Fiber optics basics and standards

Electromagnetic spectrum
Visible light
T radiation

Cosmic radiation

UV radiation

IR radiation

Communications radiation
Microwave, radar

X ray radiation
20

Frequency (Hz)

1018

10

1016

1014

1012

250 THz
(1 pm)

(1 nm)

10-12

Wavelength (m)

10-9

1010

(1 THz)
(1 m)

SW

(1 MHz)

(1 m)

10-3

LAN/customer premises network digital transmission standards

106

(100 m)

100

OMK-15A

102

0.6

0.7

Bit rate (Mbit/s)

Source type
Wavelength (nm)
Range
Power range (dBm)
Receiver dynamic range (dBm)
-10
(BER 10 )
Max. network extent (km)
Max. segment distance (km)
Fiber type

Fiber transmission
wavelength range

0.8

670

0.9

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.3 1.4

780 850

1.5

1300

1.6

1550 1625 nm

Power
Loss

10

Attenuation coefficient/dB

Token Ring
ISO/IEC 8802-5
IEEE 802.5

FDDI/MM
ISO/IEC 9314-4

4, 16
LED
850
800 to 910
-13 to -22

100
LED
1300
1270 to 1380
-14 to -20

-12 to -30

-14 to-31
200
2
62.5 to 85/125
100/140
Duplex-MIC
ST

Fiber Channel
ASC X319.3

IBM ESCON

2
50/125
62.5/125
Duplex-MIC
ST
Biconic
Mini-BNC
F-SMA

OLP-5
OMK-5 (OLS-5 + OLP-5)
OVF-1
OFT-30
FiberPRO
FiberPRO

Definitions:
LD = Laser Diode
LED = Laser Emilting Diode

Cat.2
100
LD
1300
1270 to 1340 1290 to 1330
-14 to -20
0 to -4

200
LED

LD
1300

-20
-9
-15
BER 10
-35
-36
6
60
2
20
50/125 9/125 SM
62.5/125
Duplex ESCON

-14 to -31

-15 to -37
200
2
9/125 SM

SM Duplex-MIC

200
800
LED
LD
1300

OFT-50

Complete Solutions:
OFS-1 = Optical Fiber
Service Tester
OFC-1 = Optical Fiber
Certification Tester

1
62.5

>10
9/125 SM
SC

Complete solutions

Single solutions

Power meter
Power meter + Source
Visible fault locator
OTDR
Documentation
Archiving

3rd window

FDDI/SM
ISO/IEC 9314-4
Cat.1

Measurement tasks

Fault location
2nd window

-12 to -32.5 -27 to -41 -31/41 to -11/-21

4.5
1
2
2
1
50/125
62.5 to 85/125
62.5 to 85/125
62.5/125
100/140
100/140
Duplex-MIC
F-SMA
ST
ST
ST
F-SMA
Biconic
Mini-BNC
F-SMA
-9 to -27

Connector type

Attenuation coefficient a of silica fibers

1st window

CSMA/CD (Ethernet)
FOIRL
10 BASE F
Token Bus
ISO/IEC 8802-4
ISO/IEC 8802-3
IEEE 802.4
IEEE 802.3
Passive
Active
5, 10, 20
10
10
LED
LED
LED
850
850
850
800 to 910
800 to 910 820 to 910
790 to 910
-7 to -11
-12 to -20 -11 to -15
-12 to -15

LAN type
Standards

l = wavelength
f = frequency

Visible
light

0.5

10

(1 mm)

10-6

VHF

(1 GHz)

C0 = 300 000 km/s

C=lxf

0.4

TV

OMK-14A (OLS-15 + OLP-15A)

OMK-5

OFT-5

OFT-30

OFS-1

OMK-14A OMK-5 OMK-14A

OFT-5

OFT-30

OFS-1

OFT-5

OFC-1

Multimode fiber
Single mode fiber

OMK-5

IR absorption
Rayleigh
scattering 1/l4

OVF-1

Application areas for fiber optics technology

1400

1600
Wavelength/nm

Wavelength
range

Fiber optic transmission makes use of the three optical windows (850, 1300, 1550 nm) that are given by the attenuation characteristics
of the silica fibers. Also, 670 nm light is used for visible fault location, and low-cost 780 nm lasers have been introduced for short haul
access networks. For on-line test purposes (fiber monitoring), 1625 nm is used to cover even long haul applications.

