Optical Communications

Semester 2/2005

Lecture 1

Introduction

What is lightwave technology?

Lightwave technology uses light as the primary medium to carry information. The light often is guided through optical fibers (fiberoptic technology). Most applications use invisible (infrared) light.

(HP)

Why lightwave technology?

Most cost-effective way to move huge amounts of information (voice, data) quickly and reliably. Light is insensitive to electrical interference. Fiberoptic cables have less weight and consume less space than equivalent electrical links.

(HP)

Use Of Lightwave Technology

Majority applications: Telephone networks Data communication systems Cable TV distribution Niche applications: Optical sensors Medical equipment

Basic Fiber-Optic System

Transmitter (laser diode or LED). Fiber-optic cable. Receiver (PIN diode or avalanche photodiode). Most fiber systems are digital but analog is also used.

Basic Link Design

Transmitter

Connector

Cable

Splice

Cable

Receiver

Typical Long-haul System

Two pairs of single-mode fiber

Terminal Equipment

Amplifier Unit

Amplifier Unit

Regenerator Unit Amplifier spans: Regenerator spans: Terminal spans:

Amplifier Unit

Terminal Equipment

30 to 120 km 50 to 600 km up to 600 km (without regenerators) up to 9000 km (with regenerators)

Typical Regenerator Unit

Pulse re-shaping & re-timing Modulation & bit rate dependent!

Power Supply

Telemetry & Remote Control

Typical Amplifier Unit

Optical Amplifiers Modulation & bit rate independent!

Power Supply

Telemetry & Remote Control

How fast is fiber optics?

(Light travels in fibers at about 2/3 the speed of light, but so do electrical signals in wire!)

Copper wire (twisted pair) up to ~ 100 Mb/sec (short distances)

1,500 phone calls 2 TV channels 2 Bibles/sec

Coaxial cable (also copper) Up to ~1 Gb/sec (short distances)

15,000 phone calls 20 TV channels (> 200 with data compression) 20 bibles/second

Optical Fiber up to 50 Tb/s (50,000 Gb/s) (long distances)

0.78 billion phone calls 1 million TV channels 1 million Bibles/second

Company Types
Component Manufacturers Lasers/LEDs, photodetectors, couplers, multiplexers, isolators, fibers, connectors Subsystem Manufacturers Transmitters, receivers, amplifiers (EDFA), repeaters System Manufacturers Point-to-point, SONET/SDH, WDM Installers & Service Providers Link signature, fault location

Port 1 Port 2 Port 3 Port 4

DWDM

COMMON

Physical Basics

LW Technology

The Carrier - Light

Particles
Conduction band Bandgap

Waves

Rays
n0 n1 n0

Valence band

Absorption Emission

Interference

Refraction Reflection

Light Properties - Wavelength

Field Strength

P
Distance

Wavelength P: distance to complete one sine wave

1000 pm (picometer) (millimeter) 1000 nm (nanometer) = 1 nm (nanometer) = 1 Qm (micrometer) 1000 Qm 1000 mm = 1 mm = 1 m (meter)

Electromagnetic Spectrum

1 kHz

1 MHz

1 GHz

1 THz

1 YHz

1 ZHz

Frequency Wavelength c= fPn

c: f: P n: Speed of light ( 2.9979 m/s ) Frequency Wavelength Refractive index (vacuum: 1.0000; standard air: 1.0003; silica fiber: 1.44 to 1.48)
1 Mm 1 km 1m 1 mm 1 nm 1 pm

LW Transmission Bands
Frequency Wavelength
(vacuum) Longhaul Telecom 1550 nm Regional Telecom Local Area Networks 850 nm 1310 nm
1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 m 193 229 353 461 THz

Near Infrared

UV

HeNe Lasers 633 nm CD Players 780 nm

Ultraviolet*

Wavelength and Color Names

blue green red Infra-red* *not visible to human eyes

400nm

500nm

600nm

700nm

850nm

1300nm

1550nm 850, 1300 and 1550 nm are local minima in the fiber transmission spectrum, wavelengths often used for fiber systems.

