21ECO105T-Fiber Optics and

Optoelectronics
Course Learning Rationale (CLR):
CLR 1: Analyze the basic laws and theorems of light associated with the
optical fiber communication and the classification of optical fibers.
CLR 2: Address concepts related to transmission characteristics such as
attenuation and dispersion.
CLR 3: Explore the fundamentals of optoelectronics display devices,
Sources and Detectors.
CLR 4: Illustrate the integration methods available for optoelectronic
circuits and devices
CLR 5: Gain to information on Optical modulators and amplifiers
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO):
CO 1: Apply the basic theorems related to fiber optic
communication and allain the knowledge of types of optical
fibers.
CO 2: Define the optical signal distortion factors in optical
fiber communication
CO 3: Interpret the principle and operation of various, light
sources and detectors
CO 4: Summarize the various optoelectronic integrated
circuits and Optoelectronic devices
CO 5: Gain the knowledge of various optoelectronic
modulators and amplifiers.
 UNIT I-Introduction to Optical Fibers
• Evolution of fiber optic system
• Elements of an optical fiber transmission link
• Characteristics and behavior of light
• Total internal reflection
• Acceptance angle
• Numerical aperture
• Critical angle
• Ray optics
• Types of rays
• Optical fiber modes
• Optical fiber configurations
• Single mode fibers
• Multimode Fibers-Step Index Fibers
• Graded Index Fibers
 Learning Resources
1. Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, 5th Edition,
McGraw Hill Education (India), 2015.
2. Khare R P, “Fiber Optics and Optoelectronics”, Oxford
University Press, 2014.
3.J. Wilson and J. Hawkes, “Optoelectronics – An Introduction”,
Prentice Hall, 1995.
4. Pallab Bhattacharya, “Semiconductor Optoelectronic Devices”,
Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd, 2006.
 Remember/Recall
Physical Constants and Units
*****
 Evolution of communication system
• Principle interests of human beings has been to devise communication
systems for sending messages from one distant place to another.The
fundamental elements of any such communication system is shown Fig 1-1
• Information source-inputs message to transmitter
• Transmitter –couples message to transmission channel
• Channel- medium bridging distance between transmitter and receiver.
Types: 1)guided: wire/waveguide
• 2) Unguided: atmospheric/space channel.
• Signal while traversing through channel, it may be attenuated and distorted
with distance
• Receiver- Extract weakened and distorted signal from channel, amplify it
and restore to original form
 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Motive:
• to improve fidelity,
• increase data rate so more information could be send
• Increase transmission distance between relay stations.
Evolution:
• Before 19th century-use of fire signal by greeks in 8th century B.C for sending
alarms, calls for help or announcements of certains events.
• 150B.c.-optical signals were encoded relation to alphabet ,so any message could
be sent
Limitations: eye used as receiver, LOS transmission paths required.
• Telegraph _Samuel.F.B.Morse in 1838 (1844-commercial telegraph implemented)
• Used wire cables for information transmission-High frequency carriers used
–bandwidth increased so as information capacity.
Applications:Televeision,Radar,Microwavelink
• Transmission media used :millimeter and microwave waveguide,metallic wires
• Another part of EM spectrum is optical range 50nm(ultraviolet)to about
100Micrometer(far infrared),visible spectrum (400nm to 700nm)band.
 Evolution of Fiber optic system