Fiber type
core/cladding
100/140 m
85/125 m

850 nm

62.5/125 m
50/125 m
62.5/125 m
9/125 m

Different fiber types

Cladding

100 m

9/125 m

Buffer

140 m

250 to 900 m

Multimode fiber
(step index)
SI 100/140

Multimode fiber
(graded index)
GI 62.5/125
GI 50/125

1550 nm

n2 = 1.515
n1 = 1.527

62.5 m
50 m

125 m

9/125 m

780 nm

Maximum segment distance

1
5
10
50

Access/longhaul network digital transmission standards

Application
100

km

500

Standard
Bit rate (Mbit/s)
Source

Optical path

Receiver

Source

Optical path
Values given are based on typical applications for LAN, access and longhaul networks.
850/1300 nm MM, bit rates around 10 Mbit/s.
1300/1550 nm SM, bit rates up to 10 Gbit/s.
780 nm SM, bit rates around 10 Mbit/s (application in access networks).

n2 = 1.540
n1 = 1.540 to 1.562

250 to 900 m

in combination
with EDFA

N.A.
0.28

0.5

50/125 m

1300 nm

Core

0.1

LAN/
Customer premises

1200

Access/
Longhaul

1000

Multimode (MM)

800

Single mode (SM)

0.1

Receiver

N.A.
0.21

9 m

125 m

Source

n2 = 1.457
n1 = 1.471

250 to 900 m

Single mode fiber

(step index)
SI 9/125

Detectors/spectral response

Optical path

Sl (A/W)

N.A.
0.1

InGaAs

1.0
Si

Multimode fibers are used for LAN applications only, while single mode fibers are used for all telecom applications, offering
almost unlimited bandwidth. The refractive index n1 must be known for OTDR measurements, since it directly affects the accuracy
of fault location. Typical values are given above.

Receiver

Ge (23C)

0.5

Receiver dynamic test

Power
Loss

850
1300
1550
l (nm)
Different photodiodes are used for different applications.
Si: Silicon photodiodes are the best choice for applications in the visible light range (400 and 1000 nm).
Ge: Germanium detectors cover all three optical windows and are suitable for applications from 750 to 1600 nm.
InGaAs: Indium Gallium Arsenide detectors are ideal for wavelengths >1000 nm (particularly in the 3rd optical
window), due to the almost flat response characteristic up to 1700 nm.

Popular connector types

Physical contact
connector
.../PC

CATV

LAN

Angled physical
contact connector
.../APC

WAN

Type
Wavelength/nm
Power range/dBm
Min. ext. ratio/dB
Range/dB
ORL/dB
SBR/dB
Dynamic range/dBm
Penalty/dB
SBR/dB
Type
Wavelength/nm
Power range/dBm
Min. ext. ratio/dB
Range/dB
ORL/dB
SBR/dB
Dynamic range/dBm
Penalty/dB
SBR/dB
Type
Wavelength/nm
Power range/dBm
Min. ext. ratio/dB
Range/dB
ORL/dB
SBR/dB
Dynamic range/dBm
Penalty/dB
SBR/dB

Intra-office
approx. 2 km

Shorthaul
inter-office

Longhaul
inter-office
1300 nm
approx. 40 km,
1550 nm
approx. 60 km

OC-1
51.840
LED/MLM
1300
-23 to -14
8.2
0 to 7
NA
NA
-31 to -14
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 12
NA
NA
-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-5 to 0
10
10 to 28
NA
NA
-34 to -10
1
<-25

SDH
OC-3
155.520
LED/MLM
1300
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 7
NA
NA
-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 12
NA
NA
-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-5 to 0
10
10 to 28
>20
<-25
-34 to -10
1
<-25

OC-12
622.080
LED/MLM
1300
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 7
NA
NA
-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 12
>24
<-27
-23 to -8
1
<-27
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-3 to 2
10
10 to 24
>20/24
<-27
-28 to -8
1
<-27/-14

OC-48
2488.320
MLM
1300
-12 to -5
8.2
0 to 7
>20
<-25
-20 to -5
1
<-25
SLM
1300/1550
-5 to 0
8.2
0 to 12
>24
<-27
-18 to 0
1
<-27
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-4 to 1
8.2/10
10 to 20
>24
<-27
-26 to -9
1/2
<-27/-14

