Experiment 1

Fiber Optic Analog and Digital Links

OBJECTIVE The objective of this experiment is to set up an 850nm fiber optic analog link & a 850nm/650nm igital link an to observe the linear relationship bet!een the input signal an the receive signal COMPONENT !E"#I!ED "#T T!o channel$ %0 &'( "scilloscope #unction generator$ 1'( ) 10 &'( "ptical fiber * 1m$ +m ,robes an other accessories T$EO!% #iber)optic communication is a metho of transmitting information from one place to another b- sen ing pulses of light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier !ave that is mo ulate to carr- information. The process of communicating using fiber)optics involves the follo!ing basic steps/ 0reating the optical signal involving the use of a transmitter$ rela-ing the signal along the fiber$ ensuring that the signal oes not become too istorte or !eak$ receiving the optical signal$ an converting it into an electrical signal. "ptical fiber is use b- man- telecommunications companies to transmit telephone signals$ 1nternet communication$ an cable television signals. 2ue to much lo!er attenuation an interference$ optical fiber has large a vantages over existing copper !ire in long) istance an high) eman applications. 3n optical fiber is a flexible$ transparent fiber ma e of a pure glass 4silica5 not much !i er than a human hair. 1t functions as a !avegui e$ or 6light pipe6$ to transmit light bet!een the t!o en s of the fiber. "ptical fiber t-picall- inclu es of a transparent core surroun e b- a transparent cla ing material !ith a lo!er in ex of refraction. 7ight is kept in the core b- total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a !avegui e. #ibers that support man- propagation paths or transverse mo es are calle multi)mo e fibers 4&&#5$ !hile those that onl- support a single mo e are calle single)mo e fibers 48&#5. &ulti)mo e fibers generall- have a larger core iameter$ an are use for short) istance communication links an for applications !here high po!er must be transmitte . 8ingle)mo e fibers are use for most communication links longer than 1$050 meters 4+$990 ft5. P!OCED#!E &i' etting (p an Analog Link 1. 8et the s!itch 8:8 to the 3;37"< position. 8!itch the po!er on. %. #ee a 1=,), 4peak)to)peak5 sinusoi al signal at 1>'( ?!ith (ero .c.@$ from a function generator$ to the 3;37"< 1; post ,11 using the follo!ing proce ure/ i5 0onnect a A;0)A;0 cable from the function generator to the A;0 socket 1/"+. ii5 0onnect the signal post 1/"+ to the 3;37"< 1; post ,11 using a patch cor . :ith this$ the signal from the function generator is fe through to the 3;37"< 1; signal post ,11 from the 1/"+ A;0 socket. +. 0onnect one en of the 1m fiber to the 7E2 8ource 7E21 in the "ptical Tx1 block an the other en to the ,1; photo etector ,21 in the receiver block. 9. 5. The ,1; etector output signal is available at ,+% in the optical Bx1 block. =ar- the input signal level riving the 7E2 an observe the receive signal at the ,1; etector. ,lot the receive signal peak)to)peak amplitu e !ith respect to the input signal peak)to)peak amplitu e. The ,1; etector signal at ,+% is amplifie $ !ith amplifier gain controlle b- the <31; potentiometer. :ith a +=,), input signal at ,11$ observe the output at ,+1 b- var-ing the gain potentiometer. 4;ote that the signal at ,+1 gets clippe belo! 0= an above +.5= 5

ANALO) LIN*

"ptical Beceiver Alock "ptical Tx)er. Aolck. #<

4C1=p)p$ 1>'(5 Optical Fiber

<ain control ,21 ,+1 0B"

7E21 850nm ,11 3nolog 1n

,+%

DI)ITAL LIN*

"ptical Tx)er Alock #< 4TT7 "utput5 7E21A/ 7E2% 850nm 650nm 3 A 3 86

"ptical #iber

<ain control ,21 ,+% ,+% comp A 3 8%6 0B"

