11/28/2013

ENS/ELT466
TelecommunicationSystemsLab
Fall2013
Week12 Nov.26

FiberOpticsFundamentals
TelecommunicationSystemsLab(ENS466)
Fall2013
Week12 Nov.26

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TheElectromagneticSpectrum
Photonenergy(E=hf)
increases.

Optical

Idefinetheregionofopticsasextendingfrom =10nmto100m.Characteristic
toolsincludelenses,mirrors,interferencedevicesandopticalfiber.Photonshot
noisebecomessignificant.Sourcesmaybelampsorlasers.Detectorssuchas
photodiodes typicallyproduceanoutputcurrentproportionaltoopticalpower.

PropagationinFiber
LightinanopticalfiberisaguidedEMwave.
Optical
Fiber

LiketheEMwavesinametallictransmissionline,fiberguidedwavestravelata
slowerspeedthanEMwavesinavacuum.Thespeedofcommunicationsignalsin
afibervf isgivenby:
c
vf
neff
whereneff istheeffectivemodalindexofthefiberandc isthespeedoflightina
vacuum.

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OpticalFiber
Coating

nclad
ncore

Cladding
2a

Core

typ.diam.
2501000m

Coating

ncore [nclad]istherefractiveindexofthecore[cladding]material.Therefractive
indexdescribeshowfastlightwavestravelinthebulkmaterial.
Coreguideslight(ncore>nclad).
Claddingkeepslightfromroughordirtysurfacetocontrolloss.
Coatingprotectsfromscratches,chemicalstomaintainstrength.

OpticalFiberTypes
OpticalFiber
SingleModeFiber(SMF)

Likecoax,fiberhasamultimode
thresholdasthecorebecomeslarger.
Unlikecoax,multimodefiberiswidely
used.

glassfiber(GOF)

lowestloss
usedforlonglinksand
highdatarates

specialtyfibers fluoride,
chalcogenide,Erdoped...

MultiModeFiber(MMF)
glassfiber(GOF)

lowcost,fairlylowloss
usedforshortlinksand
moderatedatarates

plasticfiber(POF)

lowestcost
usedforveryshortlinks
andlowdatarates

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FiberAdvantages&Disadvantages
Comparedtometalliccable,fiberhassomebigadvantages:

availablebandwidth~60,000GHz(comparedtoafewGHzforcoaxialcable)
lowerloss aslowas0.2dB/kmat=1550nm
thinnerandlighter
highlyimmunetoelectromagneticinterference

However,fiberalsohassomedownsides:

fiberconnectorsarehighlyintoleranttodustanddirt
susceptibletobendinducedloss
untilrecently,lasersourceswereexpensive
cantcarrypowerlikemetalliccable

AttenuationinFiber
Becauselightinafiberisguided,itsintensitydoesnotdropoffas1/d2.
Optical
Fiber

Theopticalpowerinafiberdecreasesexponentiallywithd,accordingto:

Pout mW Pin mW e d

(linear units)

Pout dBm Pin dBm dB d

(dB units)

FiberlosscanbeconvertedtoorfromlineartodBunitsbyusing:

P dBm 10log P mW

dB 10log(e) 4.343

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FiberLossvs.Wavelength
Attenuationiscausedbyabsorptionandscatteringthatareintrinsictothesilica
glass,aswellasabsorptionfromresidualimpurities.
Glassfiberattenuationislowestnear1.55mwavelength,sothisisthepreferred
wavelengthforlongdistancecommunication.Shortdatalinksmayoperateat
shorterwavelengthsfrom0.6 1.3m.(Classlabswilluse ~0.8m.)

OH impurity

0.2 dB/km

Practicalfiberlossesaresomewhat
higherforMMFthanforSMF.Newer
fiberstendtobelowerloss,andlow
OHabsorptionisfairlystandardtoday.

from Agrawal

ResearchcontinuestotrytoshavehundredthsofadB/kmoffthelossofsilicabased
fiber,becausethecostbenefitstolargescalenetworkscanbesignificant.

FiberSplicesandConnectors
Permanentorsemipermanentjointsbetweenfibersegmentsarecalledsplices;connectors
arejointsdesignedtobetakenapartandreassembled.
Mostfiberjointsaredesignedforbuttcoupling thefibersendtoend.Duetothesmall
dimensionsoffibercores,goodcoupling(i.e.,lowloss)occursonlywhenthecoresare
preciselyaligned.
longitudinal
offset

lateral
offset

angular
misalignment

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VGroovesandFerrules
TwowidelyusedmethodsofalignmentareVgrooveandferruleandsleeve.

