDR (5026 or 5036HD) Typical Values
networks to ensure proper stability of the Mechanical splice: 0.4 dB
Reflectance/Localized Loss)

Attenuation (dB)
lasers and their central wavelength. Fusion splice: 0.1 dB
Spectral Attenuation (Note 2) No 1550/1625 nm No 1550/1625 nm BB Source and OSA 2E Uni
UPC connector: Loss: 0.3 dB, Reflectance: -50 dB
PMD (Note 3, Note 4) <80 km not required <80 km not required Pre-1993 required, ‘93-97 Pre-1993 required, ‘93-97 BB Source, OSA, 2E Uni
APC connector: Loss: 0.3 dB, Reflectance: -65 dB
unless pre-1993 fiber unless pre-1993 fiber required if >50 km, post ‘97 required if >50 km, post ‘97 and Polarizer
required >80 km required >80 km Distance (km)

Typical Values CD (Note 5) Not required >150 km Not required >150 km Recommended Recommended 4 Lambda OTDR (5083CD) 1E (Note 7) Uni
Requirement: -27 dB
Objective: -40 dB
Legend: Note 1: This is the CW Return Loss test (direct measured). This test is sometimes not performed and the OTDR Return Loss value (calculated) is accepted.

Attenuation Profile
CWDM See Note 10 Note 2: This test is often not performed providing the “limits” of the spectrum to be used are tested for insertion loss to ensure there will be no adverse effects
1E One ended test from bending loss, i.e., if insertion loss is tested at one wavelength higher than the highest used wavelength, this test may be omitted in many cases. Attenuation is the loss of signal power • IEC 60793-1-40 – Measurement methods and test procedures
2E Two ended test (two technicians) Note 3: The guidelines for when testing is required are for example only and may vary by application, e.g., the test may be guardbanded from the TIA recom- caused by material absorption, impurities,
Uni Unidirectional waveguide geometry, and scattering.
mendations or the user may apply a Power Penalty to results greater than the limits specified by the TIA. Example: If the PMD (OC-192) is >10 ps but
Bi Bidirectional less than 13 ps, add 1 dB to the system budget loss. Spectral Attenuation testing
Note 4: This test is dynamic and it is recommended to perform multiple tests over a period of time. FUT is performed using a broad-
band source and optical
Note 5: CD test limits and cases where CD testing would be recommended are highly dependent on the Network Element (NE) equipment specifications. Please Broadband
Insertion Loss/
Bi-directional Insertion Loss

OSA spectrum analyzer.The OSA

consult your NE provider for these limits and recommendations. Source
is like a wavelength-selective
Insertion Loss is the loss in the power of a • IEC 60512-25-2 – Connectors for electronic equipment – Tests and measurements - Part 25-2: Test 25b- Note 6: While this test is generally one ended, at short distances, an “open” connector at the far end may generate enough reflectance to skew the results. In Why measure attenuation? power meter.It records the
source spectrum (taken as
signal that results from inserting a passive Attenuation (insertion loss) this case, a technician may apply a terminator or mandrel wrap at the far end during the test. For DWDM systems, it is important to obtain reference) and compares it
component (connectors, splices. . .) into a • IEC 61300-3-34 – Fiber optic interconnecting devices and passive components - Basic test and measurement Note 7: While this test is normally one ended, at longer distances, a 0 dB reflector may be required at the far end to increase dynamic range of the test set. For the spectral attenuation of the band used for with the spectrum of the
continuous path. • ITU-T G650.1 – Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable low fiber count testing, these may be applied in multiples and left in place during testing (vs. moved from fiber to fiber during testing) so that the test transmission, as this will have an impact on source at the link output.
remains one ended. channel equalization as well as amplifier
Note 8: Theoretically, this test only needs to be performed from the Transit End, however at the time of test this is often not well known. Testing ORL on fiber specifications if they are implemented in the 10

pairs to be used for SONET transmission can lead the user to select the direction pair with the lowest ORLs for transmitter placement. network.
FUT
Why measure IL? Note 9: While this test is one ended, it is recommended that it be performed from both ends and the results analyzed using appropriate software (OFS-100 or

Attenuation (dB/km)
Insertion Loss testing is typically
Power Meter/ Power Meter/ performed with a power meter OFS-200). This is not always done.
It has to be taken into account in Light Source Light Source and a 2-lamba or a 3-lamba light Note 10: For CWDM, you can use the recommended tests from column 2 with one exception. CWDM operates from the 1200s to 1600s so you should do your loss 1
transmission system design source.Automatic bi-directional
(input power, receiver sensitivity). test sets obtain accurate tests at a lower bandwidth and increase your spectral analysis test range.
measurements and save time.
Typical Values
1260 nm – 1360 nm: 0.35 dB/km
1530 nm – 1565 nm: 0.22 dB/km 0 850 1310 1550
1565 nm – 1625 nm: 0.25 dB/km Wavelength (nm)

Typical Values
Mechanical splice: 0.4 dB
Fusion splice: 0.1 dB
PC connector: 0.3 dB
APC connector: 0.5 dB

