EC 6702 – OPTICAL

EC8751 OPTICAL COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS
UNIT 2 - SIGNAL DEGRADATION
TRANSMISSION IN OPTICAL
CHARACTERISTIC FIBERS FIBER
OF OPTICAL
Attenuation-absorption --scattering
Attenuation - Absorption losses-bending
losses, losses-core
Scattering losses, and cladding
Bending Losses, losses-signal
Core and Cladding losses,
dispersion –inter symbol
Signal Distortion in Opticalinterference and bandwidth-intra
Wave guides-Information model dispersion-material
Capacity determination dispersion-
-Group Delay-Material
Dispersion,dispersion-polarization
waveguide Wave guide Dispersion, mode Signaldispersion-intermodal
distortion in SM fibers-Polarization Mode dispersion,
dispersion-dispersion optimization
Intermodal dispersion, Pulse Broadening in GI fibers-Mode Coupling -Design Optimization of SM
of single mode fiber-characteristics of single mode fiber-R-I Profile- cutoff wave length-dispersion
fibers-RI profile and
calculation-mode cut-off
field wavelength.
diameter.

INTRODUCTION
 Attenuation - Power loss
 Dispersion - Pulse width broadening

Attenuation:
 It is a measure of decay of signal strength or loss of light power that occurs as light
pulses propagate through the length of the fiber.
 It has effects on performance, system bandwidth, transmission rate, efficiency, overall
system capacity.
 Given by the ratio of input and output optical power.

Pin
 
Pout
 Standard formula ‘α’ in terms of dB.

 Pin 
  (dB)  10 log  
 Pout 
 Attenuation mechanisms are,
o Absorption – fiber material
o Scattering – structural imperfections in optical waveguide.
o Radioactive losses of the optical energy.
o Bend of finite radius of curvature
 As light travels along a fiber, its power decreases exponentially.
The power at distance ‘l’ is given by
 P(l) = P (0) e-αfl

 f l P(l )
e 
P(0)

 P(l ) 
  f l  ln  
 P(0) 

1  P(l ) 
  f   ln  
l  P(0) 

1  P(0)  dB
 f  ln  
l  P(l )  Km

P(0) → i/p optical power

 P(l) → o/p optical power
l → distance
αf → attenuation co-efficient
wkt, the relation b/w attenuation and wavelength

At
850 nm – 2 to 3 dB/Km.
1350 nm – 0.4 dB/Km.
1550 nm – 0.9 dB/Km.

Material Absorption Losses in Silica fibers:

 Material Absorption is caused by absorption of photons within the fiber.
 When a material is illuminated, photons can make the valence electrons of an
atom transition to higher energy levels.
 Photon is destroyed and the radiant energy is transformed into electric
potential energy.
 This energy can be
 Re-emitted (scattering).
 Free electrons (photo electric effect).
 Dissipated to the rest of the material (transformed into heat).
 In an optical fiber, material absorption of the optical power is
effectively converted to heat dissipation within the fiber.
Two types of absorption:
Intrinsic Absorption:

Fig.The Attenuation spectra from the intrinsic loss mechanism in pure GeO 2- SiO2 glass

 Caused due to interaction of electrons and photons in ultraviolet region and it is

also caused due to absorption of photons in fiber medium and heat dissipated in
Infrared region.
 Less significant than extrinsic absorption.
 Low loss window exists between 800 nm and 1600 nm

In UV region,
 It is caused by electronic absorption bands.
 Photon interacts with an electron and excites it to a higher energy level.

In IR region,
 Caused by characteristic vibration frequency of atomic bonds.
 In silica glass, absorption is caused by vibration of (Si-O) bonds.
 Interaction between the vibration bond and the electromagnetic field of the optical
signal causes intrinsic absorption.
  48.48 
Loss in IR region, αIR = 7.81*1011 exp  
  
Loss in UV region, αUV=CeE/E0 Urbach’s Rule

where C and E0 are empirical constant, E – photon energy

 4.63 
154.2 x  
 UV  *10 2 e   
46.6 x  60

Extrinsic absorption:
 Much more significant than intrinsic .
 Caused by impurities introduced into the fiber material during manufacture – Iron,
Nickel, Chromium.
 Also caused by transition of metal ions to a higher energy level.
 Modern fabrication techniques can reduce impurity levels below 1 part in 10 10.
 Also caused by dissolved water hydroxyl (or) OH ion in the glass.
  One part per million impurity level causes 1 dB/km of attenuation at 950 nm.

Scattering :
The process in which power is transferred from one mode to another mode.

Types :

1.Linear scattering : Rayleigh and Mie scattering.

2.Non linear scattering : Stimulated Brillouin and Sstimulated Raman scattering.

