Fiber Characterization in Singlemode Optical Networks

Optical Return Loss

ORL is the ratio (expressed in dB) of reflected power to incident power from a fiber optic system or a link. The reflected power is due to Fresnel reflections or changes in the index of refraction.

IEC 61300-3-6 Fiber optic interconnecting devices and passive components Basic test and measurement - Part 3-6: Examinations and measurements - Return loss

OTDR Method
Connector
OTDR

OCWR Method
OCWR

Fiber Characterization Test Requirements Summary

This table is greatly simplified and each user must review and modify it in accordance with their specific Network Element equipment and application.
FUT Termination Plug

Optical Time Domain Reflectometry

Fibers joined using splices and connectors provoke two types of attenuation: loss and reflectance. There are both due essentially to Fresnel reflections.

IEC 61786 Calibration of optical time-domain reflectometers (OTDR) GR-196 Generic Requirements for Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) Type Equipment ITU-T G650.1 Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable

OTDR

Pinc

Prefl

Why measure loss and reflectance?

Splices and connectors are important components to be tested as their losses and reflectances are having a strong impact on the link quality. Tests can be performed during installation or for commissioning.

Pulsed Laser Souce Coupler Optical Receiver

FUT

Ptrans
Pulsed Laser Souce Coupler FUT Light Souce Coupler Optical Power Meter

The OTDR injects a short,intense laser pulse into the optical fiber and measures the backscatter and reflection of light as a function of time.Its then analyzed to determine the location of any fiber optic breaks or splice losses.

ORL = 10 log ( Pinc /Prefl)

Optical Receiver

Test
The OTDR launches light pulses into the device under test and collects backscatter information as well as Fresnel reflections.

STM-16/OC-48 1550 1310/1550 nm 1550 nm 1310/1550 nm

STM-16/OC-48 DWDM 1550/1625 nm 1550 nm 1550/1625 nm

STM-64/OC-192 1550 1310/1550 nm 1550 nm 1310/1550 nm

STM-64/OC-192 DWDM 1550/1625 nm 1550 nm 1550/1625 nm

Equipment Reqd PM & LS or OFI OFI (w/ORL option) 2 or 3 Lambda OTDR (5026 or 5036HD) BB Source and OSA BB Source, OSA, and Polarizer 4 Lambda OTDR (5083CD)

Techs Reqd 2E 1E (Note 6) 1E

Testing Recommended Bi Bi (Note 8) Bi (Note 9)

Connector Pair OTDR

Fusion Splice

Connector Pair

Fiber Bend

Mechanical Splice

Fiber End

Why measure ORL?

It is essential to measure backreflection when installing and maintaining networks to ensure proper stability of the lasers and their central wavelength.

The OCWR launches a stable,continuous wave signal into the optical fiber and measures the strength of the time-integrated return signal.

Insertion Loss Return Loss (Note 1) Physical Plant Verification (Incl. Connector/Splice/Point Reflectance/Localized Loss) Spectral Attenuation (Note 2) PMD (Note 3, Note 4)

Typical Values
Mechanical splice: 0.4 dB Fusion splice: 0.1 dB UPC connector: Loss: 0.3 dB, Reflectance: -50 dB APC connector: Loss: 0.3 dB, Reflectance: -65 dB
Attenuation (dB)

No <80 km not required unless pre-1993 fiber Not required >150 km

1550/1625 nm <80 km not required unless pre-1993 fiber Not required >150 km

Typical Values
Requirement: -27 dB Objective: -40 dB

CD (Note 5)

No Pre-1993 required, 93-97 required if >50 km, post 97 required >80 km Recommended

1550/1625 nm Pre-1993 required, 93-97 required if >50 km, post 97 required >80 km Recommended

2E 2E

Uni Uni

Distance (km)

1E (Note 7)

Uni

See Note 10 One ended test Two ended test (two technicians) Unidirectional Bidirectional

Attenuation Profile

Legend: CWDM 1E 2E Uni Bi

Note 1: Note 2:

Insertion Loss/ Bi-directional Insertion Loss

Insertion Loss is the loss in the power of a signal that results from inserting a passive component (connectors, splices. . .) into a continuous path.