• Advent of laser (coherent source)in 1960 paved way for this system.
• Optical frequency is 5x10^14Hz, information capacity is 10^5 times greater
than microwave system(~10 million TV channels)
• Unguided limitations: atmospheric channel by rain,fog,snow and dust make
high-speed carrier system economically unattractive in view of present
demand of channel capaciy.
• It covers only short-distance(up to 1 km)
• Optical fiber-more reliable and versatile optical channel than atmosphere,
but extremely large loss(more than 1000dB/km) made them impractical
• Losses due to impurities in fiber material. In 1970, silica fiber having
20dB/km attenuation was fabricated. Later attenuation reduced to
0.16dB/km at 1550-num
• Development of optical fiber system grew from combination of
semiconductor technology(gives light sources and photo detectors and
optical waveguide technology)
Elements of an optical fiber transmission
link
Elements of an optical fiber transmission
link
• Information Input:
• The information input may be in any of the several physical forms, e.g.,
voice, video, or data.
• Therefore an input transducer is required for converting the
non-electrical input into an electrical input.
• For example, a microphone converts a sound signal into an electrical
current, a video camera converts an image into an electric current or
voltage, and so on.
• In situations where the fiber-optic link forms a part of a larger system,
the information input is normally in electrical form.
 Transmitter:
• The transmitter (or the modulator, as it is often called) comprises
an electronic stage which (i) converts the electric signal into the
proper form and (ii) impresses this signal onto the electromagnetic
wave (carrier) generated by the optoelectronic source.
• The modulation of an optical carrier may be achieved by
employing either an analog or a digital signal.
• An analog signal varies continuously and reproduces the form of
the original information input, whereas digital modulation involves
obtaining information in the discrete form.
• In the latter, the signal is either on or off, with the on state
representing a digital 1 and the off state representing a digital 0.
• The number of bits per second (bps) transmitted is called the data
rate.
• If the information input is in the analog form, it may be obtained in
the digital form by employing an analog-to-digital converter.
• Analog modulation is much simpler to implement but requires
higher signal-to noise ratio at the receiver end as compared to
digital modulation.
• Further, the linearity needed for analog modulation is not always
provided by the optical source, particularly at high modulation
frequencies.
• Therefore, analog fiber-optic systems are limited to shorter
distances and lower bandwidths
 Optoelectronic Source
• An optoelectronic (OE) source generates an electromagnetic wave in the
optical range (particularly the near-infrared part of the spectrum), which
serves as an information carrier.
• Common sources for fiber-optic communication are the light-emitting
diode (LED) and the injection laser diode (ILD).
• Ideally, an optoelectronic source should generate a stable single-frequency
electromagnetic wave with enough power for long haul transmission.
• However, in practice, LEDs and even laser diodes emit a range of
frequencies and limited power.
• The favorable properties of these sources are that they are compact,
lightweight, consume moderate amounts of power, and are relatively easy
to modulate.
• Furthermore, LEDs and laser diodes which emit frequencies that are less
attenuated while propagating through optical fibers are available.
 Channel Couplers:
• In fiber-optic systems, the function of a coupler is
to collect the light signal from the optoelectronic
source and send it efficiently to the optical fiber
cable.
• However, the coupling losses are large owing to
Fresnel reflection and limited light-gathering
capacity of such couplers.
• At the end of the link again a coupler is required to
collect the signal and direct it onto the
photodetector.
 Fiber-optic Information Channel
• In communication systems, the term ‘information channel’
refers to the path between the transmitter and the receiver.
• In fiber-optic systems, the optical signal traverses along the
cable consisting of a single fiber or a bundle of optical
fibers.
• An optical fiber is an extremely thin strand of ultra-pure
glass designed to transmit optical signals from the
optoelectronic source to the optoelectronic detector.
• In its simplest form, it consists of two main regions: (i) a
solid cylindrical region of diameter 8–100 mm called the
core and (ii) a coaxial cylindrical region of diameter
normally 125 mm called the cladding.
• The refractive index of the core is kept greater than that of
the cladding. This feature makes light travel through this
structure by the phenomenon of total internal reflection.
• In order to give strength to the optical fiber, it is given a
primary or buffer coating of plastic, and then a cable is made
of several such fibers.
• This optical fiber cable serves as an information channel.
• For clarity of the transmitted information, it is required that
the information channel should have low attenuation for the
frequencies being transmitted through it and a large
light-gathering capacity.
 Repeater
• As the optical signals propagate along the length of the fiber,
they get attenuated due to absorption, scattering, etc., and
broadened due to dispersion.
• After a certain length, the cumulative effect of attenuation
and dispersion causes the signals to become weak and
indistinguishable.
• Therefore, before this happens, the strength and shape of the
signal must be restored.
• This can be done by using either a regenerator or an optical
amplifier, e.g., an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), at
an appropriate point along the length of the fiber
 Optoelectronic Detector
• The reconversion of an optical signal into an electrical
signal takes place at the OE detector.
• Semiconductor p-i-n or avalanche photodiodes are
employed for this purpose.
• The photocurrent developed by these detectors is
normally proportional to the incident optical power and
hence to the information input.
• The desirable characteristics of a detector include small
size, low power consumption, linearity, flat spectral
response, fast response to optical signals, and long
operating life
 Receiver
• For analog transmission, the output photocurrent of the detector is filtered
to remove the dc bias that is normally applied to the signal in the modulator
module, and also to block any other undesired frequencies accompanying
the signal.
• After filtering, the photocurrent is amplified if needed.
• These two functions are performed by the receiver module.
• For digital transmission, in addition to the filter and amplifier, the receiver
may include decision circuits.
• If the original information is in analog form, a digital-to analog converter
may also be required.
• The design of the receiver is aimed at achieving high sensitivity and low
distortion.
• The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and bit-error rate (BER) for digital
transmission are important factors for quality communication.
 Information Output
• Finally, the information must be presented in a form
that can be interpreted by a human observer.
• For example, it may be required to transform the
electrical output into a sound wave or a visual image.
Suitable output transducers are required for achieving
this transformation.
• In some cases, the electrical output of the receiver is
directly usable.
• This situation arises when a fiber-optic system forms
the link between different computers or other
machines.
ADVANTAGES OF FIBER-OPTIC SYSTEMS
Long Distance Transmission
▪ Optical fibers have lower transmission losses compared to copper wires.
Consequently data can be sent over longer distances, thereby reducing the number of
intermediate repeaters needed to boost and restore signals in long spans.
▪ This reduction in equipment and components decreases system cost and complexity.