Rayleigh scattering :
 Dominant scattering mechanism in silica fibers.
 Caused by in-homogeneities in the glass of a size smaller than the wavelength of
light.
 Compositional fluctuation – in-homogeneities manifested refractive index
variations, present in the glass after manufacturing.
 Difficult to eliminate with present manufacturing methods.
 Scattering occurs in both forward and backward direction.
 Rayleigh loss,
Ar
r  dB / km
4
Where ,
 - empirical formula (μm)
Ar – Rayleigh scattering coefficient.
If λ=1550 nm, αr=0.18 dB/km.
Ar depends on – fibre refractive index profile.
- doping for core refractive index.
=> Ar = 0.63+2.06 NA dB/km - for step index germanium doped fiber.
=> Ar = 0.63+1.75 NA dB/km - for graded index near parabolic profile fiber.
Loss in Rayleigh scattering

8 3 2
 scat  (n  1) 2 K B T f  T
34

8 3 8 2
 scat  4 n p K BT f  T
3
Where,
KB → Boltzman constant=1.38*10-23J/K
Tf → Fictive temperature
→ Temperature at which the Si changes from solid to semi– solid state
(1200 1400K)
 n → Refractive index of silica
λ → Operating wavelength
βT → Isothermal compressibility factor (m2/N)
P → Photo elastic coefficient
Transmission loss per Km.
 Km  exp   Scat .L where L = 1 Km (or) 1000 m

 1 
 dB / Km  10 log 10  
  Km 

Mie Scattering:
 Occur at in-homogeneities which are comparable in size to the guided
wavelength.
 Results from non perfect cylindrical structure of the waveguide.
 Caused by fiber imperfections such as,
 Irregularities in the core cladding interface.
 Core – cladding refractive index
 Diameter fluctuations
 Strains and bubbles
 The Scattering created by such in-homogeneities is mainly in the forward
direction and it is called Mie Scattering.
 It causes significant losses depending upon the fiber material, design and
manufacture.
 The in–homogeneities can be reduced by,
a) Removing imperfections during glass manufacturing process.
b) Carefully controlled extrusion and coating of the fiber.
c) Increasing the fiber guidance by increasing the relative refractive index
difference.

Non – linear scattering losses

 Appears when optical power increases.
 Causes disproportional attenuation at high optical power levels.
 Transfers optical power from one mode to the same mode (or) other modes in
either forward (or) backward directions at different frequency.
 Becomes significant above threshold power levels.

Types:
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS).
1. Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS).
 In both2.types, scattering is observed at high optical power densities in long
single-mode fibers.
 These scattering gives optical gain but with frequency shift.

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS).

  Regarded as the light modulation through the thermal molecular vibrations
within the fiber.
 Scattering light appears as upper and lower side bands .
 Separated from incident light by modulation frequency.
 The incident photon produces
- a photon of accoustic freq.
- scattering photon.
 Produces an optical frequency shift which varies with the scattering angle,
because the sound wave freq. varies with accoustic wavelength.
 This is backward process because, the frequency shift is maximum in
backward direction and reduces to zero in forward direction.
 Significant above threshold power density,

Power PSBS  4.4  10 d   dB B

3 2 2
Threshold watts
Where,
d → Core diameter (μm)
B → Source bandwidth (GHz)
λ → Operating wavelength (μm)
 dB  Fiber attenuation (dB/Km)

Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)

 Similar to stimulated Brillouin scattering.
 Acoustic photon is generated instead of high frequency photon.
 Occur in both forward and backward direction.
 SRS is an interaction b/w light waves and the vibration.
 If a photon with energy hʋ, is incident on a molecule with vibration freq Vm,
the molecule can absorb some energy from the photon.
 In this interaction, the photon is scattering attaining low freq. V 2 and lower
energy hʋ2
 The modified photon is called stokes photon.
 Optical signal wave that is injected into the fiber is the source of the injecting
photons.
 It is called as pump wave, since it supplies power for the generated wave.
 If another signal is present at the longer wavelength, the SRS will amplify it
and the pump wavelength signal will decrease in power.
 SRS can limit the performance of multichannel optical communication system
by transferring energy from shorter wavelength channels to neighbouring
higher wavelength channels.
 Threshold optical power for SRS,
watts
PSRS = 5.9x10-2 d2 λ αdB Watts
watts

Bending losses
 Fibers can be subject to two types of bends:
1. Macroscopic bends
- Occurs when a fiber cable turns a corner.
2. Microscopic bends
 - Occurs when the fibers are incorporated into cables.
 Losses occur when the fiber have these bends.