&ii' etting #p a Digital Link at +,- n. 1. %. +. 8et the s!itch 8:8 to the 21<1T37 position. 0onnect a 1m optical fiber bet!een 7E21 an the ,1; io e ,21. Bemove the shorting plugs of the co e ata shorting links$ 86 in the &anchester co er block an 8%6 in the 2eco er & clock recover- block. Ensure that the shorting plug of jumper D,% is across the posts A & 31 ?for ,21 receiver selection@. 9. #ee a TT7 signal of about %0>'( from the function generator to post A of 86. 4Ese the A;0 1/"s for fee ing an observing signals as escribe earlier5. 5. "bserve the receive analog signal at the amplifier post ,+1 on channel 1 of the oscilloscope 6. "bserve the receive signal at post 3 of 8%6 on channel % of the oscilloscope !hile still observing the signal at ,+1 on channel 1 ?trigger the oscilloscope on channel 1@. ;ote that the signal at 8%6 is the inverte version of the signal at ,+1. !E #LT/ Thus the analog link an the igital link using the given optical fiber is set up an input$ output signals are observe an plotte . VIVA "(estions/ 1. :hat are the a vantages of optical fiber over other conventional transmission me iaF %. :hat are the !avelengths !in o!s over !hich the optical fiber operateF +. :hat are the t-pes of optical fibersF 9. :hat is meant b- gra e in ex profileF 5. :hat is the isa vantage of multimo e fiberF :h-F 6. :hat are the principal sources of light use in "#0 s-stemF G. 2efine refractive in ex. 8. 2efine critical angle an total internal reflection. H. <ive the refractive in ices of air$ !ater$ glass an iamon . 10. 1 entif- the t-pe of fiber -ou use in the lab.

Experiment + Losses in Optical Fiber

OBJECTIVE The objective of this experiment is to measure the losses 4,ropagation loss$ Aen ing loss an 0oupling loss5 in an optical fiber communication link. E"#IPMENT !E"#I!ED "#T T!o channel$ %0&'( "scilloscope #unction generator$ 1 '( ) 10 &'( #iber alignment unit T$EO!% There are ifferent reasons for light losses !hich ma- occur uring transmission of light signal insi e the fiber or uring the interconnection process of t!o fibers. 1. 3bsorption 7oss 7ight travels best in clear substances. 1mpurities such as metal particles or moisture in the fiber can block some of the light energ-$ it absorb the light an issipate it in the form of heat energ-$ !hich cause absorption loss. The solution is to use ultra)pure glass an opant chemicals to minimi(e impurities$ an to eliminate loss at the !ater peak !avelength uring the process of fiber manufacturing. %.Aen ing 7oss Aen ing losses occurs in t!o forms ) macroben ing an microben ing. :hen a cable is bent an it isrupts the path of the light signal. The tighter the ben s of a cable$ the greater it is of the light loss. &acroben s/ &acroben s escribes the ben ing of the fiber optic cable in a tight ra ius. The ben curvature creates an angle that is too sharp for the light to be reflecte back into the core$ an some of it escapes through the fiber cla ing$ causing optical loss. This optical po!er loss increases rapi l- as the ra ius is ecrease to an inch or less. &icroben s/ &icroben s refer to minute but sever ben s in fiber that result in light isplacement an increase loss$ it t-picall- cause b- pinching or sIuee(ing the fiber. &icroben s eform the fiberJs core slightl-$ causing light to escape at these eflections. &ost microben ing can be avoi e b- the correct selection of materials an proper cabling$ han ling$ an installation techniIues. +.1nsertion 7oss 4175 1nsertion loss is the most important performance in icator of a fiber optic interconnection. This is the loss of light signal$ measure in ecibels 4 A5$ uring the insertion of a fiber optic connector. 8ome of the common causes of insertion losses inclu es/ 4i5 the misalignment of ferrules uring connection 4ii5 the air gap bet!een t!o mating ferrules 4iii5 absorption loss from impurities such as scratches an oil contamination 1nsertion loss can be minimi(e b- proper selection of interconnect materials$ goo polishing an termination process of fiber connectors. P!OCED#!E 8et the s!itch 0+ to the ANALO) position. Ensure that the shorting plug of the jumper JP1 is across the posts B 2 A3 4for ,21 selection5. Bemove the shorting plugs from co e ata shorting links 4 in the &anchester co er block an 14 in the 2eco er & clock recover- block.

LO

E MEA #!EMENT

"ptical Tx)er Alock #< 4TT7 "utput5 7E21A/ 7E2% 850nm 650nm 3 A 3 86

<ain control ,21 ,+% ,+% comp A 3 8%6 0B"

&i'Atten(ation &Propagation Loss' at +,- n. 1. Take the 1m fiber an set up an analog link using LED 3 in the "ptical Tx1 block an etector PD3 in the "ptical Bx1 block ?850 nm link@. 2rive a 3VP5P 3-*$6 sinusoi al signal !ith (ero .c. at P33. "bserve the signal at P73 on the oscilloscope. 3 just the )AIN such that the receive signal is not saturate . ;ote the peak value of the signal receive at P73 an esignate it as V3. Beplace the 1m fiber b- the +m fiber bet!een LED3 an PD3. 3gain note the peak value of the receive signal an esignate it as V7. 1f is the attenuation in the fiber an l1 an l% are the exact length of the 1m an +m fibers in meters respectivel-$ !e have ,+/,1K =+/=1KexpL)4l+)l15M !here is in nepers/m$ an ,1 an ,+ are the receive optical po!er !ith 1m an +m fiber respectivel-. 0ompute 1 in A/m for 850 nm !avelength using 1 K 9.+9+ !here is in nepers/m.