Wavelength (and color) can be controlled by type and amount of dopants (alloy materials) used to make the P and N sides of the light emitting diode. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) with visible light output are used for indicator lights, etc. LEDs with infra-red output used as electro-optic (EO) converters for step or graded index fibers Construction of two parallel semi-reflecting surfaces on the diode with proper spacing relative to desired wavelength produces enhancement of one wavelength, yielding almost monochromatic LASER radiation (laser diode -- LD), used for single-mode fiber Proper efficient coupling of light into the fiber core is a major design consideration as well (not discussed here)

Optical Power
Power (P): Transmitter: typ. -6 to +17 dBm (0.25 to 50 mW) Receiver: typ. -3 to -35 dBm (500 down to 0.3 W) Optical Amplifier: typ. +3 to +20 dBm (2 to 100 mW)

Laser safety International standard: IEC 825-1 United States (FDA): 21 CFR 1040.10 Both standards consider class I safe under reasonable forseeable conditions of operation (e.g., without using optical instruments, such as lenses or microscopes)

Snells Law
Demonstration with glass of water
no=1/co=IoQo :vacuum (or air) n1=1/c1=I1Qo :lower index medium n2=1/c2=I2Qo :higher index medium Snells law: n2Sin(D) = n1Sin(F) Angle of Reflected Ray R R=D and Sin(R)=Sin(D) Angle of Incident Ray D Incident ray power is partly in reflected ray, partly in refracted ray. Angle of Refraction F Line perpendicular to interface at point where ray intersects interface.

Material with higher dielectric constant I, slower wave speed, c2, larger index n2.

Material with lower dielectric constant I, faster wave speed, c1, smaller index n1.

Total Internal Reflection

When angle of incidence is beyond B, ~100% of optical power is reflected internally some sources measure angle from the perpendicular line rather than from the interface, so inequality is stated differently When you (or a fish) go under a smooth water surface (e.g., a swimming pool), you can see up to the air only inside of a circle. Outside that circle, you see only reflections from the surface.

Location of your (underwater) eye

What is an optical fiber?

Its basically, a highly transparent light pipe
High index Core

Input Light Total internal reflection up to many kilometers

Low index cladding

The Logarithmic Scale

dB
0 dB + 0.1 dB + 3 dB + 5 dB + 10 dB -3 dB -10 dB -20 dB -30 dB

= 10 log10 (P1 / P0)

=1 = 1.023 (+2.3%) =2 =3 = 10 = 0.5 = 0.1 = 0.01 = 0.001

dBm = 10 log10 (P / 1 mW)

0 dBm 3 dBm 5 dBm 10 dBm 20 dBm -3 dBm -10 dBm -30 dBm -60 dBm = 1 mW = 2 mW = 3 mW = 10 mW = 100 mW = 0.5 mW = 100 QW = 1 QW = 1 nW

Interference
Incoherent light adds up optical power Coherent light adds electromagnetic fields Zero phase shift: constructive interference 180 phase shift: destructive interference
+ + =

Coherence
Coherent light Photons have fixed phase relationship (laser light) Incoherent light Photons with random phase (sun, light bulb) Coherence length (CL) 1 Average distance over which photons lose their phase 1/e relationship
CL

Reflections
Reflections: root cause for many problems Return loss definition:

RL = 10 * log

P incident P reflected

Pi Pr

Polarization
Most lasers are highly polarized Degree of polarization (DOP): DOP = P polarized / P total y State of polarization (SOP): describes the orientation and rotation of the polarized light
SOP: linear vertical z

SOP: linear horizontal x

Brief quantum description of gain process

Optical Resonator

Focusing to overcome diffraction

Why use Guided Waves?

Optical Waveguides

Optical Waveguide Properties

Waveguide Principles
Waves propagating in a waveguide are called MODES

Perpendicular Polarised Wave Electric Field Transverse to the direction of Propagation (TE MODE) Parallel Polarised Wave Electric Field Parallel to the direction of Propagation (TM MODE)

A History of Fiber Optic Technology

The Nineteenth Century

John Tyndall, 1870 water and light experiment demonstrated light used internal reflection to follow a specific path William Wheeling, 1880 piping light patent never took off Alexander Graham Bell, 1880 optical voice transmission system called a photophone free light space carried voice 200 meters Fiber-scope, 1950s

Light

The Twentieth Century

Glass coated fibers developed to reduce optical loss Inner fiber - core Glass coating - cladding Development of laser technology was important to fiber optics Large amounts of light in a tiny spot needed 1960, ruby and helium-neon laser developed 1962, semiconductor laser introduced - most popular type of laser in fiber optics

core

cladding

The Twentieth Century (continued)

1966, Charles Kao and Charles Hockman proposed optical fiber could be used to transmit laser light if attenuation could be kept under 20dB/km (optical fiber loss at the time was over 1,000dB/km) 1970, Researchers at Corning developed a glass fiber with less than a 20dB/km loss Attenuation depends on the wavelength of light