Macro bending loss:

 Radius of the curvature of bend is larger than the fiber diameter.
 When the light waves travel at this bend, severe loss is examined due to the
radiation of the evanescent field in the cladding.
 As R reduces, the loss increases exponentially until it reaches at a certain
critical radius.
 If the bend radius is made a bit smaller once reaches this threshold point,
the losses suddenly become extremely large.
 Due to this the wave travelling at higher order modes radiate faster than
lower order modes.
 R-supports only smooth bending.
-reduces sharp bending.
 Lower order modes highly bound to core.
 As the order of modes increases, field distribution is present in cladding.
 When there is sharp bend, the higher order modes escapes from the fiber
cable.
 When there is smooth bend, this can be prevented to certain extent.

Fig. An Illustration of the radiation loss at a fiber bend

Critical radius of curvature:

For Multimode fiber,

3n1 
2

Rc 
4 (n1  n2 ) 3 / 2
2 2

 The total number of modes supported by a curved fiber is less than in a straight
fiber.
 Effective number of modes that are supported by a curved multimode graded index
fiber is given by,

   2  2a  3  2 / 3  
N eff  1     N0
 2  R  2n2 kR   
 

Where,
 α- Graded - index profile
Δ- Core - cladding index difference
n2- Cladding refractive index
k=2π/λ - Wave propagation constant
a-core radius; R-radius of curvature

N 0 - Total no. of modes in a straight line.

For Single mode fiber,

3
 20   
N0  n1ka 2
 Rcs   2.748  0.995 
 2 n1  n2 3 / 2
 c 
λc → cut off wavelength
2an1 2 
1/ 2

c 
2.405
Macro bending loss can be reduced by
- Designing fibers with large Δ.
- Operating at shortest wavelength

Micro bending loss:

 Bends arise when the fibers are incorporated into cables.
 Due to repetitive coupling of energy between guided modes and leaky modes, the
power is dissipated through the micro bending fiber.
 Also called as mode coupling loss.
 To avoid this decompressible buffer jacket & should be used.
 This jacket does not allow the external mechanical force to pass to the cladding or
core.

Fig.Small-scale fluctuations in the radius of curvature of the fiber axis leads to micro
bending loss
 Fig. A jacket extruded over a fiber reduces micro bending resulting from external forces.

Macrobending loss Microbending loss

Occurs when a fiber cable turns a corner. Occurs when the fibers are incorporated
into the cables.

Losses examined due to the radiation of Losses examined due to coupling of

evanescent field in the cladding. energy between guided modes and leaky
modes.

Core and cladding losses

Since the core and cladding have different refractive indices of refraction, they have
different attenuation coefficients α1 and α2 respectively.
Step index fiber :
For step index fiber, Loss for a mode of order (v,m) is given by
P  P
 v, m  1 core  2 clad → 1
P P
α1 – core attenuation coefficient
α2 – cladding attenuation coefficient

Pcore Pclad
where , are fractional power.
P P
Pcore P
For lower order modes, wkt  1  clad → 2
P P
Sub (2) in (1)
 Pclad  P
 v, m   1 1     2 clad
 P  P

Pclad P
 1  1   2 clad
P P
Pclad
 v, m  1   2  1  → 3
P
Graded index fiber
Attenuation coefficient and modal powers are functions of radial coordinates.

Loss at radial distance r from core axis is expressed as,

n 2 0  n 2 r 
 r    1   2   1 
n 2 0  n 2 2

 
n1 1  2r / a 
n( r )  
 1/ 2
; for  0  r  a
n1 1  2   n1 1     n2 ; for  r  a
 1/ 2

Loss at a particular mode is given by

  r Pr .rdr
 gi  0


 Pr .rdr
0

Where p(r) is the power density of that mode at distance ‘r’.

Dispersion :
 Pulse broadening in optical fiber.
 Occurs due to group velocity and group delay.
Group delay :
Delay that occurs between two spectral components travelling with different wavelengths at
the receiving end.
Corresponding velocity is called group velocity.
When the signal enters the optical fiber, the signal will be narrow but when it
is received at the other end, it gets broadened.
 Narrow pulse Broadened pulse

As wavelength increases, propagation delay increases which in turn increases the pulse width.
This broadening of pulse is called dispersion.

To find Dispersion parameter

1. Find the relationship between group delay and group velocity.

Phase velocity Vp  

Group velocity Vg  d
d
Group delay  g  LV
g

L d
g   L.
d d d

d
 g  L. 1
d

Where, L- length of fiber

2. Substitute   2f in eqn.1 and simplify

d d L d  d 
 g  L.  L.  .  
d 2f   2c  2c d1  d 
d 
  

L d d
g  . . 2
2c d d1

d
To find
d 1

d (1 ) d  1  1 d ( )
=   =  λ2
d d     2 d1

From eq. 2
 - 2 L d
g  .
2c d 3

3. Calculate delay difference per unit wavelength

d g d  - 2 L d 

d d  2c d 
.

