Topic 14

OPTICAL FIBER
COMMUNICATIONS
Presented by: TORRES, JEROME B.
Optical Fiber Communication
• Optical fiber (fiber optics)
– refers to the medium and the technology associated
with the transmission of information as light
pulses along a glass or plastic strand or fiber.
• Fiber-optic cable
– A thin glass or plastic cable that acts as a “light
pipe”
– The light propagates through it depends upon the
law of optics
Electromagnetic Frequency
Spectrum
Review: Optical Principles
• Physical optics
– Refers to the ways that light can be processed.
Reflection
• The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection (Law of reflection)
Refraction
• bending of a light ray that occurs when the light
ray pass from one medium to another
• Index of refraction (n)
– The ratio of speed of light in air to the speed of
light in the substance.
o Note: na=1, nw=1.3, ng=1.5

• Snell’s law: n1sinA= n2sinB

• Critical angle: angle of incidence wherein the angle
of refraction is equal to 90 degrees to the normal.
• Total internal reflection: the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle. And also occurs only
in materials in which the velocity of light is slower
than that in air.
 OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

• Core – thin glass center of the fiber where the light travels
• Cladding – outer optical material surrounding the core that
reflects the light back into the core
• Buffer coating – plastic coating that protects the fiber from
damage and moisture.
ANSI/EIA/TIA 568 Buffer Color
Standard
Principles On How Light Propagates
Within A Fiber Optic Cable
 Basic Ways Of Classifying Fiber-
Optic Cable
• Index of refraction
– Step index refers to the fact that there is a sharply
defined step in the index of refraction where the
fiber core and the cladding interface.
– Graded index, the index of refraction of the core is
not constant.
• Mode
– refers to the number of paths for the light ray in the
cable
– Single mode or multimode.
Step index cross section cable Graded index cable cross section
 Types Of Optical Fiber Cable
• Single-mode step index fiber
– Minimum signal dispersion; higher TX rate
possible
– Difficult to couple light into fiber; highly directive
light source (e.g. laser) required; expensive to
manufacture
 Types Of Optical Fiber Cable
• Multi-mode step index fiber
– Inexpensive; easy to couple light into fiber
– Result in higher signal distortion; lower TX rate
 Types Of Optical Fiber
• Multi-mode graded-index fiber
– Intermediate between the other two types of fibers
 Numerical Aperture
• Numerical aperture (NA)
– This is a number less than 1 that gives some
indication of the range of angles over which a
particular cable will work.
– NA can be calculated with the expression
𝑁𝐴 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐
𝑁𝐴 = 𝑛1 2 − 𝑛2 2
 Typically, numerical aperture for common cables
are 0.275 and 0.29
Examples Of Connectors
 Sample problem
The numerical aperture of a fiber-optic cable is
0.29. what is the critical angle?
 Sample problem
The numerical aperture of a fiber-optic cable is
0.29. what is the critical angle?

𝑁𝐴 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐
0.29= 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑐
𝜃𝑐 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 0.29
𝜃𝑐 = 16.86°
 Sample problem
• A fiber optic cable has a bandwidth rating of
600 Mhz-km. what is the bandwidth of a 500-
ft segment of cable ?
 Losses in fiber optic cable
• The various losses in the cable are due to
– Bending
– Absorption
– Scattering
– Dispersion
 Bending losses
The loss which exists when an optical fiber
undergoes bending is called bending losses.
There are two types of bending
i) Macroscopic bending
– Bending in which complete fiber undergoes bends
which causes certain modes not to be reflected and
therefore causes loss to the cladding.
ii) Microscopic Bending
– Either the core or cladding undergoes slight bends at
its surface. It causes light to be reflected at angles
when there is no further reflection.
 Absorption Loss
• Absorption of light energy due to heating of
ion impurities results in dimming of light at the
end of the fiber.
Two types:
1. Intrinsic Absorption
2. Extrinsic Absorption
• Intrinsic Absorption:
– Caused by the interaction with one or more
components of the glass
– Occurs when photon interacts with an electron in
the valence band & excites it to a higher energy
level near the UV region.
• Extrinsic Absorption:
– Also called impurity absorption.
– Results from the presence of transition metal ions
like iron, chromium, cobalt, copper & from OH
ions i.e. from water.
Absorption Losses In Optic Fiber
 Dispersion Loss
As an optical signal travels along the fiber, it
becomes increasingly distorted.
This distortion is a sequence of intermodal and
intramodal dispersion.
Two types:
1. Intermodal Dispersion
2. Intramodal Dispersion
 Principle of Dispersion
• Dispersion is the spreading of light pulses as
they travel down optical fiber. Dispersion results
in distortion of the signal which limits the
bandwidth of the fiber.
• The resulting effect is the broadening of the
signal and the consequent interference.
 Modal dispersion
• Intermodal Dispersion:
– Pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion
results from the propagation delay differences
between modes within a multimode fiber.
• Intramodal Dispersion:
– It is the pulse spreading that occurs within a
single mode.
• Material Dispersion
• Waveguide Dispersion
1) Material Dispersion:
–Also known as spectral dispersion or
chromatic dispersion.
–Results because of variation due to
Refractive Index of core as a function
of wavelength, because of which pulse
spreading occurs even when different
wavelengths follow the same path.
Chromatic Dispersion
 Sample problem
A measurement is made on a fiber-optic cable
1200 ft long. Its upper frequency limit is
determined to be 43Mbps. What is the dispersion
factor d ?
1
Note: 𝑅 = ;
5𝑑𝐷
R=transmission rate
d=dispersion;
D=distance
 Sample problem
A measurement is made on a fiber-optic cable
1200 ft long. Its upper frequency limit is
determined to be 43Mbps. What is the dispersion
factor d ?
1km=3247ft.
D=1200ft=1200/3274=0.367km
1
𝑅=
5𝑑𝐷
1
d= 6 = 12.7𝑛𝑠/𝑘𝑚
5(43𝑥10 )(0.367)
Applications
 OPTICAL FIBER VS. COPPER
WIRE
• Thinner • Lightweight
• Higher carrying • Flexible
capacity – Medical imaging
• Less signal degradation – Mechanical imaging
• Light signals – Plumbing
• Low power
• Digital signals
• Non-flammable
 Disadvantage
• Higher initial cost in installation & more
expensive to repair/ maintain
References:
• Principles of electronic communication
systems, third edition. Louis E Frenzel Jr. by
McGraw Hill

• https://xa.yimg.com/df/jbcardenas/Com3g-
WG-2015.pdf
END!!