Optical Communications

Optical Fibers and the Backbone of the Internet

Overview

 Introduction to Fibers
 Fiber Types
 Wave Propagation in Fibers
 Impact of Fiber Losses
 Impact of Optical Dispersion
 Impact of Polarization Mode Dispersion
 Impact of Polarization Dependent Losses
Optical Fibers

 Optical Fibers: Light < --- > Copper Wires: Electricity

 Light is guided through total internal reflection at the core – cladding
interface
 Conventional single mode fibers are single mode for a core diameter < 10 µm.
Step – Index and Graded – Index Fibers

 Refractive Index, n
 For light to be guided, core
(in the center) usually
needs to have a larger
refractive index than the
cladding.
 *Total Internal Reflection
Total Internal Reflection

 Total Internal Reflection

Equation: n0sin θi = n1sin θr
 Total Internal Reflection is
maintained provided the critical
angle, φc satisfies:

sin φc = n2/n1

 Imagine launching light into the

fiber from air. n0 needs to be
smaller than n1. Otherwise what
happens?
Graded Index Fibers
 Graded refractive index: Refractive index
decreases gradually from its maximum value
of n1 at the core, to n2 at the core-cladding
interface.
 Typical refractive index profile: In the limit of
large α, what
n1[1 – ∆(R/a)α ] R<a profile do we
 n(R) = approach?

n1(1 – ∆) = n2 R≥a
where a is the core radius. The parameter α
determines the index profile.
 ∆ = (n1-n2)/n1 is called the fractional
refractive index change
Wave propagation in fibers

 Propagation of optical waves in a fiber is governed by Maxwell’s equations

 The simplified wave equation, due to the cylindrical symmetry of the fiber,
can be written as:
𝛻 2 𝐸 + 𝑛2 𝜔 𝑘02 𝐸 = 0 (1.1)
n is the frequency-dependent refractive index, k0 is the free space wave-
number, defined as k0=ω/c
 Equation (1.1) can be solved to obtain optical modes of a fiber
 Fiber modes can be classified as guided modes, leaky modes, and radiation
modes.
Optical fiber modes
 When the core of the optical fiber is small, light can only take
a single path through the fiber. We call it a single-mode
optical fiber.
 When the core of the optical fiber is large, light can take
different paths to reach the other end. We call it a multi-
mode optical fiber.
 The number of modes that can be supported by an optical
fiber is governed by the V number:
2𝜋𝑎
𝑉= 𝑛12 − 𝑛22
𝜆0
 If V<2.405, the optical fiber is single mode (refer to graph)
 The different optical modes travel at different speeds. For
each V, the first mode (HE11) travels the slowest, while
higher order modes travels faster.
Fiber losses
 The materials used to make optical fibers will always have some losses. These
losses are classified as:
1. Absorption: the property of the fiber material itself (usually glass). Absorption of
light occurs due to electronic and molecular transition bands, and it is strong in UV
but diminishes at the visible wavelengths.
2. Impurities: the fibers may have dopants such as O-H ions, which is strongly
absorbing in the infrared wavelengths
3. Rayleigh scattering: due to variations in density and inhomogeneities in the fiber
fabrication. Rayleigh scattering is proportional to λ-4
4. Bend losses: when the fiber is bent in such a way that the angle of incidence >
critical angle, the optical waves are no longer guided and leak out of the fiber.
 All these losses can be group together under a single parameter called the
attenuation coefficient α. α affects the output power according to the Beer-
Lamberts law:
𝑃𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝑃𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝 −𝛼𝐿
 α has units in km-1. It can be converted to units in dB/km by 4.343α, which is
commonly referred to as the fiber-loss parameter.
Optical Dispersion
 Light exists as a spectrum consisting of different wavelengths. In real life, there is
no pure monochromatic (single wavelength) light sources.
 Light that consist of several wavelengths always travel as a group or “packet”.
However, each wavelength of light will respond differently to the material, e.g.
travelling at different speeds. We call this the optical dispersion of the light
propagation because they do not arrive simultaneously at the fiber output. The
effect is that the light “packet” or pulse is broadened.
 The speed at which this “packet” travels is called the group velocity, vg, also
related to the group index by vg=c/ng.
 The refractive index of the material is often measured through experiments. The
group index can be determined from the refractive index through
𝑑𝑛
𝑛𝑔 = 𝑛 + 𝜔
𝑑𝜔
 The Dispersion parameter in units ps/(km-nm) is written as
𝑑 1 2𝜋 𝑑
𝐷= =− 2 𝑛
𝑑𝜆 𝑣𝑔 𝜆 𝑑𝜔 𝑔
Material dispersion

 Material dispersion occurs because the refractive index of the fiber

material changes with frequency/wavelength.
 Fiber materials are usually lossless, and thus they can be characterized
analytically using the Sellmeier equation:
𝑀 2
𝐵𝑗 𝜔𝑗
𝑛2 𝜔 = 1 + ෍ 2
𝜔𝑗 − 𝜔 2
𝑗=1

 The parameter Bj is obtained empirically from experimental

measurements.
 It is possible that at a certain wavelength, the slope of the refractive
index curve is zero. We call that wavelength the zero-dispersion
wavelength.
 It is in the interest of engineers to operate light at the zero-dispersion
wavelength to reduce broadening effect. The engineered fibers are called
dispersion-flattened fibers.
Waveguide dispersion

 Recall that light also travels in different modes inside the fiber,
and has their own effective waveguide indices, which depends on
the V number. The overall dispersion of a fiber thus depends on
both the material and waveguide dispersion, D=DM+DW.
 An easy way to understand the effect of both material and
waveguide dispersion is through the chromatic dispersion of
visible light in a prism. The light packet would eventually broaden
and separate into their different wavelength components,
travelling at different speeds.
 To engineer dispersion-shifted and dispersion-flattened fibers, it
is always easier to engineer the waveguide instead of the
material, as the V number is dependent on the core radius a and
index difference ∆.
Polarization-mode dispersion

 Sometimes, optical fibers may not have perfect cylindrical

symmetry due to fabrication errors. This leads to fiber
birefringence, where one polarization mode travels at
different speed from another.
 If an input pulse consists of both polarizations, the pulse
becomes broadened due to the polarization mode dispersion
(PMD).
 To prevent cross-talk between the two polarization modes, it
is possible engineer polarization-maintaining fibers.