Large Information Capacity

▪ Optical fibers have wider bandwidths than copper wires, so that more information can
be sent over a single physical line.
▪ This property decreases the number of physical lines needed for sending a given
amount of information.

Small Size and Low Weight

▪ The low weight and the small dimensions of fibers offer a distinct advantage over
heavy, bulky wire cables in crowded underground city ducts or in ceiling-mounted
cable trays.
▪ This feature also is of importance in aircraft, satellites, and ships where small, low
weight cables are advantageous, and in tactical military applications where large
amounts of cable must be unreeled and retrieved rapidly
• Immunity to Electrical Interference
▪ An especially important feature of an optical fiber relates to the fact that it
is a dielectric material, which means it does not conduct electricity.
▪ This makes optical fibers immune to the electromagnetic interference
effects seen in copper wires, such as inductive pickup from other adjacent
signal-carrying wires or coupling of electrical noise into the line from any
type of nearby equipment.

• Enhanced Safety
▪ Optical fibers offer a high degree of operational safety because they do not
have the problems of ground loops, sparks, and potentially high voltages
inherent in copper lines.
▪ However, precautions with respect to laser light emissions need to be
observed to prevent possible eye damage.

• Increased Signal Security

▪ An optical fiber offers a high degree of data security because the optical
signal is well-confined within the fiber and an opaque coating around the
fiber absorbs any signal emissions.
▪ This feature is in contrast to copper wires where electrical signals
potentially could be tapped off easily. Thus optical fibers are attractive in
• A variety of fiber types with different performance
characteristics exist for a wide range of applications.
• To protect the glass fibers during installation and
service, there are many different cable configurations
depending on whether the cable is to be installed inside
a building, underground in ducts or through
direct-burial methods, outside on poles, or under water.
• Very low-loss optical connectors and splices are needed
in all categories of optical fiber networks for joining
cables and for attaching one fiber to another
• The installation of optical fiber cables can be either aerial, in
ducts, undersea, or buried directly in the ground.
• The cable structure will vary greatly depending on the
specific application and the environment in which it will be
installed.
• Owing to installation and/or manufacturing limitations,
individual cable lengths for inbuilding or terrestrial
applications will range from several hundred meters to
several kilometers.
• Practical considerations such as reel size and cable weight
determine the actual length of a single cable section.
• The shorter segments tend to be used when the cables are
pulled through ducts.
• Longer lengths are used in aerial, direct-burial, or
underwater applications
• Workers can install optical fiber cables by pulling or blowing them
through ducts (both indoor and outdoor) or other spaces, laying
them in a trench outside, plowing them directly into the ground,
suspending them on poles, or laying or plowing them underwater.
• Although each method has its own special handling procedures,
they all need to adhere to a common set of precautions.
• These include avoiding sharp bends of the cable, minimizing
stresses on the installed cable, periodically allowing extra cable
slack along the cable route for unexpected repairs, and avoiding
excessive pulling or hard yanks on the cable.
• For direct-burial installations a fiber optic cable can be plowed
directly underground or placed in a trench that is filled in later.
• Figure illustrates a plowing operation that may be carried out in
nonurban areas.
• The cables are mounted on large reels on the plowing vehicle and
are fed directly into the ground by means of the plow mechanism
• Transoceanic cable lengths can be many thousands of kilometers long and include
periodically spaced (on the order of 80–120 km) optical repeaters to boost the signal
level.
• The cables are assembled in onshore factories and then are loaded into special
cable-laying ships, as illustrated in Figure
 optical fiber
• An optical fiber (or fibre) is a flexible, transparent fiber made
by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than
that of a human hair.
• Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit
light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage
in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over
longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data transfer rates) than
electrical cables.
• Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along
them with less loss; in addition, fibers are immune
to electromagnetic interference, a problem from which metal wires
suffer.
• Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging, and are often
wrapped in bundles so they may be used to carry light into, or
images out of confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope.
• Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other
applications, some of them being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.
 Optical fiber structure

• Optical fibers typically include a core surrounded by a

transparent cladding material with a lower index of refraction.
• Light is kept in the core by the phenomenon of total internal
reflection which causes the fiber to act as a waveguide.
• Fibers that support many propagation paths or transverse
modes are called multi-mode fibers, while those that support a
single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF).
• Multi-mode fibers generally have a wider core diameter and
are used for short-distance communication links and for
applications where high power must be transmitted.
Optical fiber –various applications
 Characterisitcs and Behaviour of light