- L  2 .d 2  d 
=   2 
2c  d 2
d 
2 .d 2 
Dispersion is due to the first term and the second term is neglected.
d 2

d g - L  2 .d 2  
 
d 2c  d2 

Find rms pulse width broadening parameter

4.
d g
σg = . σλ
d

- L  2 .d 2  
=   . σλ
2c  d2 
Where, σλ is the spectral width of light source.

L 2 d 2 
σg = . σλ
2c d 2
4

2 d 2 
Dispersion parameter D= ps/Km/nm.
d2
D = D material + D waveguide
This dispersion is called Intra modal dispersion.

.TYPES OF DISPERSION:

DISPERSION
Material dispersion
 INTRAMODAL (OR)
CHROMATIC DISPERSION
Waveguide dispersion

INTERMODAL
DISPERSION

INTRAMODAL DISPERSION:
 Occurs in all types of fibers.
 Optical source emits band of frequencies.
 Due to this there may be propagation delay differences b/w the different spectral
components of the transmitted signal.
 Cause pulse broadening of each mode leads to intramodal dispersion.
 The delay differences caused by
- Properties of material → Material dispersion.
- Guidance effects in fiber structure → Waveguide dispersion

1. Expressions for Material Dispersion:

Material dispersion:
Material dispersion occurs due to variation of refractive index of the medium
depending on wavelength.
In dispersion medium, ‘n’ is a function of ‘λ’.

2n 
Propagation constant , β = for dispersion medium.

 2 L d
Group delay , g= . from eqn. 3
2c d

Group delay due to material dispersion is

 2 L d  2n 
τg = τmat =
2c d   
.

 2 L d  n 
.2π
d   
=
2c

 2 L d
=
c
.
d

n( ).1 
  L 1 dn( )
 
2
=  .  n( ).(   2 )
c d 
 τmat =
L
. dn( )  n( )
c d  5

Material dispersion delay per unit wavelength

d ma t d   L  dn( ) 
=    n (  ) 
d d  C  d 

 L  d 2 n( ) dn( ) dn( ) 

=  .   
C  d ( 2 ) d d 

d ma t  L  d 2 n ( ) 
=  . 
d C  d ( 2 ) 

The rms pulse width broadening is given by

d mat
σmat = . σλ
d
where σλ is the spectral width of light source.

 L  .d 2 n( ) 
΅ σmat =   . σλ
C  d2 

L  .d 2 n( )
= . σλ ps or ns.
C d 2
Material dispersion parameter

1  .d 2 n( ) 
Dmat =   ps. nm-1.km-1
C  d2 

Minimization
Material dispersion can be reduced by using
i) Using narrow spectral width light source like LASER.
ii) Using longer wavelength operation since refractive index difference is small or
negligible.

2. Expressions for waveguide dispersion:

Waveguide dispersion is a type of intramodal dispersion which occurs due to variation of

group velocity as a function of wavelength for a particular mode.It is wavelength
independent.

Group delay can be expressed in terms of normalized propagation constant ‘b’ defined as
 2
n 2
2
2 1
b = k2
n1  n2
2

n1  n2
For small values of index difference  = , eqn. 1 can be approximated by
n1


n 2
b = k
n1  n2


= n2 + b (n1-n2)
k

β = k (n2 + b (n1-n2))
2

Differentiate eqn. 2 wrt ‘k’

d
= n2 +b (n1 – n2)
dk
dk
= n2 +b (n1 – n2).
dk

d d (bk )
= n2 + (n1 – n2).
dk dk

Group delay for waveguide dispersion

d d 2
 g  L.  g  L. k 
d  2C  
d 
  
d
 g  L.
d (kC)
L d
τwg = .
C dk
L  d (bk ) 
= n2  (n1  n2 ). dk 
C 

Ln2  n2 n1  n2 d (bk ) 
=   . 
C  2
n n 2 dk 

Ln2  d (bk ) 
τwg = 1  . dk  ( n2  n1 )
C 
The normalized frequency V is given by

n1  n2
2 2
V = ka
2
V  kan2 2 ( n2  n1 ) k 


The approximation of V is valid for small values of  and hence group delay can be
expressed in terms of V instead of k .
V k
L  d (bV ) 
 τwg = n2  n2 .
C  dV 
3

The first term is a constant and second term represents the group delay arising from
waveguide dispersion.