IEC 60512-25-2 Connectors for electronic equipment Tests and measurements - Part 25-2: Test 25bAttenuation (insertion loss) IEC 61300-3-34 Fiber optic interconnecting devices and passive components - Basic test and measurement ITU-T G650.1 Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable

FUT

It has to be taken into account in transmission system design (input power, receiver sensitivity).

Power Meter/ Light Source

Power Meter/ Light Source

Insertion Loss testing is typically performed with a power meter and a 2-lamba or a 3-lamba light source.Automatic bi-directional test sets obtain accurate measurements and save time.

Attenuation (dB/km)

Why measure IL?

This is the CW Return Loss test (direct measured). This test is sometimes not performed and the OTDR Return Loss value (calculated) is accepted. This test is often not performed providing the limits of the spectrum to be used are tested for insertion loss to ensure there will be no adverse effects from bending loss, i.e., if insertion loss is tested at one wavelength higher than the highest used wavelength, this test may be omitted in many cases. Note 3: The guidelines for when testing is required are for example only and may vary by application, e.g., the test may be guardbanded from the TIA recommendations or the user may apply a Power Penalty to results greater than the limits specified by the TIA. Example: If the PMD (OC-192) is >10 ps but less than 13 ps, add 1 dB to the system budget loss. Note 4: This test is dynamic and it is recommended to perform multiple tests over a period of time. Note 5: CD test limits and cases where CD testing would be recommended are highly dependent on the Network Element (NE) equipment specifications. Please consult your NE provider for these limits and recommendations. Note 6: While this test is generally one ended, at short distances, an open connector at the far end may generate enough reflectance to skew the results. In this case, a technician may apply a terminator or mandrel wrap at the far end during the test. Note 7: While this test is normally one ended, at longer distances, a 0 dB reflector may be required at the far end to increase dynamic range of the test set. For low fiber count testing, these may be applied in multiples and left in place during testing (vs. moved from fiber to fiber during testing) so that the test remains one ended. Note 8: Theoretically, this test only needs to be performed from the Transit End, however at the time of test this is often not well known. Testing ORL on fiber pairs to be used for SONET transmission can lead the user to select the direction pair with the lowest ORLs for transmitter placement. Note 9: While this test is one ended, it is recommended that it be performed from both ends and the results analyzed using appropriate software (OFS-100 or OFS-200). This is not always done. Note 10: For CWDM, you can use the recommended tests from column 2 with one exception. CWDM operates from the 1200s to 1600s so you should do your loss tests at a lower bandwidth and increase your spectral analysis test range.

Attenuation is the loss of signal power caused by material absorption, impurities, waveguide geometry, and scattering.

IEC 60793-1-40 Measurement methods and test procedures

FUT Broadband Source OSA

Why measure attenuation?

For DWDM systems, it is important to obtain the spectral attenuation of the band used for transmission, as this will have an impact on channel equalization as well as amplifier specifications if they are implemented in the network.

Spectral Attenuation testing is performed using a broadband source and optical spectrum analyzer.The OSA is like a wavelength-selective power meter.It records the source spectrum (taken as reference) and compares it with the spectrum of the source at the link output.

10

Typical Values
1260 nm 1360 nm: 0.35 dB/km 1530 nm 1565 nm: 0.22 dB/km 1565 nm 1625 nm: 0.25 dB/km
0 850 1310 Wavelength (nm) 1550

Typical Values
Mechanical splice: 0.4 dB Fusion splice: 0.1 dB PC connector: 0.3 dB APC connector: 0.5 dB

Chromatic Dispersion

Fiber Test Products

Fiber Characterization
MTS/T-BERD 8000

Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

Bi-directional Insertion Loss, ORL, and Optical Power Measurements

MTS-5100

OFI-2000

Polarization Mode Dispersion

The different wavelengths composing the light travel at different velocities due to the variation of index of refraction in the fiber. Limiting the transmission speed and distance of the networks, it broadens pulse.

IEC 60793-1-42 Optical fibres - Part 1-42: Measurement methods and test procedures - Chromatic dispersion ITU-T G650.1 Definitions and test methods for linear, deterministic attributes of singlemode fibre and cable
CD Limits According to Bit Rate Bit Rate Per Channel SDH SONET Equivalent Timeslot Maximum Allowable Time Delay at 1550 nm Total Allowable Dispersion Coefficient at 1550 nm for a Given Link (Not Normalized to 1 km) N/A N/A N/A N/A 12000 to 16000 ps/nm 800 to 1000 ps/nm 60 to 100 ps/nm

PMD (or average DGD) is caused by the differential arrival time of the different polarization modes (horizontal and vertical) transmitted into a fiber caused by its birefringence. PMD broadens transmission pulse and is critical for high bit rate transmission.