• Fiber optics technology involves the emission, transmission,

and detection of light let us discuss the nature of light.
• Two methods usually used to describe how optical fiber guides
light.
• Geometrical or ray optics concepts of light: reflection and
refraction to provide a picture of the propagation mechanisms.
• Electromagnetic wave approach: where light is treated as an
EM wave which propagates along the optical fiber
waveguide.(This involves maxwell’s equation subject to
cylindrical boundary conditions of fiber.)
 The nature of light
• Until 17th century, it is believed that light consists of a stream of minute particles
that are emitted by luminous sources.
• Particles travel in straight line , and assumed to penetrate transparent but reflected
from opaque ones.
• Described large-scale optical effects like reflection and refraction, but failed to
explain interference and diffraction.
• Diffraction explanation given by Fresnel in 1815 could be interpreted on
assumption that light is a wave motion.
• In 1864, Maxwell theorized that light waves must be electromagnetic in nature.
• After observation of polarization effects indicated that light waves are
transverse(that is, the wave motion is perpendicular to the direction in which the
wave travels).
• In wave or physical optical view point EM waves radiated by small optical source
can be represented by train of spherical wave front(locus of all points in the wave
train which have the same phase).
• If wavelength of light is smaller than object(or opening ) which it encounters, the
wavefront appears as straight lines to this object or opening. In this case, light wave
can be represented as a plane wave, and its direction of travel can be indicated by
light ray which is perpendicular to the phase front.
(Session 4-6)
Acceptance Angle
● Acceptance angle is the maximum angle with
the axis of the Optical Fiber at which the light
can enter into the optical fiber in order to be
propagated through it.Fig shows the
propagation of light in a fiber.
●
● At the point B on the interface of core and cladding,
● Angle of incidence 𝜃𝑐 = 90 − 𝜃r
● Applying Snell’s law of refraction at the point B we have
𝑛1 sin(90˚ − 𝜃𝑟) = 𝑛2 sin 90˚-----------------🡪4
𝑛1 cos 𝜃𝑟 = 𝑛2---------------------🡪5
cos 𝜃𝑟 = n2 / n1-----------------🡪6
Substituting equation (6) in equation (3) we have
sin 𝜃0 = n1 / n0 (√1 − 𝑛2 2 / 𝑛1 2)------🡪7
sin 𝜃0 = n1 / n0 (√ (𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2) / 𝑛1 2)------🡪8
sin 𝜃0 = (n1 / 𝑛1 n0) (√ (𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2))------🡪9
sin 𝜃0 =(√ (𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2)/ n0 ------🡪10
The medium surrounding the fibre is air, then no = 1 then eq 10 becomes
sin 𝜃0 =(√ (𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2) ------🡪11
Acceptance angle 𝜃0 = sin -1(√ (𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2) ------🡪12
Numerical Aperature NA= sin 𝜃0 -------------------🡪13
Acceptance angle 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽o < 𝑵𝑨
The maximum angle at or below which a ray of light can enter through one end
of the fibre still be total internal reflection is called as acceptance angle. The
cone is referred as acceptance cone.
Numerical Aperture (NA) Sine of the acceptance angle of the fibre is known as
numerical aperture. It denotes the light gathering capability of the optical fibre
Numerical Aperature NA= sin 𝜃0
Fractional Index Change (Δ) 𝑁𝐴 = sin 𝜃0 It is the ratio of refractive index
difference in core and cladding to the refractive index of core.
Numerical Aperture
● Numerical aperture in case of optical fiber
communication can be defined as- "The light
gathering (collecting) capacity of an optical
fibre".
● The numerical aperture provides important
relationship between acceptance angle and the
refractive index of the core and cladding
Numerical Aperture
● Numerical aperture in case of optical fiber
communication can be defined as- "The light
gathering (collecting) capacity of an optical
fibre".
● The numerical aperture provides important
relationship between acceptance angle and the
refractive index of the core and cladding
Problem 1:
● The Refractive Indices of core and cladding are 1.50 and 1.48 respectively in an
Optical Fiber. Find the Numerical Aperture and Acceptance Angle
 Problem 1:
The Refractive Indices of core and cladding are 1.50 and 1.48 respectively in an Optical Fiber.Find the Numerical Aperture
and Acceptance Angle
Problem 2
● An Optical Fiber has a core material with refractive index 1.55 and its cladding
material has a refractive index of 1.50.The Light is launched into it in air. Calculate its
numerical aperture, the acceptance angle and also fractional index change
2.An Optical Fiber has a core material with refractive index 1.55 and its cladding material has a refractive index of
1.50.The Light is launched into it in air.Calculate its numerical aperture,the acceptance angle and also fractional
index change
Ray Optics
● Optics is the study of light and its interaction with matter.
● Light is visible electromagnetic radiation, which transports energy and
momentum (linear and angular) from source to detector.
● Photonics includes the generation, transmission,
modulation,amplification,frequency conversion and detection of light.
● Ray optics is the simplest theory of light. Rays travel in optical media
according to a set of geometrical rules; hence ray optics is also called
geometrical optics.
● Ray optics is an approximate theory, but describes accurately a variety of
phenomena.
● Ray optics is concerned with the locations and directions of light rays, which
carry photons and light energy (They also carry momentum, but the
direction of the momentum may be different from the ray direction).
● It is useful in describing image formation, the guiding of light, and energy
transport.
Postulates of Ray Optics
1. Light travels in the form of rays .Rays are emitted by light
sources, and can be observed by light detectors.
2. An optical medium (through which rays propagate) is
characterized by a real scalar quantity n ≥ 1, called the
refractive index. The speed of light in vacuum is c = 3 ×
108m/s.The speed of light in a medium is v = c/n; this is the
definition of the refractive index. The time taken by light to
cover a distance d is t = nd/c; it is proportional to nd, which
is called the optical path length.
Postulates of Ray Optics
3. In an inhomogeneous medium, the refractive index n(r)
varies with
position; hence the optical path length OPL between two
points A and B is