The rms pulse broadening due to waveguide dispersion is

d wg
 wg = .  ps km1 nm 1
d
d wg
To find
d

d wg d wg dv
= . 4
d dv d

d wg d L d (bv) 
= (n2  n2 
dv 
dv  C dv 

d wg Ln2  d 2 (bv)
= . 5
dv C dv 2

dv d  2a 2   2a
  V  n1  n2
2 2 2

d
=
d  
n1 n 2  
 
Or
 =
d
2a n1 2  n2 2 .(1 ) V= k a n1  n2
2 2

d

where k =2π/λ
 2a n1  n2 .(2 )
2 2
=

 2a n1  n 2
2 2
dv
= 6
d 2

Substitute eqn. 5 and 6 in 4

d wg Ln2  d 2 (bv)  2a n1  n 2

2 2

= . .
d C dv 2 2
Ln2  d 2 (bv)  V
= . .
C dv 2 
d wg  Ln2 V d (bv)
2
= . 7
d C dv 2

 Ln 2 V d 2 (bv)
  wg = . . 
C dV 2
 L.n 2 V d 2 (bv) 
 wg 
= .  ps or ns.
 C dv 2 
Waveguide dispersion parameter

1  d wg 

Dwg = 
L  d 


1   Ln 2 V d 2 (bv) 
=  .
L  C dv 2 

 n 2 V d 2 (bv)
Dwg = . ps.km-1.nm-1
C dv 2 8

 σwg = L Dwg σλ (ps or ns)

9

Minimization :
Wavelength dispersion can be reduced by
i) Using large index difference.
ii) Using short wavelength operation.
 Optical Communication, and Network
4.28
4.8.3 Waveguide Dispersion

Definition
The wareguiding of the fiher may also create intramodal dispersion, which
variation in group velocity with wavelength for a
results
mode
from the
particula
ray corresponding to.
The angle made with the fiber axis bya particular
will also van with respect to the
wavelength which subsequently leads
rays tha leads to pulse
variation in the transmission times for the
This pulse broadening effect is known as waveguide
dispersion. broadenin
The cftect of waveguide dispersion on a pulse spreading can be approximated h
assuming that the refractive index of the material is independent of h
wavelength.

4.9 INTERMODAL DISPERSION

4.9.1 Introduction

a Definition
An optical pulse launched into a multimode fiber propagates in the form o
various modes which jointly carry the total power. These modes can travel along
the fiber withdiferent group velocities causing different modes to have differem
transmission times to reach the destination, This results into the broadening of
the pulse at the output of the fiber. This is pulse
broadening is called s
intermodal dispersion.
arises from the propagation delay difference between the
multimode fiber. different modes
a Ray Tracing Approach:
It is often easier to
estimate the pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersionby
visualizing the propagation of light with the help of ray tracing approach. The
Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fibers 4.29

intermodal dispersion which causes pulse broadening is essentially arises from

thedifference intime, 7mn and Imm
The time Tman is taken by the longest ray congruence path (oxtreme meridional
ray) corresponding to the highest order mode and the time Tmin, is taken by the
shortest ray congruence path (axial ray) corresponding to the Lowest order
mode.

Under purely single-mode operation there is mo intermodal dispersion and

dispersion
therefore pulse broadening is solely due to the intramodal
mechanisms.
significant in the case of
Pulse broadening due to internodal dispersion is mostly
step-index multimode fiber. This can be controlled to a great extent by using a
a
graded-index profile.
fiber is designed to have a near-parabolic refractive index
When an optical
broadening due to an intermodal dispersion can be minimized.
profile, the pulse
Step Fiber: Pulse Broadening
4.9.2 Multimode Graded Index
theory model, the fastest and slowest modes propagating in the step
Using the ray extreme meridional ray
by the axial ray and the
index fiber may be represented
core-cladding interface at the critical angle o.)
(which is incident at the
respectively.
in a perfectly structured step index fiber are
these two rays
4 The paths taken by
shown in Fig 4.11. constant retractive index
same velocity within the
atthe
As both rays are travelling related to their respective path
lengths
difference is directly
fiber core, then the delay
within the fiber.
Transmission Characteristics of
Optical Fibers 4.29
intermodal dispersion which causes pulse broadening is
the difference in time, Tmax essentially arises from
and Tmin:
The time I mar 1S taken by the longest ray
congruence path (extreme meridional
ray) corresponding to the highest order mode and the time Tmin, is
taken by the
shortest ray congruence path (axial ray) corresponding to the Lowest order
mode.

Under purely single-mode operation there is no internodal dispersion and

therefore pulse broadening is solely due to the intramodal di_persion
mechanisms.

Pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion is nostly significant in the case of

a step-index multimode fiber. This can be controlled to a great extent by using a
graded-index profile.
When an optical fiber is designed to have a near-parabolic refractive index
minimized.
profile, the pulse broadening due to an intermodal dispersion can be
Step
4.9.2 Multimode Graded Index Fiber: Pulse Broadening
slowest modes propagating in the step
4 Using the ray theory model, the fastest and
fiber may be represented by the axial ray and the extreme meridional ray
index
incident at the core-cladding interface at the critical angle )
(which is
respectively.
two rays in a perfectly structured step index fiber are
* The paths taken by these
shown in Fig 4.11.
velocity within the constant refractive index
travelling at the same
As both rays are related to their respective path lengths
difference is directly
Iiber core, then the delay
within the fiber.
 4.30| Optical Communication andI

Cladding (n2)
Networks
Air(no = 1)
Axial ray Core (n1)

Extreme meridional ray

Fig4.11 Ray diagram in anultimod: step-index fiber showing the

paths ofaaxial ray and the extreme meridional ray
The time taken for the axial ray to travel along a fiber
of length Lgives the
minimum delay timeTmin and it isgiven by
L
Tmin Velocity of light in the medium

Ln ...... (1)
(e/m)
where n - Core refractive index, and
c-
Velocity of light in free space.
The extreme meridional ray exhibits the
maximum delay time Tmay and it is given
by

T.max L/ cos . Ln
c/n (2)
4 By applying Snell's law of refraction at the
core-cladding interface, we get
sin . = = cos .
. (3)
Where, n, is thc refractive index of the cladding. Furthermore, by
substituting
equation (3) into equation (2) for cos 0, and it gives,
Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fibers |4.31|

max
Ln; (4)

4 The delay difference between an extreme meridional ray and an axial ray may be
obtained by subtracting the equation (1) from equation (4) as,
ST= Tmox - I min
Ln Ln L
cn C C n

Ln,a (5)

A="2
where, relative refractive index difference.
A<<1 so that n, n,.
The above equation is derived with an assumption that
form:
Alternatively, equation (5) can be expressed in the following
Lr Ln L Ln n2
8T mod C c cn,

LnfA (6)
8Tmod cn

aperture of a step-index fiber with A<<lcan be approximated

& Further, the numerical
as,
"..... (7)
NA n, V24
difference is responsible for an intermodal
delay
Using the approximation, the
dispersion can be expressed as,
(NA = nx24
(8)
A =
2n?
|4.32 Optical Communication,
and
By substituting equation (8) into equation (5), we get Networka
Ln (NA} L(NA}
6Tmod 2n 2n,c (9)

The approximation expressions for the delay difference given in equations (5)
(9) are usually employed to estimate the maximum pulse broadening in
time den
an intermodal dispersion multimode step index fibers
(1) RMS Pulse Broadening
Another useful quantity with this intemodal dispersion on an optical fiber i
the rms pulse broadening resulting from this dispersion mechanism along
fiber. When an optical input to thc fiber is a pulsc pl)of unit arca, as ilhustrt
in Fig 4. 12.
Ampitude

Tine ()

Fig 4.12 The broadencd rectang ular pulse due to intermodal dispersion
p)is defincd as, pu) dt - 1 (10)

The rms broadening duc to internodal dispersion can be obtained by considering

the rectangular pulsc of unit area as shown in Fig 4 12
 Transmission(Characteristics of Optical Fibers 4.33
The rectangular pulse has been assumcd to have ahelght of and a width of
8T mod
ST mod ST mod
STmod ranging from to
2 So that the total area of the pulse renmains
unity.
STmod 2
p()dt = 1 ..(11)
- 8Tmod /2

Then, mathematically the broadened pulse can be expressed as,

p() = for -
8T mod 8T mod
2 2
8T mod
= 0 otherwise (12)
The mean-square value (variance) of the pulse broadening due to an intermodal
dispersion for the multimode step index fiber can be obtained as,
2
Omod = M,-M ... (13)
where M, - First tenporal moment which is equivalent to the mean
value of the pulse.
M, - Second temporal moment that is equivalent to the mean
square value of the pulse.

That is, M, = Jp() d@)

-00
(14a)

and M, = p)d) .... (14b)

00
 Optical CCommunication and
4.34
pulse of Fig 5.2 is zero, and Network
The mean value M, for an unit input
this is maintained for an output pulse, then from
equations (13) and (14b), tha. assuming
We can
obtained as,
mod = M,-M; = M, -0

o mod = tpi) dt
M, - JPp) "..... (15)

Forthe broadenedpulse under consideration over the range gives

ST mod 8T mod
2
1
mod t dt =
§1 mod
ST mod 8T mod ST mod
2
2

1 1 8T
mod
3 8T,mod 2

8T³ ST³mod
mod
3 8T, + ST³mod
3 8T.mod 4
8T 2
mod
M, =
(16)
Already we know [equation (9)] that,
ST mod L(NA'
2 n,c
By substituting the above **.... (17)
expression in equation (17), we get
Omod 2NA L LNA)?
23^ 2ne 4V3 n, c
Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fibers 4.35