The Twentieth Century /Present

Late 1970s, early 1980s: Second-generation technology Sources/receivers: visible and near-IR (600 to 920 nm) Fibers: individual multi-mode fiber Mid -1980s to present:: Third generation technology Sources/receivers: near-IR (1300, 1550 nm) Fibers: individual single-mode fibers Present: Fourth generation technology 1550 nm operation to use fiber amplifiers Several wavelengths per fiber (WDM) Wavelength addressable networks

Real World Applications

Military 1970s, Fiber optic telephone link installed aboard the U.S.S. Little Rock 1976, Air Force developed Airborne Light Fiber Technology (ALOF) Commercial 1977, AT&T and GTE installed the first fiber optic telephone system Fiber optic telephone networks are common today Research continues to increase the capabilities of fiber optic transmission

The Future
Fiber Optics have immense potential bandwidth (over 1 teraHertz, 1012 Hz) Fiber optics is predicted to bring broadband services to the home interactive video interactive banking and shopping distance learning security and surveillance high-speed data communication digitized video

Advantages of Fiber Optics

Immunity from Electromagnetic (EM) Radiation and Lightning Lighter Weight Higher Bandwidth Better Signal Quality Lower Cost Easily Upgraded Ease of Installation

Advantages of Fiber Optics

Why are fiber-optic systems revolutionizing telecommunications? Compared to conventional metal wire (copper wire), optical fibers are:

Less expensive Higher carrying capacity Less signal degradation. Less interference Low power losses Safer Lightweight Flexible HIGHER SPEED COMMUNICATIONS

Why Not Fibers?

Lack of bandwidth demand HDTV requires high bandwidth Lack of standards Telecomm industry Computer industry Radiation darkening Depends on dose, exposure, glass materials, impurity types and levels Clears with time

Fiber Optic Components - Fiber

Extremely thin strands of ultra-pure glass Three main regions center: core (9 to 100 microns) middle: cladding (125 or 140 microns) outside: coating or buffer (250, 500 and 900 microns)

Fiber Structure
Core and cladding are both transparent, usually glass, sometimes plastic. Core has higher index of refraction. Light propagates down the core, reflecting from cladding.

Fiber Communication

Fiber Optic Components - Light Emitters

Two types Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) Surface-emitting (SLED): difficult to focus, low cost Edge-emitting (ELED): easier to focus, faster Laser Diodes (LDs) narrow beam fastest

Communications Diode Laser & Modulator

Modulator Laser p-InP/InGaAs Current Blocking Layers n-InP substrate

Grating InGaAsP Multiquantum Well Layers

Frequency Stability~10-5 Lifetime >> 25 years

Maximum modulation speed ~ 40 GHz ( 25 psec ber bit) (hard to do) - but fibers can carry more information than this

Laser light and LED light compared

LED are an extended source; light appears as many independent light modes
each small element of the LED is spatially incoherent minimum focused size is an image of the LED and this is much larger than the core of a single-mode fibre and hence coupling efficiency is poor Multimode fibre is normally used with LED Multi-mode fibre

Ideal laser light is a single ordered light beam

It is spatially and temporally coherent Laser light can be focused to a very small spot
Single-mode fibre

Fiber Optic Components - Detectors

Two types Avalanche photodiode internal gain more expensive extensive support electronics required PIN photodiode very economical does not require additional support circuitry used more often

Refraction and reflection

Meaning of refractive index

Refractive index, n defined by:

Speed of light ,

c V! n

U1 U1
n1 n2

n1 sin U1 ! n2 sin U 2
Here n1 < n2

U2

Typical Fiber Construction

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
Hundreds or thousands of these optical fibers are arranged in bundles in optical cables. The bundles are protected by the cable's outer covering, called a jacket.

Typical Fiber Structure

Many fibers may be gathered in a protective covered cable, with steel or kevlar plastic rope (not shown) incorporated for pulling strength.
Lower index glass cladding

typical light ray

High index glass core

Plastic protective jacket, prevents mechanical damage to outside surface of fiber. Can be removed for splicing by cutting or dissolving. Typically color coded for identification of each fiber.