where ds is an element of length along the path. The time t

taken by light to
go from A to B is t = OPL/c.
Postulates of Ray Optics
4.Light rays between the points A and B follow a path such
that the time of travel, relative to neighboring paths, is an
extremum (minimum). This means that the variation in the
travel time, or, equivalently,in the optical path lenght, is
zero. That is,

Usually, the extremum is a minimum; then light rays travel

along the path of least time. If there are many paths with
the minimum time, then light rays travel along all of these
simultaneously.
Types of Rays
Rays that Interact with surfaces
● An incident ray is a ray of light that strikes a surface. The
angle between this ray and the perpendicular or normal to
the surface is the angle of incidence
● The reflected ray corresponding to a given incident ray, is the
ray that represents the light reflected by the surface. The
angle between the surface normal and the reflected ray is
known as the angle of reflection. The Law of Reflection says
that for a specular (non-scattering) surface, the angle of
reflection is always equal to the angle of incidence.
Types of rays
● The refracted ray or transmitted ray corresponding to a given
incident ray represents the light that is transmitted through
the surface. The angle between this ray and the normal is
known as the angle of refraction, and it is given by Snell's
Law. Conservation of energy requires that the power in the
incident ray must equal the sum of the power in the refracted
ray, the power in the reflected ray, and any power absorbed
at the surface
● If the material is birefringent, the refracted ray may split into
ordinary and extraordinary rays, which experience different
indexes of refraction when passing through the birefringent
material.
Types of rays
● Meridional rays are rays that pass through the axis of the optical fiber. Meridional rays are used to
illustrate the basic transmission properties of optical fibers.
● The second type is called skew rays. Skew rays are rays that travel through an optical fiber without
passing through its axis.
● Meridional rays can be classified as bound or unbound rays. Bound rays remain in the core and propagate
along the axis of the fiber.
● Bound rays propagate through the fiber by total internal reflection. Unbound rays are refracted out of the
fiber core.
● Figure shows a possible path taken by bound and unbound rays in a step-index fiber. The core of the
step-index fiber has an index of refraction n1.
● The cladding of a step-index has an index of refraction n2 that is lower than n1.
● Figure assumes the core-cladding interface is perfect.
● However, imperfections at the core-cladding interface will cause part of the bound rays to be refracted out
of the core into the cladding.
● The light rays refracted into the cladding will eventually escape from the fiber. In general, meridional rays

follow the laws of reflection and refraction .

Skew Rays
● Skew rays are rays that travel through an optical fiber without passing
through its axis.
● Skew rays are those rays which follow helical path but they are not
confined to a single plane. Skew rays are not confined to a particular
plane so they cannot be tracked easily.
● Skew rays propagate without passing through the center axis of the
fiber. The acceptance angle for skew rays is larger than the
acceptance angle of meridional rays.
● Skew rays are often used in the calculation of light acceptance in an
optical fiber. The addition of skew rays increases the amount of light
capacity of a fiber.
● The addition of skew rays also increases the amount of loss in a fiber.
Skew rays tend to propagate near the edge of the fiber core. A large
portion of the number of skew rays that are trapped in the fiber core
are considered to be leaky rays.
Skew rays
Types of rays
Optical systems
● The marginal ray (sometimes known

as an a ray or a marginal axial ray) in

an optical system is the meridional
ray that starts at the point where
the object crosses the optical axis,
and touches the edge of the
aperture stop of the system.
Marginal rays are the rays which
passes through the maximum
aperture of the spherical mirror.
This means that they have a
Max angle with the principal axis.
Types of rays
● The principal ray or chief ray (sometimes
known as the b ray) in an optical system is the
meridional ray that starts at the edge of the
object, and passes through the center of the
aperture stop
● Sagittal ray or transverse ray
● Paraxial ray
● Parabasal ray
 REVIEW OF FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF OPTICS

• In free space, light travels at a speed of c=3*10^8m/s.