Ln, A
Cmod (18)
23 c
where, NA =n,V 24
intermodal
From equation (18), it is clear that the rms pulse broadening due to an
dispersion in a multimode step-index fiber depends on the relative index
difference, Aand the length of the fiber L.
stnaller value of A reduces the numerical aperture of the fiber. Then, a
But a
acceptance angle of the fiber and
smaller valueof numerical aperture reduces the
gather power from the source.
lowers the capability of the fiber in order to

multimode step-index fibers are generally suffer severely from an

Therefore, the communication.
dispersion and are notsuitable for long-haul optical
intermodal
to an intermodal dispersion can be greatly
broadening due
But the rms pulse
graded-index profile in the multimode fibers.
reduced by making use of
Graded Index Fiber
4.9.3 Multimode index waveguide fibers. It
varies radially, in graded -
The core refractive index large core together with a
low
propagation in a relatively
supports multimode transmission with high data
rates over
and allows the
intermodal delay distortion
long distance.
then the transit times of the individual
controlled,
index profile is carefully
* If the
in eliminating modal dispersion.
so it results
modes will be identical,
 OpticalCommunication and
4.36|
Networks
ng

Refractive Core
index n(r) Cladding

(b) Axial ray

(a)
index profile;
Fig 4.13 Amultimode graded index fiber:(a) parabolic refractive
core
(b) meridionalray paths within thefiber
core axis, as
The fiber shown has aparabolic index profile with a maximum at the
illustrated in figure 4.13 (a). Analytically, the index profile is given for a = 2 as:

n(r) =n, [ 1 -2A (rla)1? r<a (core)

=
n,(1-24)? r2a(cladding) ... (19)

4 Figure 4.13 (b) shows several meridional ray paths within the fiber core. It may be
observed that apart from the axial ray, the meridional rays followed sinusoidal
trajectories of different path lengths which result from the index grading.
The dramatic improvement in multimode fiber bandwidth achieved with a parabole
or near - parabolic refractive index profile is highlighted by consideration of the
reduced delay difference between the fastest and slowest modes for this graded indes
fiber 6T,
4 Using ray theory approach the delay difference is
given by,
T, = Ln, (NA)
2C ... (20)
&n'c
TransmisSion Characteristics of Optical Fibers |4.37|

4 A more rigorous analysis using electromagnetic mode theory given an absolute

temporal width at the fiber output is
Ln,A? (21)
8T, = 8c
of
Which corresponds to an increase in transmission time for the slowest mode
over the fastest mode.
8
with time
The expression given in Eq (21) does not restrict the bandwidth to pulses
concentrated in the first
slots corresponding to ÝT, as 70% of the optical power is
half of the interval. Hence the rms pulse broadening is a useful parameter for
assessment of intermodal dispersion in multimode graded index fibers.
A Profile Dispersion:
according
Afber with a given index profile a will exhibit different pulse spreading
to the source wavelength used. This is called as profile dispersion.
multimode-graded index fiber
4 After simplification, the optimum index profile of a
is given by,
(22)
Oop! 20 /3 c

* This can be compared with the dispersion in a step-index fiber

AL
(23)
Ostep 2/3c
graded index (parabolic
Then, from equations (22) and (23), the relation between the
given by,
profile) pulse broadening and the step index pulse broadening is
Ostep nAL 20\3c
Oopt 2/3e n, aL
O step =
10 .....(24)
Oopt
 Optical Communication,
and
|4.38| Light emitting
diode
Netwo
1.0

(nskm)

width
Injection
pulse laser
0.1
rms
Uncorrected
pulse width Distributed
feedback laser

0.0
1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
Index gradient a

Fig 4.14 Variation of rms pulse broadening in agraded-index

fiber versus the index parameter a at 900 nm.
20.0

Bandwidth
(GHz
km)10.0

A=1.0%
5.0

2.0
A= 1.3%
1.0

A =2.0%
0.5

0.2

1.9 2.0 2.1

Profile parameter a
Fig 4.15 Variations in bandwidth resulting from slight'deviationsinthe
refractive-index fora graded-index fiber with A= 1, 1.3 and. 2percem.
Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fibers 4.39|

Typical value of A= 0.01 indicates that the capacity of a graded index fiber is about
three orders of magnitude which is larger thanthat of astep index fiber.
For A=1 percent, the rms pulsespreading in a step-index fiber is about 14 ns/km,
whereas that for a graded-index fiber it is calculated to be 0.014ns.