Fiber Test Products

Chromatic Dispersion
The different wavelengths composing • IEC 60793-1-42 – Optical fibres - Part 1-42: Measurement methods and test procedures - Chromatic dispersion
the light travel at different velocities due • ITU-T G650.1 – Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable
to the variation of index of refraction in
Fiber Characterization
MTS/T-BERD 8000

Optical Time Domain

Reflectometer
MTS-5100
Measurements
Bi-directional Insertion Loss,
ORL, and Optical Power

OFI-2000
the fiber. Limiting the transmission CD Limits According to Bit Rate
speed and distance of the networks, it
Bit Rate SDH SONET Equivalent Maximum Allowable Total Allowable Dispersion
broadens pulse.
Polarization Mode Dispersion

Per Channel Timeslot Time Delay at 1550 nm Coefficient at 1550 nm

PMD (or average DGD) is caused by the • IEC 60793-1-48 – Optical fibres - Part 1-48: Measurement methods and test procedures - Polarization mode
for a Given Link
differential arrival time of the different dispersion
(Not Normalized to 1 km)
polarization modes (horizontal and ver- • ITU-T G650.2 – Definitions and test methods for statistical and non-linear attributes of singlemode fibre and cable
tical) transmitted into a fiber caused by 51 Mbps N/A OC-1 19.3 ns 5.9 ns N/A
its birefringence. PMD broadens trans- 155 Mbps STM-1 OC-3 6.43 ns 1.97 ns N/A
mission pulse and is critical for high bit Distance 622 Mbps STM-4 OC-12 1.61 ns 492 ps N/A
rate transmission. PMD Limits According to Bit Rate 1.2 Gbps N/A OC-24 803 ps 246 ps N/A
2.5 Gbps STM-16 OC-48 401 ps 123 ps 12000 to 16000 ps/nm
Bit Rate SDH SONET Equivalent PMD PMD Coefficient
• Complete CWDM/DWDM test solution • Automatic bi-directional measurements • Ideally suited for FTTx/PON applications
Why measure CD? 10 Gbps STM-64 OC-192 100 ps 30 ps 800 to 1000 ps/nm
Per Channel Timeslot Delay Limit for 400 km • OTDR, insertion loss, and power level testing (total link loss, ORL, link distance) and • Fault locator and traffic detection 40 Gbps STM-256 OC-768 25.12 ps 7.8 ps 60 to 100 ps/nm
• Spectral attenuation profile CD must be measured during fiber and
power level • Multimode, singlemode OTDR,
V2
55 Mbps N/A OC-1 19.3 ns 2 ns <96 cable manufacturing and also during the
• CD and PMD testing
DGD

• Power levels up to +26 dBm and optical loss test set

155 Mbps STM-1 OC-3 6.43 ns 640 ps <32 installation process to check the value. 40
• Full spectrum OSA • 1310, 1490, 1550, 1625 nm laser sources G.654 Cut-off Shifted
V1
622 Mbps STM-4 OC-12 1.61 ns 160 ps <8 It’s also very important to know the level G652 Standard SMF (Unshifted Dispersion)
30
1.2 Gbps N/A OC-24 803 ps 80 ps <4 of chromatic dispersion present in the Fiber Types
G656 Non-Zero Dispersion for Wideband Transport
G655 Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted SMF
2.5 Gbps STM-16 OC-48 401 ps 40 ps <2 network to add in line modules, such as 20 G653 Dispersion Shifted SMF

CD Value (ps./nm.km)
10 Gbps STM-64 OC-192 100 ps 10 ps <0.25 amplifiers, add/drop multiplexers. . . or
The second order PMD gives the delay created 10
by the PMD variation linked to the wavelength, 40 Gbps STM-256 OC-768 25.12 ps 2.5 ps <0.125 before any compensation process.
and therefore is interesting to know for DWDM 0

Insertion Loss, ORL, and

Optical Power Meassurements
SMART Optical Handheld Meters
Optical Fiber Trace and

OFS Family
Cable Software

systems.Second order PMD has to be added to

chromatic dispersion figures,and therefore is -10
limiting the link distance.
Field PMD Test Equipment -20
Field CD Test Equipment
Why measure PMD? FUT -30
Broadband Variable
PMD measurement shall be at least Source
Polarizer
Polarizer
OSA
FUT
1000 1100 1200 1310 1400 1480 1550 1600

performed when the bit rate is equal or Wavelength (nm)

higher than 10 Gbps. However, for some OTDR

applications, such as analog cable TV A polarized light is sent over the FUT and the transmitted spectrum is
applications, lower transmission bit rates analyzed through a polarizer.The analysis of the fixed-analyzer 1
1 1
can be affected by PMD. response is shifted to the time domain by taking the Fourier transform. 1 2
1 3
The mean DGD is calculated from the Gaussian distribution. 4
• Automatic OTDR, DWDM, PMD, and • Power Meters The OTDR sends four (or more) wavelengths over the FUT.The
Typical Values time delay between the different wavelengths at the end of the τ
For a new fiber - Max PMD: 0.2 ps/√km
CD trace analysis • Optical Laser Sources link is measured.The chromatic dispersion of the tested fiber is
• Bi-directional and multiple trace analysis • Level Attenuators then calculated using the right nonlinear regression.
∆τ

Note: Specifications, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

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