Communication system

Coupler De-Coupler
Signal Transmitter Propagating Channel Receiver

Earlier Days: microwaves (1mm to 1m) and radio waves ( 10m to 105m)

Low signal carrying capacity and more loss

Optical region of electromagnetic spectrum for communication

Range: 3900 A to 7500 A

High signal carrying capacity and less loss

 Optical Fibers Material: glass or plastic
Thickness: less than human hair

Glass optical fiber : core of Sio2, Geo2

cladding p2o5
Plastic optical fiber: core of polystyrene or PMMA
cladding Silicon resins
Optical Fiber is an optical transmission device which works on the principle of total internal
reflection.

Principle of Optical Fiber

When a light signal is directed at one end of the fiber at a suitable angle, it undergoes
repeated total internal reflection along the length of the fiber

glass or plastic plastic jacket

fiber core cladding
Parts Of Optical Fiber

• Core
• Glass or plastic with a higher index of
refraction than the cladding
• Carries the signal
• Cladding
• Glass or plastic with a lower index of
refraction than the core
• Buffer
• Protects the fiber from damage and
moisture
• Jacket
• Holds one or more fibers in a cable
Types of Optical Fiber (Based on core size)

Single Mode Step Multimode Fibre

Index Fibre

Multimode Multimode
Step Index Fibers Graded Index Fibers
Optical Fiber Modes
 Single Mode Step Index Fiber

• Single mode step index fiber has a core diameter of 8 to 9 microns

• Which only allows one light path or mode
•Single mode fibers have a lower signal loss and a higher information capacity

Index of
refraction
 Multimode Step-Index Fiber

• Multimode fiber has a core diameter of 50 to 100 microns (sometimes even

larger)
• Allows several light paths (~100) or modes
• This causes modal dispersion – some modes take longer to pass through the
fiber than others because they travel a longer distance.

Index of
refraction
 Multimode Graded-Index Fiber

• The index of refraction gradually changes across the core

• Modes that travel further also move faster
• This reduces modal dispersion so the bandwidth is greatly increased

Index of
refraction
Working of an Optical Fiber

• Optical fibers are based entirely on the principle of total internal reflection.
• Optical fiber is a long, thin strand of very pure glass about the diameter of a human hair.
• Optical fibers are arranged in bundles called optical cables and used to transmit light
signals over long distances.
Optical Fiber Parameters

▪ The acceptance angle: It is the maximum angle of a ray (against the fiber axis) hitting the
fiber core which allows the incident light to be guided by the core

▪ The acceptance cone: The maximum angle, represented in three-dimensional view as a

cone, at which an optical fiber will accept incident light

▪ The Numerical Aperture: The total light gathering capacity of an optical fiber

▪ The skip distance: The distance covered in the core between two successive reflection

▪ The V number: Normalized frequency gives a measure about the number of modes which
an optical fiber can support
Acceptance Angle (1)

❑ In order to propagate a light wave through an optical fiber, it is necessary to launch the light at angles that fall
within certain range

❑ The maximum limit of this angle is decided by the acceptance angle

Acceptance Angle (2)
❑ μ1 : refractive index of core
❑ μ2 : refractive index of cladding
❑ μ1 > μ2

❑ μ0 : refractive index of the medium from where light is incident in the fiber
❑ ϴ𝑖 : a light wave enters the fiber at this angle with the axis of the fiber
❑ ϴ𝑟 : the light wave gets refracted at this angle

❑ ϴ: after getting refracted the light wave strikes the core-cladding interface at this angle
Acceptance Angle (3)
❑ If ϴ is greater than the critical angle ϴ𝐶 , the wave undergoes total internal reflection at the interface, since
μ1 > μ2

❑ As long as the angle ϴ is greater than ϴ𝐶 , the light will stay within the core of the fiber

➢ In refraction, the light wave bends away from the normal when it propagates from a higher refractive index
medium to a lower refractive index medium

➢ The phenomenon of total internal reflection takes place when the angle of refraction becomes 90°

➢ The incident angle at which the angle of refraction (transmitting) is equal to 90° is called critical angle

➢ When a light wave propagating from a higher refractive index medium to a lower refractive index medium
has a sufficiently large angle, greater than the critical angle, the light gets reflected back into the same
medium

μ12 − μ22
sin ϴi max =
μ0
Acceptance Angle (4)
❑ If the incident wave of light is launched from air medium (for which μ0 = 1), sin ϴi max = ϴ0

μ12 − μ22 μ12 − μ22

sin ϴi max = ➔ sin ϴ0 = ➔ ϴ0 = sin−1 μ12 − μ2
2
μ0 1
❑ ϴ0 : acceptance angle of the fiber ➔ the maximum angle that a light wave can have relative to the axis of the
fiber for its propagation through the fiber

❑ The light wave contained within the cone having a full angle ϴ0 are accepted and transmitted along the fiber

❑ Therefore, the cone associated with the angle ϴ0 is called the acceptance cone

❑ The light incident at an angle beyond ϴ0 refracts through the cladding

Numerical Aperture (NA)
❑ NA is a measure of how much light can be collected by an optical system such as an optical fiber

❑ Based on the refractive indices of core and cladding, we can measure the values of NA

❑ It is defined as the sine of the acceptance angle if the end faces of the fiber are exposed to a medium for
which μ0 = 1 (air)

sin ϴ0 = μ12 − μ22

Skip Distance
❑ The light ray gets reflected from the walls of the fiber

❑ The distance between the two successive reflections of a ray of light propagating in the fiber (AB) is called the
skip distance Ls

Ls = d cot ϴr

2
μ1
Ls = d −1
μ0 sin ϴi

❑ 1/ Ls will give the total number of reflections made by the light ray in a given length of the fiber
Allowed Modes & Normalized Frequency (νn )
❑ It appears from the theory of acceptance cone that every ray shall propagate successfully once it enters the
fiber within its acceptance cone

❑ However, this is not the case always and only certain ray directions or modes are allowed to propagate
successfully

❑ Waves overlap and interfere with one another ➔ only those waves will sustain which satisfy a condition of
resonance

2
1 d
mm = π NA
2 λ

❑ The largest integer that is less than the parameter mm shall give the maximum number of modes that
propagate successfully in the fiber

1 2
mm = νn
2
V number in an optical fiber
Also termed as cut-off parameter

Gives a measure of the number of modes that an optical fiber can support

Given by

𝜋𝑑
𝑉= 𝑁𝐴
𝜆
For single mode fiber V < 2.405

For multimode fiber V > 2.405

Maximum number of modes supported by step index fiber ~ V2/2

Maximum number of modes supported by graded index fiber ~ V2/4

ATTENUATION/ Transmission loss: loss of optical power as light travels down a fiber.

❑ The decrease in signal strength along a fiber optic waveguide caused by absorption and
scattering is known as attenuation.

❑ Causes of Signal Loss

➢ Absorption Losses

➢ Scattering Losses

➢ Bending Losses

➢ Dispersion Losses
Attenuation:
❑ When light travels along the fiber, there is a loss of optical power, which is called attenuation

❑ Signal attenuation is defined as the ratio of optical input power (Pi ) to the output power (Po )

❑ Following relation defines the signal attenuation or absorption coefficient in terms of length L of the fiber

10 Pi
α= log10 (dB/km)
L Po

❑ Absorption losses over a length L of fiber can be described by the usual exponential law for light intensity

I = I0 e−αL
Relative Refractive Index (Δμr ):

NA = μ12 − μ22 = μ1 2 Δμr