WAN

ITU-T/G.957 STM-1
155.520
LED/MLM
1300
-15 to -8
8.2
not
Short reach 0 to 7
NA
defined
NA
-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
SLM
1300/1550
1530 to 1565
-15 to -8
ffs
8.2/10
8.2
Intermediate 0 to 12
ffs
reach
NA
24
NA
<-27
-23 to -8
-18 to 0
1
2
NA
<-27
MLM/SLM
SLM
1300/1550
1530 to 1565
-5 to 0
ffs
10
10
10 to 28
ffs
Long reach
>20
24
<-25
-27
-34 to -10
-26 to -9
1
2
<-25
-27
OC-192
9953.280

Single solutions

Measurement tasks
Ge (0C)

Fault location

Angled
WAN
air-gap
connector

ANSI/T1.105.06

-23 to -8
1
NA
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-15 to -8
8.2/10
0 to 12
>24
<-27
-23 to -8
1
<-27
MLM/SLM
1300/1550
-3 to 2
10
10 to 24
>24
<-27
-28 to -8
1
<-27

Definitions:

STM-16
2488.320
MLM
1300
-10 to -3
8.2
0 to 7
>24
<-27
-18 to -3
1
<-27
SLM
1300/1550
-5 to 0
8.2/10
0 to 12
>24
<-27
-18 to -0
1
<-27
SLM
1300/1550
-4 to 1
8,2/10
10 to 20
>24
<-27
-26 to -9
1/2
<-27

STM-64
9953.280

ffs = for further study

MLM = Multi-Longitudinal Mode
NA = Not Applicable
ORL = Optical Return Loss

not
defined

SBR = Single Back Reflection

SLM = Single Longitudinal Mode

SLM
1530 to 1565
ffs
8.2
ffs
24
<-27
-18 to 0
2
<-27
SLM
1530 to 1565
ffs
10
ffs
24
-27
-26 to -9
2
-27

Complete Solutions:
OFS-1 = Optical Fiber
Service Tester
OFC-1 = Optical Fiber
Certification Tester

Complete solutions

OLA-15
OLP-15A/-16A/-18A (OLP-18A when EDFA are used)
OMK-14A (OLP-15A + OLS-15A) or OMK-15A (OLP-15A + OLS-15A + OLA-15)
OVF-1
OFT-5/-50/-50A/-50B
FiberPRO
FiberPRO

Attenuator
Power meter
Power meter+Source
Visible fault locator
OTDR
Documentation
Archiving

SONET
STM-4
622.080
LED/MLM
1300
-15 to -8
8.2
0 to 7

OFS-1

OFC-1

CATV

Channel spacing in dense WDM systems according to ITU Rec. G.MCS

LED and laser diode power spectra
Insertion loss Return loss
Air-gap 0.4 to 0.8 dB
>60 dB

Physical contact
Super
Ultra

S'

Insertion loss Return loss

<0.5 dB
>30 dB
<0.5 dB
>40 dB
<0.5 dB
>50 dB

Insertion loss Return loss

Angled (8 APC)
<0.5 dB
>60 dB

SIMPLEX
VFO

EC/RACE

HRL-11

FC

ST

SC

D4

-15 to -25 dBm

FWHM
100 nm

DUPLEX
Biconic

DIN-LSA

E2000

Mini-BNC

F-SMA

Escon

0 to -10 dBm

.../APC

.../PC

.../PC

.../PC
HRL-10

.../PC
.../APC

.../PC

.../PC

.../PC

.../PC
.../APC

.../PC

1300
FP laser diode
(MLM laser)

Rx

Up to 32 channels

Short band

~
~

.../APC

.../PC

W
D
M

OFA

<<1 nm

SC Duplex Duplex-MIC
FDDI

~
~

.../APC

.../PC

Tx

FWHM
3 nm

OFA

Up to 32 channels

1300
LED

.../PC

W
D
M

+5 to -10 dBm

Long band

OMS-100 with OSP-102A

1300
l (nm)
DFB laser diode
(SLM laser)

The type of fiber used and the characteristics of the source impose limits on system performance. The
narrower the spectral bandwidth of the source diode, the higher the possible frequency bandwidth/bit rate
of the system. LEDs are used for short haul, low bit rate systems, e.g. LANs. Laser diodes are used in
longhaul, high bit rate systems that use single mode fibers. Multi-Longitudinal Mode (MLM) lasers, also
known as Fabry-Perot (FP) lasers, and Single Longitudinal Mode (SLM) or Distributed Feedback (DFB)
lasers are used for these applications.

Optical test solutions wherever you are:

1525

1530

1535

1540

1545

1550

Wavelength/nm
ITU Rec. G. MCS defines the carrier frequencies/wavelengths and carrier spacings:
lREF = 1552.52 nm
Dl = k x 0.8 nm

1555

1560

1565

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