IEC 60793-1-48 Optical fibres - Part 1-48: Measurement methods and test procedures - Polarization mode dispersion ITU-T G650.2 Definitions and test methods for statistical and non-linear attributes of singlemode fibre and cable

Distance

PMD Limits According to Bit Rate Bit Rate Per Channel SDH N/A STM-1 STM-4 N/A STM-16 STM-64 STM-256 SONET OC-1 OC-3 OC-12 OC-24 OC-48 OC-192 OC-768 Equivalent Timeslot 19.3 ns 6.43 ns 1.61 ns 803 ps 401 ps 100 ps 25.12 ps PMD Delay Limit 2 ns 640 ps 160 ps 80 ps 40 ps 10 ps 2.5 ps PMD Coefficient for 400 km <96 <32 <8 <4 <2 <0.25 <0.125

V2

DGD

V1

Insertion Loss, ORL, and Optical Power Meassurements

SMART Optical Handheld Meters

Optical Fiber Trace and Cable Software

OFS Family

The second order PMD gives the delay created by the PMD variation linked to the wavelength, and therefore is interesting to know for DWDM systems.Second order PMD has to be added to chromatic dispersion figures,and therefore is limiting the link distance.

CD Value (ps./nm.km)

55 Mbps 155 Mbps 622 Mbps 1.2 Gbps 2.5 Gbps 10 Gbps 40 Gbps

Complete CWDM/DWDM test solution OTDR, insertion loss, and power level testing Spectral attenuation profile CD and PMD testing Full spectrum OSA

Automatic bi-directional measurements (total link loss, ORL, link distance) and power level Power levels up to +26 dBm 1310, 1490, 1550, 1625 nm laser sources

Ideally suited for FTTx/PON applications Fault locator and traffic detection Multimode, singlemode OTDR, and optical loss test set

Why measure CD?

CD must be measured during fiber and cable manufacturing and also during the installation process to check the value. Its also very important to know the level of chromatic dispersion present in the network to add in line modules, such as amplifiers, add/drop multiplexers. . . or before any compensation process.

51 Mbps 155 Mbps 622 Mbps 1.2 Gbps 2.5 Gbps 10 Gbps 40 Gbps

N/A STM-1 STM-4 N/A STM-16 STM-64 STM-256

OC-1 OC-3 OC-12 OC-24 OC-48 OC-192 OC-768

19.3 ns 6.43 ns 1.61 ns 803 ps 401 ps 100 ps 25.12 ps

5.9 ns 1.97 ns 492 ps 246 ps 123 ps 30 ps 7.8 ps

40 30 G.654 Cut-off Shifted G652 Standard SMF (Unshifted Dispersion) G656 Non-Zero Dispersion for Wideband Transport G655 Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted SMF G653 Dispersion Shifted SMF

Fiber Types
20 10 0 -10 -20 -30

Field PMD Test Equipment

FUT Broadband Source Polarizer Variable Polarizer OSA

Field CD Test Equipment

FUT OTDR

Why measure PMD?

PMD measurement shall be at least performed when the bit rate is equal or higher than 10 Gbps. However, for some applications, such as analog cable TV applications, lower transmission bit rates can be affected by PMD.

1000

1100

1200

1310

1400

1480

1550 1600

Wavelength (nm)

A polarized light is sent over the FUT and the transmitted spectrum is analyzed through a polarizer.The analysis of the fixed-analyzer response is shifted to the time domain by taking the Fourier transform. The mean DGD is calculated from the Gaussian distribution.

Typical Values
For a new fiber - Max PMD: 0.2 ps/km

Automatic OTDR, DWDM, PMD, and CD trace analysis Bi-directional and multiple trace analysis

Power Meters Optical Laser Sources Level Attenuators

The OTDR sends four (or more) wavelengths over the FUT.The time delay between the different wavelengths at the end of the link is measured.The chromatic dispersion of the tested fiber is then calculated using the right nonlinear regression.

1 1 1 1 2 3 4

Note: Specifications, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. 30137200 000 1005 FIBERCHAR.PO.FOP.TM.AE

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