4.10 SOLVED PROBLEMS

Problem-1
The optical power launched into the fiber is 200uw. The transmission distance is
20 km. The optical power at the output of the fiber is 50 uw.Calculate
) The signal attenuation per unit length.
(ü) The overall signalattenuation
Given: P (0) 200 uW = 200 x 100 W

P (L) = 50 W= 50x 10 W
L = 20 km

Solution:
Signal attenuation per unit length =
P(0)
() L P(L)
10 200 x 106
.=0.5 x log 4 = 0.5 x 0.6020 = 0.3 dB km-!
20 log10 50 x 10-6

(ii) Overall signal attenuation = Attenuation / km x 20 km

= 0.3 x 20 = 6dB

Problem-2
The optical power launched into an 8km length of fiber is 120,0v, the optical
pOwer at the fiber output is 3_w. Then calculate
 Dispersion Calculations
The total dispersion consists of material and waveguide dispersions.
The resultant intermodal dispersion is given as, D( )  1 d
L d
where  is group delay per unit length of fiber
The broadening of an optical pulse is given as,   D( ) L
where   is half power spectral width of source.

ANNA UNIVERSITY FRE QUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Part – A

1. What is Rayleigh scattering?(May-June 2013)(R)

2. What are bending losses? Name any two types. (Apr-May 2015) (R)
3. What are the types of fiber losses which are given per unit distance?(Nov-
Dec 2014) (R)
4. List the factors that cause intrinsic joint losses in a fiber. (N0v-Dec 2014)
(R)
5. A fiber has an attenuation of 0.5dB/Km at 1500nm. If 0.5mW of optical
power is initially launched into the fibre, what is the power level in after
25Km? (Nov—Dec 2015, Apr-May 2017) (U)
6. What do you mean by Polarization dispersion in a fiber and write the
expression for it? (Nov—Dec 2015,Apr-May 2017, Apr-May 2018) (U)
7. A continuous 12 kms-long optical fiber link has a loss of 1.5dB/km. What
is the minimum optical power that must be launched into the fiber to
maintain an optical power level of 0.3 W at the receiving end?(Nov-Dec
2013) (AZ)
8. Define dispersion in multimode fibers. What is its effect? (Nov-Dec 2013)
(R)
9. What are the two reasons for Chromatic Dispersion? (Nov-Dec 2012) (R)
10. What are the most important non-linear effects of optical fibre
communication? (Nov-Dec 2012) (R)
11. What is chromatic dispersion?(May - June 2016) (R)
12. What are the causes of absorption? (Nov-Dec 2016) (R)
13. Define attenuation. (Nov-Dec 2017) (R)
14. A manufacturer's data sheet lists the material dispersion Dmat =
110ps/nm.km at a wavelength of 860nm. Find the rms pulse broadening
per km due to material dispersion if the optical source has a spectral
width = 40nm at an output wavelength of 860 nm. (Nov-Dec 2017) (A)
15. What is elastic and inelastic scattering? Give examples.(Apr-May 2018)
(R)

Part – B

1. Discuss about the design optimization of single mode fiber.(Nov-Dec

2016) (U)
2. What is waveguide dispersion? Derive and expression for time delay
 produced due to waveguide dispersion.(Nov-Dec 2016) (A)
3. With necessary diagrams, explain the causes and types of fiber
attenuation loss. (Nov-Dec 2015) (U)
4. With diagram, derive the expression for intra modal dispersion. (Nov-
Dec 2015) (AZ)
5. What are the loss or signal attenuation mechanism in a fibre? Explain.
(Apr-May 2015, May-June 2016, Apr-May 2017) (U)
6. Discuss the pulse broadening in graded index fibers. (U)
7. Explain in detail about polarization mode dispersion and intermodal
dispersion in SM fibers. (U)
8. Distinguish between intermodal and intramodal dispersions. Explain
them with necessary equations and diagrams. (Nov-Dec 2013) (AZ)
9. Describe the linear and non-linear scattering losses in optical fibers.
(Nov-Dec 2012) (U)
10. Derive expressions for material dispersion and waveguide dispersion and
explain them. (May-June 2013 Apr-May 2018) (AZ)
11.What is meant by critical bending radius of optical fibers? Explain.
(Nov- Dec 2014) (U)
12.Explain the following in single mode fiber : Modal birefringence and beat
length. (Nov-Dec 2014) (U)
13.An LED operating at 850nm has a spectral width of 45nm. What is the
pulse spreading is ns/km due to material dispersion? What is the pulse
spreading when a laser diode having a 2nm spectral width is used?
(Nov-Dec 2012) (U)
14.Discuss the attenuation encountered in optical fiber communication due
to: 1.Bending 2. Scattering 3.Absorption. (Nov-Dec 2013, Apr-May
2018) (U)
15. In detail, explain linear scattering losses. (Nov-Dec 2017) (U)