Principles of Operation - Refraction

Light entering an optical fiber bends in towards the center of the fiber refraction Refraction

LED or LASER Source

Principles of Operation - Reflection

Light inside an optical fiber bounces off the cladding reflection Reflection

LED or LASER Source

Principles of Operation - Critical Angle

If light inside an optical fiber strikes the cladding too steeply, the light refracts into the cladding - determined by the critical angle

Critical Angle

Principles of Operation - Angle of Incidence

Also incident angle Measured from perpendicular

Incident Angles

Principles of Operation - Angle of Reflection

Also reflection angle Measured from perpendicular

Reflection Angle

Principles of Operation - Angle of Refraction

Also refraction angle Measured from perpendicular

Refraction Angle

Principles of Operation - Angle Summary

Three important angles The reflection angle always equals the incident angle Refraction Angle

Incident Angles

Reflection Angle

Meridional ray representation

Principles of Operation - Index of Refraction

n = c/v c = velocity of light in a vacuum v = velocity of light in a specific medium light bends as it passes from one medium to another with a different index of refraction air, n is about 1 glass, n is about 1.4
Light bends in towards normal lower n to higher n Light bends away from normal - higher n to lower n

Principles of Operation - Snells Law

The amount light is bent by refraction is given by Snells Law:

n1sinU1 = n2sinU2
Light is always refracted into a fiber (although there will be a certain amount of Fresnel reflection) Light can either bounce off the cladding or refract into the cladding

Principles of Operation - Snells Law Example 1

Calculate the angle of refraction at the air/core interface Solution - use Snells law: n1sinU1 = n2sinU2 1sin(30) = 1.47sin(Urefraction) Urefraction = sin-1(sin(30)/1.47) Urefraction = 19.89 nair = 1 ncore = 1.47 ncladding = 1.45 Uincident = 30

Principles of Operation - Snells Law Example 2

Calculate the angle of refraction at the core/cladding interface Solution - use Snells law and the refraction angle from Example 1 1.47sin(90 - 19.89) = 1.45sin(Urefraction) Urefraction = sin-1(1.47sin(70.11)/1.45) Urefraction = 72.42 nair = 1 ncore = 1.47 ncladding = 1.45 Uincident = 30

Principles of Operation - Critical Angle Calculation

The angle of incidence that produces an angle of refraction of 90 is the critical angle n1sin(Uc) = n2sin() n1 = Refractive index of the core n1sin(Uc) = n2 n2 = Refractive index of the cladding Uc = sin-1(n2 /n1) Light at incident angles greater than the critical angle will reflect back into the core
Critical Angle, Uc

Principles of Operation - Acceptance Angle and NA

The angle of light entering a fiber which follows the critical angle is called the acceptance angle, E E = sin-1[(n12-n22)1/2] Numerical Aperture (NA) describes the light- gathering ability of a fiber NA = sinE
Critical Angle, Uc

n1 = Refractive index of the core n2 = Refractive index of the cladding

Acceptance Angle, E

Numerical Aperture (NA)

Acceptance / Emission Cone

NA

= sin U

n2core - n2cladding

Principles of Operation - Acceptance Cone

There is an imaginary cone of acceptance with an angle E The light that enters the fiber at angles within the acceptance cone are guided down the fiber core
Acceptance Angle, E Acceptance Cone

 For example, a typical silica fibre has n1=1.48 and n2 =1.45 giving an NA of 0.3. For a large (extended) source, such as an LED, which also emit light over a wide range of angles, the product of the NA and the fibre entrance aperture area determines the fraction of the LED output light that can be coupled into the LED. Normally this fraction is small.
LED

A laser is effectively a very small source (it is said to be spatially coherent) and can be matched to the fibre to give high power coupling efficiency
LASER

Principles of Operation - Formula Summary

Index of Refraction Snells Law

c n! v n1 sin U1 ! n2 sin U 2

Critical Angle

n2 U c ! sin n 1
1 2 E ! sin 1 n12  n2

Acceptance Angle

Numerical Aperture

2 N ! sin E ! n12  n2

Basic Step-Index (SI) Fiber Design

Most common designs: 100/140 or 200/280 Qm Plastic optical fiber (POF): 0.1 - 3 mm , core 80 to 99% Cladding Core
Refractive Index (n)
1.480 1.460
100 Qm 140 Qm

Primary coating (e.g., soft plastic)

Diameter (r)

Representative Fiber Parameter Values

Fiber Types

SM step index

MM step index MM graded index

Multi-mode (Step-index), Graded Index, Single Mode

Cross sectional views ( should be circles*) Multi-mode Graded Index Single Mode
125Qm

~80Qm Accurate alignment less needed for splicing. Higher loss. Major time dispersion of short optical pulses due to different geometric paths. Less used today, but historically important. Accurate alignment less needed for splicing. Higher loss. Reduced dispersion due to lower wave speed in central rays, higher wave speed (lower index) in outer part of core. Used for last mile and service drops with single mode for long runs.

~10Qm Accurate alignment needed for splicing. Best low loss. Most widely used fiber type for long spans.

*non-circularity is an artifact of computer artwork software

Mechanical structure of single-mode and multimode step/graded index fibers