• Speed of light related to frequency v wavelength λ by
c=v λ
• The most important optical parameter of any
transparent medium is its refractive index n.
• It is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum
(c) to the speed of light in the medium (v).
n=c/v
As v is always less than c, n is always greater than 1.
Values of n are (1.00 for air, 1.33 for water, 1.50 for glass
, and 2.42 for diamond)
• The concepts of reflection and refraction can be interpreted
most easily by considering the behavior of light rays
associated with plane waves traveling in a dielectric
material.
• When a light ray encounters a boundary separating two
different media, part of the ray is reflected back into the
first medium and the remainder is bent (or refracted) as it
enters the second material.
• The bending or refraction of the light ray at the interface is a
result of the difference in the speed of light in two materials
that have different refractive indices.
• The relationship at the interface is known as Snell’s law
 Snell’s law.
• The phenomenon of refraction of light at the interface
between two transparent media of uniform indices of
refraction is governed by Snell’s law.
• Consider a ray of light passing from a medium of
refractive index n1 into a medium of refractive index n2
[Assume that n1 > n2 and that the angles of incidence
and refraction with respect to the normal to the
interface are, respectively, Φ1 and Φ2.Then, according
to Snell’s law
• As n1 > n2, if we increase the angle of incidence
Φ1, the angle of refraction Φ2 will go on increasing
until a critical situation is reached, when for a
certain value of Φ1 = Φc, Φ2 becomes π /2, and
the refracted ray passes along the interface.
• This angle Φ1 = Φc is called the critical angle.
• If we substitute the values of Φ1 = Φc and Φ2 = π /2 in
Eq ,

• we see that n1sin Φc = n2sin(π /2) = n2

• Thus sin Φc = n2/n1
• If the angle of incidence Φ1 is further increased
beyond Φc, the ray is no longer refracted but is
reflected back into the same medium. This is
ideally expected.
• This is called total internal reflection. It is this
phenomenon that is responsible for the
propagation of light through optical fibers.
• In practice, however, there is always some
tunnelling of optical energy through this interface.
The wave carrying away this energy is called the
evanescent wave.
• According to law of reflection the angle at which
incident ray strikes the interface is exactly equal to
the angle the reflected ray makes with the same
interface.
• Incident ray, normal to the interface, reflected ray all
lie in the same plane, which is perpendicular to the
interface plane between two materials.
• When light traveling in certain medium is reflected
off an optically denser material (one with high
refractive index), its called external reflection.
• Conversely, reflection of light off of less optically
dense material (such as light traveling in glass being
reflected at a glass-to-air interface) is called internal
reflection.
Condition required for total internal reflection can be determined by using
snell’s law.
Total internal reflection examples
 Problems
• Problem 1
• Consider the interface between a glass slab
with n1 = 1.48 and air for which n2 = 1.00.
What is the critical angle for light traveling in
the glass?
 • Solution
sin Φc = n2/n1
Φc=sin-1(n2/n1)
Φc =sin-1(1/1.48)
Φc = sin-1(0.678)
Φc = 42.5o
Thus any light ray traveling in the glass that is
incident on the glass–air interface at a normal angle
Φ1 greater than 42.5° is totally reflected back into
the glass.
• Problem 2
• A light ray traveling in air (n1 = 1.00) is incident
on a smooth, flat slab of crown glass, which
has a refractive index n2 = 1.52. If the
incoming ray makes an angle of Φ1 = 30.0°
with respect to the normal, what is the angle
of refraction Φ2 in the glass?
• Solution
From Snell’s law
n1sin Φ1 = n2sin Φ2
sin Φ2= (n1/n2)sin Φ1
sin Φ2= (1/1.52)sin30o
sin Φ2= 0.658x0.5=0.329
Φ2 = sin-1(0.329)=19.2o
 To Practice….
• An unknown glass has an index of refraction
of n=1.5 . For a beam of light originated in the
glass, at what angles the light 100% reflected
back into the glass. (The index of refraction of
air is nair=1.00).
 Total Internal Reflection Problems
• Problem (1): An unknown glass has an index of refraction of n=1.5 . For a
beam of light originated in the glass, at what angles the
light 100% reflected back into the glass. (The index of refraction of air
is nair=1.00).
 Total Internal Reflection Problems
Consider the optical fiber from Fig . The index of refraction of the inner
core is 1.480 , and the index of refraction of the outer cladding is 1.44.
A. What is the critical angle for the core-cladding interface?
B. For what range of angles in the core at the entrance of the fiber (q2) will the
light be completely internally reflected at the core-cladding interface?
C. What range of incidence angles in air does this correspond to?
D. If light is totally internally reflected at the upper edge of the fiber, will it
necessarily be totally internally reflected at the lower edge of the fiber
(assuming edges are parallel)?
Session 7 to 9
Optical fiber modes
• Optical fiber is classified into 2
categories
1. Number of modes
– Single Mode Fiber (SMF)
– Multi Mode Fiber (MMF)

2. Refractive Index
– Step Index (Single mode/ Multimode)

– Graded Index
Step Index Fiber
• The refractive index n1 of the core is uniform (constant) and
the refractive index n2 of the cladding is slightly lower than n1

• The refractive index profile for this type of fiber makes a step
change at the core-cladding interface

• Refractive index profile n(r) may be defined as

r- radial distance from the fiber axis

a – core radius

• The propagation of light wave within the core of step index

fiber takes the path of meridional ray. i.e. ray follows a zig-zag
path of straight line segments

• The core typically has diameter of 50-80 µm and the cladding

has a diameter of 125 µm.
 Graded-Index Fiber
• The core refractive index is made to vary as
a function of the radial distance from the
center of the fiber. This type is a
graded-index fiber.