%. +. 9.

&ii' Bending Loss 8et up the 850 nm analog link using the 1m fiber. 2rive a 3VP5P sinusoi al signal of 3-*$6 !ith (ero .c. at P33 an observe the receive signal at P73 on the oscilloscope. %. Aen the fiber in a loop. Be uce the iameter of the loop slo!l- an observe the re uction of the receive signal at P73. +. >eep re ucing the iameter of the loop to about % cm an plot the amplitu e of the receive signal versus the iameter of the loop. ?2o not re uce the loop iameter to less than 1cm.@ &iii' Co(pling Loss 1. %. +. 9. 5. 6. 0onnect one en of the 1m fiber to LED1 an the other en to the etector PD3. 2rive the 7E2 !ith a 3- *$6 TT7 signal at post B of 4. ;ote the peak signal receive at P73 an esignate it as V3 ?ensure that the )AIN is lo! to prevent saturation.@ ;o! isconnect the fiber from the etector. Take the +m fiber an connect one en to the etector PD3. The optical signal can be seen emerging from the other en of the 1m fiber. Aring the free en s of the t!o fibers as close as possible an align them as sho!n using the Fiber Align.ent #nit. "bserve that the receive signal at P73 varies as the free en s of the fibers are brought closer an move apart. ;ote the receive signal level !ith the best possible alignment an esignate it as V8. Esing the attenuation constant value obtaine above$ compute the coupling loss associate !ith the above coupling of the t!o fibers using K)10log4v9/=15)N4l+Ol15 !here N is the attenuation constant in A/m at 650 nm an is the coupling loss in A. ;o! move the t!o fibers a bit apart in the #iber 3lignment Enit an note the ecrease in the output voltage 1.

G.

!E #LT/ Thus the various losses of optical fiber are measure an tabulate . 3ttenuationK Aen ing lossK 0oupling lossK Vi9a "(estions/ 1. :hat are the a vantages of optical fiberF %. :hat is the structure of an optical fiberF +. :hat are the various istortions in a fiberF 9. :hat are the sources of various losses in a fiberF 5. :hat is the use of buffer coating in a fiber.

6. G.

&ention some t-pes of fiber materials base on their losses an operating !in o!. &ention the applications of fiber base on their operating region. Experiment %

Meas(re.ent o: N(.erical Apert(re

OBJECTIVE The objective of this experiment is to estimate the ;umerical 3perture of the 1mm iameter plastic fiber at 650 nm. E"#IPMENT !E"#I!ED "#T ;umerical 3perture &easurement unit "ptical fiber T$EO!% The n(.erical apert(re 4NA5 of an optical s-stem is a imensionless number that characteri(es the range of angles over !hich the s-stem can accept or emit light. The numerical aperture of an optical s-stem such as an objective lens is efine b;3K n 8in !here n is the in ex of refraction of the me ium in !hich the lens is !orking 41.0 for air$ 1.++ for pure !ater$ an up to 1.56 for oilsP5$ an is the half)angle of the maximum cone of light that can enter or exit the lens. 3 multi)mo e optical fiber !ill onl- propagate light that enters the fiber !ithin a certain cone$ kno!n as the acceptance cone of the fiber. The half)angle of this cone is calle the acceptance angle$ max. #or step)in ex multimo e fiber$ the acceptance angle is etermine onl- b- the in ices of refraction of the core an the cla ing/ n 8in 0maxK4n1%)n%%51/% !here n1 is the refractive in ex of the fiber core$ an n% is the refractive in ex of the cla ing. :hile the core !ill accept light at higher numerical apertures 4higher angles5$ those ra-s !ill not totall- reflect off the core*cla ing interface$ an so !ill not be transmitte to the other en of the fiber. The number of boun mo es$ the mo e volume$ is relate to the normali(e freIuenc- an thus to the ;3. 1n multimo e fibers$ the term equilibrium numerical aperture is sometimes use . This refers to the numerical aperture !ith respect to the extreme exit angle of a ra- emerging from a fiber in !hich eIuilibrium mo e istribution has been establishe .