• The index of refraction varies smoothly and

continuously over the diameter of the core

• The graded index has a core made from many

layers of glass

• In the graded index (GRIN) fiber the

refractive index is not uniform

• Within the core, it is highest at the center

and decreases smoothly and continuously with
distance towards the cladding.
 Graded-Index Fiber
• The refractive index profile across the core takes the parabolic nature.

• In graded index fiber the light waves are bent by refraction towards the core
axis and they follow the curved path down the fiber length.

• This results because of change in refractive index as they moved away from
the center of the core

• A graded index fiber has lower coupling efficiency and higher bandwidth than
the step index fiber. It is available in 50/125 µm and 62.5/125 µm sizes.

• The 50/125 µm fiber has been optimized for long haul applications and has a
smaller numerical aperture and higher bandwidth.

• 62.5/125 µm fiber is optimized for LAN applications which is costing 25 %

more than the 50/125 fiber cable.
Graded-Index Fiber
 Graded-Index Fiber Parameters
• The parameters defined for SI fibers ( NA, Δ, V) may be applied to GI
fibers and give comparison between two. However, in GI fibers situation is
more complicated because of radial variation of RI of core from the axis, NA
is also function of radial distance.
Local Numerical Aperture

Axial Numerical Aperture

Number of bounded modes in a Graded Index fiber

For parabolic profile core
(α=2), Mg=V2/4 🡪 Half the
number supported by Step
Index Fiber with the same V
value
Comparison between Step Index and Graded-Index Fiber
Sr.N Parameter Step Index Fiber Graded Index Fiber
o
1 Data rate Slow Higher
2 Coupling Efficiency Coupling efficiency with fiber Lower Coupling Efficiency
is higher
3 Ray Path By total internal reflection Light ray travels in oscillatory
fashion
4 Index Variation
5 Numerical Aperture NA remains same Changes continuously with
distance from fiber axis
6 Material Used Normally plastic or glass is Only glass is preferred
preferred
7 Bandwidth Efficiency 10-20 MHz/km 1 GHz/km
8 Pulse Spreading Pulse spreading by fiber is Pulse spreading is less
more
9 Attenuation of light Less, typically 0.34 dB/km at More, 0.6 to 1 dB/km at 1.3 um
1.3 um
10 Typical Light Source LED LED, Lasers
11 Applications Subscriber local network Local and wide area networks
communication
 Modes of Fiber
• Fiber cables can also be classified as per their mode
• Light rays propagate as an electromagnetic wave along the
fiber. The two components, the electric field and the
magnetic field form patterns across the fiber. These
patterns are called modes of transmission.

• The mode of a fiber refers to the number of paths for

the light rays within the cable. According to modes optic
fibers can be classified into two types

1. Single mode (or) mono mode fibers

2. Multimode fibers
 Single Mode Fibers
• Single mode fibers are designed to allow only one mode of propagation. All other modes
are attenuated either by leakage or absorption

• Single mode fibers are the best at retaining the fidelity of each light pulse over longer
distance also they do not exhibit dispersion caused by multiple modes

• The core diameter of the single mode fiber ranges from 8-12 µm and it has very small
index differences between the core and the cladding with a normalized frequency V =
2.405

• The core-cladding index difference varies between 0.2 and 1.0 %, and the core diameter
should be chosen to be just below the cutoff of the first higher order mode.

• For the single mode fiber operation, only LP 01 mode can exist, also known as the
fundamental mode of the fiber.

• Single mode propagation of the LP01 mode step index fiber is possible over the range 0 ≤
V ≤ 2.405
 Single mode fibers
Advantages:
• No intermodal dispersion

• Information capacity of single mode fiber is large. – More information can be

transmitted per unit of time.

• This gives single mode fiber have higher bandwidth compared to multimode
fiber
Disadvantages:

• Launching of light into single mode and joining of two fibers are very
difficult

• Precision required for single mode connectors and splices are more
demanding

• Fabrication is very difficult and hence the fiber so costly

 Mode-Field Diameter
• The mode field diameter (MFD) is an important parameter for characterizing single mode
fiber properties which takes into account when the wavelength dependent electromagnetic
field penetration into the fiber cladding.
• This parameter can be determined from the mode-field distribution of the fundamental LP 01
mode
• A variety of models for characterizing and measuring the MFD have been
proposed.

• The main consideration in all these methods is to approximate the electric

field distribution

• Consider Gaussian approximation for the field amplitude distribution in the

fiber as

Where r – is the radius of the field distribution

E0 is the field at zero radius
W0 is the width of the electric field distribution (or) spot size (or)
mode field radius
Mode-Field Diameter
 Propagation Modes in Single Mode Fibers
• The two independent degenerate modes propagate within the single mode
fiber. The modes are very similar but their polarizations planes are
orthogonal. These may be chosen arbitrarily as horizontal (H) and the
vertical (V) polarizations

• Either one of the two polarization modes constitutes the fundamental HE 11

mode.
 Propagation Modes in Single Mode Fibers

• In general the electric field of the light propagating along the

fiber is a linear superposition of these two polarization modes
and depends on the polarization of the light at the launching
point of the fiber.

• In ideal fibers with perfect rotational symmetry, these two

modes are degenerate with equal propagation constants (k x=ky),
and any polarization state injected into the fiber will propagate
unchanged.
 Birefringence
• When the polarization modes propagate with different phase
velocities and the difference between their effective
refractive indices is called the birefringence

Where nx – Effective refractive index of horizontal mode, and

ny - Effective refractive index of vertical mode

• The birefringence may also be defined as

• Bf= k0(ny-nx) k0=2π/λ is the free space propagation constant.

 Fiber Beat Length
• If the light is injected into the fiber so that modes are
excited, one mode is delayed in phase relative to the other as
they propagate

• When the phase difference between two modes is an integral

multiple of 2π,the two modes will beat at this point and the
input polarization will be reproduced. The length over which the
beating occurs is known as Fiber Beat Length
 Multimode fiber
• Multimode fiber was the first fiber type to be
manufactured and commercialized
• Multimode means – numerous modes (light rays) are
carried simultaneously though the waveguide
• In multimode, the light takes many paths through the
core
• Multimode fiber has a much larger diameter, compared
to single mode fiber, this allows large number of modes.
• The number of paths (modes) possible for a multimode
fiber cable depends on the frequency (wavelength) of
the light signal, the refractive indexes of the core and
cladding, and the core diameter.
 Multimode fiber
Mathematically, the number of propagation modes (N) in
multimode fiber is expressed as

Where, d – core diameter (meters)

Wavelength (meters)
n1 – Refractive index of core and
n2 – Refractive index of cladding
Advantages:
• The larger core radii as well as numerical
apertures of multimode fibers make it easier to
launch optical power into the fiber
• Connecting together of similar fibers are easy
• Light can be launched into a multimode fiber using
LED. Although LED’s have less optical output
power than laser diodes,
• LED’s are easier to make and less expensive and
have longer life times.
• Fabrication is less difficult and so fiber is not
costly.
Comparison between single mode and multimode fiber
Sl. Single Mode Fiber Multi Mode Fiber
No
1 Core diameter 2 to 10 µm Core diameter is greater than single
mode
Step Index : 50 µm to 400 µm
Graded Index : 30 µm to 100 µm
2 Cladding diameter : 125 µm Cladding diameter
Step Index : 125 to 500 µm
Graded Index : 100 to 150 µm
3 Propagation of only Multiple modes propagate
fundamental mode
4 No intermodal dispersion as Greater intermodal dispersion due to
only one mode is transmitted multiple modes
5 Superior transmission due to Modal noise is present
absence of modal noise
 Optic Fiber Configuration
Depending on the refractive index profile of fiber and
modes of fiber , three configurations are commonly used

Single mode- Step Index Fiber

Multimode step Index Fiber

Multimode Graded Index Fiber

Single Mode or Mono-mode Step Index Fiber
Single mode step index fibers are the dominant fibers used in
today’s telecommunications and data networking industries

A single mode step index fiber has a central core that is

significantly smaller in diameter than any of the multimode cables,
with a typical core size of 8 to 12 µm
Single Mode or Mono-mode Step Index Fiber

As the diameter is sufficiently small, there is essentially only one

path that light may take as it propagates down the cable

Advantage: Low intermodal dispersion (broadening of

transmitted light pulse) – due to one mode propagation

For very long distance transmission and maximum information

content, this cable should be used
 Multimode Step Index Fiber
• Multimode step index fiber are similar to single mode
step-index except the diameter of the center core, which is
much larger with the multimode configuration

• It is easy to manufacture.

• Core diameter is varying from 50 -200 µm and the cladding is

from 125-400 µm
 Multimode Step Index Fiber

• The light rays are propagated down the core in

a zig-zag manner. There are many paths that a
light ray may follow during the propagation

• Multimode step index fiber allow the

propagation of a finite number of guided modes
along the channel
 Multimode Graded Index Fiber
• Graded index fiber are characterized by a central core with a non-uniform
refractive index

• Multimode graded index fiber cables have several modes or paths of

transmission through the cable, but they are much more orderly and
predictable

• The index of refraction are varying continuously across the core and the light
rays are bent smoothly and converge repeatedly at points along the cable.
 Multimode Graded Index Fiber
• The light rays near the edge of the core take a longer
path but travel faster since the index of refraction is
smaller

• All the modes or light paths tend to arrive at one point

simultaneously. The result is that there is less modal
dispersion

• These fibers are easier to couple the light into and out
of the fiber than the single-index fibers but are more
difficult than the multimode step index fiber
Step Index and Graded Index – SMF and MMF