P!OCED#!E N(.erical Apert(re Meas(re.ent 1. 1nsert one en of the fiber into the ;umerical 3perture &easurement unit as sho!n in #igure. 3 just the fiber such that its tip is 10 mm from the screen. %. <entl- tighten the scre! to hol the fiber firml- in place. 0onnect the other en of the fiber to 7E2% through the simplex connector. The fiber !ill project a circular patch of re light onto the screen. +. 7et be the istance bet!een the fiber)tip an the screen. ;o! measure the iameter of the circular patch of re light in t!operpen icular irections 4A0 an 2E in #ig5. 9. The mean ra ius of the circular patch is given b- Q K 42E O A05 / 9. 5. 0arefull- measure the istance bet!een the tip of the fiber an the illuminate screen 4"3 in #ig5. The ;umerical 3perture of the fiber is given b- ;3Kn 8in KQ/4Q%O %51/% 6. Bepeat 8teps + to 5 for ifferent values of d. 0ompute the average value of ;umerical 3perture.

MEA #!EMENT OF N#ME!ICAL APE!T#!E

Tabulation/ 8l.;o 4in cm5 A0 4in cm5 2E 4in cm5 Q4in cm5 NA=Q/4Q%O %51/%

!E #LT Thus the numerical aperture of the fiber is measure an calculate . ;umerical apertureK

=iva Ruestions/ 1. :hat is total internal reflectionF %. :hat is critical angleF +. :hat is numerical apertureF 9. <ive the formula for numerical aperture. 5. :hat are meri ional an ske! ra-sF 6. 'o! !ill -ou classif- the mo es in a fiberF G. :hat is the reason for the presence of h-bri mo es in a fiberF

Experiment 9

C;aracteristics o: LED
Ob<ecti9e To stu - an plot the =)1 characteristics an ,)1 characteristics of 7E2 E=(ip.ent needed 1. "#T ,o!er suppl%. 3 igital multi)meter +. 7E2 &o ule 9. Aenchmark #iber "ptic ,o!er &eter 5. Aare fiber a aptor ) ,lastic. 6. 1.%5m ,lastic fiber T;eor> Proced(re 1. 0onnect the "#T po!er suppl- properl- to the mo ule using the 21;)21; cable provi e !ith the po!er suppl-. %. Turn the multi)turn pot to its minimum position an s!itch "; the mo ule. &easure the voltage =1 across the resistor B1 4180ohms5 an calculate the current through the 7E2 1f !hich is given as 1f K =1/180 +. ;o! measure the voltage =7E2 across the 7E2 an note o!n. 9. Bemove the umm- a aptor cap from the po!er meter ,2 exposing the large area photo) etector. &ount the bare fiber a aptor * plastic over the ,2. 5. 0arefull- hol the 7E2 source ver- close to the photo) etector !in o! perpen icular to it to couple all the optical po!er from the 7E2 to the po!er meter. :ithout changing an- voltage or the potentiometer$ measure the optical po!er output , of the 7E2. 6. 0alculate the po!er in m: an note it o!n !hich is given as ,0 K 10 ,/10 G. Turn the potentiometer clock!ise irection slightl- to!ar s the maximum till -ou get a convenient rea ing =1 an repeat the steps 1 to 6 an tabulate them. Bepeat the above till the potentiometer

reaches its maximum position an plot the graph for = 7E2 =s 1f an 1f =s ,0. 8. 0alculate the E)" conversion efficienc- STJ of the 7E2 from the plotte graph S1fN =s ,0 !hich is given as T K ,0 / 1f
H. Enscre! the self locking cap in the 7E2 !ithout removing it completel- an insert the 1.%5m plastic fiber into the cap. ;o! tighten the cap. Bemove the 8T a aptor from the po!er meter ,2 an mount the Aare fiber a aptor ) plastic on to the ,2. 1nsert the other en of the plastic fiber to this a aptor. Bepeat above experiment but the optical measurement !ith a plastic fiber an plastic fiber a aptor in ,o!er meter$ instea of measuring it as explaine in steps + to 6.

Tabulation/

8.;o.

=1

1f m3

=7E2 =

, Am

,0 m:

&o el <raph/

BE8E7T Thus the characteristics of 7E2 is stu ie an the =)1 & ,)1 characteristics are plotte .

1. %. +. 9. 5. 6.

=iva Ruestions/ :hat is meant b- ouble 'eterojunction structureF :hat is meant b- carrier an optical confinementF :hat is Iuantum efficienc-/ !hat are the t-pes of 2' 7E2F :hat is lambertian patternF :hat is the ',A: of the t!o t-pes of 7E2F