Vgroove

ferruleandsleeve

Inmostmodernconnectors,zirconia ferrulesarepolishedtoapreciseradius,sothattheforce
fromtheretainingspringdeformsthem(slightly)toobtainintimatecontact.

CommonConnectorTypes
LossesformodernconnectorsarelowerthansuggestedbythetableinSeniorsbook.
Improvedfiberandferruleprecision,plusadvancedendface polishing(UPC)have
broughttypicalinsertionlossdownto0.1dBorless.

screwtype
bayonettype

allofthesehave2.5mmferrule
diam =>canbecrossmated
withspecialunions

pushon,pulloff

pushon,pulloff,
miniature

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FusionSplicing
Forpermanentjoints,fusionsplicing hasbecomethestandard.

Fusionsplicesbetweenfibershavelossessolow
thattheyaredifficulttomeasure.Thefusion
splicercanalsocreateadiabatictransitionsto
specialtyfibers,suchaserbiumdopedamplifier
fiber.

BasicOpticalFiberSystem
AnOpticalFiberCommunicationSystem
includes:
Alightsourceoratransmitter
Aphotoreceiver
Afiberlink
Tx

Rx

ElectronicSignal
1011001

ElectronicOutput
1011001

Fiber

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Semiconductors&Light
Semiconductordiodesarethemostwidelyusedlightsourcesandphotodetectors
incommunications.Detectorsarebasedonabsorption,whereanincoming
photoninteractswiththematerialtocreatefreechargecarriersthatdrivea
current.Sourcesarebasedoneitherspontaneousemission (LED)orstimulated
emission (laser).

absorption

spontaneous
emission

stimulated
emission

Somesemiconductors,suchasSi,haveanindirectbandgap,whicheffectivelyprohibits
usefulLEDSorlasers,solightemittersareusuallymadeofIIIVmaterialssuchasGaAs.

LEDs
Lightemittingdiodes,usuallyjustcalledLEDs,werethefirstsourcesusedin
lightwave communications;todaytheyareusedintestinstrumentsthatneeda
broademissionspectrum,andperhapsinsomelowcostdatalinksaswell.

fromT.P.Leeetal.,Ch.12,OFTII,
AcademicPress,1988.

SinceLEDsrelyonspontaneousemission,theyputoutlightthathasabroadwavelength
(frequency)spectrumandisnotcoherent.Theymaybebroadareajunctions(surface
emitting)orwaveguidedevices(edgeemitting).

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Lasers
Byaddingafeedbackmechanism(suchasapairofmirrorsthatformanopticalcavity)
toanLED,wecanobtainalaser.Laserlightiscoherentandhasaverynarrow
frequencyspectrum,whichwecallmonochromatic.

ight
mplificationby
timulated
missionof
adiation

PumpingSystem

LaserMedium

R=100%
Mirror

PumpingSystem

R=95%
Mirror

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Coherence
IncoherentlightcontainsEMwavesofdifferentfrequenciesthathavearbitrary
phasesrelativetoeachothers.Coherentlighthaswavesofasinglefrequencywith
alignedphases.

Thiscoherenceoflaserlightiscentraltomanylaserapplications,fromholography
toopticaltweezerstoPb/scommunications.
X.Jiang &M.D.Feuer

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LaserCharacteristics

The light emitted from a laser is monochromatic, that is, it is of

one color/wavelength.
Lasers emit light that is highly directional, that is, laser light is
emitted as a relatively narrow beam in a specific direction.
The light from a laser is coherent, which means that the
wavelengths of the laser light are in phase in space and time.

Laser light can deposit a lot of energy within a small

area.

Laser Light can be visible and invisible

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Summary

TheopticalregionoftheEMspectrumextendsfrom =10nmto100m.optical
fiber.Photonshotnoisebecomessignificant.Sourcesmaybelampsorlasers.
OpticalfiberisanonmetallicmediumthatsupportsguidedEMwavesatoptical
wavelengths.
Opticalfibermaybemadeofglassorplasticandmaybesinglemodeormulti
mode.
Singlemodeglassfiberisusedforthehighestperformanceapplications.Itsuseful
bandwidthis~60,000GHzanditslossat=1.55mcanbe<0.2dB/km.
Theopticalpowerinafiberdecreasesexponentiallywithd,accordingto:
Pout mW Pin mW e d

(linear units)

Pout dBm Pin dBm dB d

(dB units)

Jointsbetweenopticalfibersmustbeextremelyprecise connectorsmustbekept
clean! Thelowestlosspermanentfiberjointsareobtainedbyfusionsplicing.
Anopticalfibercommunicationsystemincludesalightsource,aphotoreceiver and
afiberlink.
OpticalcommunicationsourcesaremostlyLEDs(incoherentandbroadwavelength
range)orlasers(coherent&singlewavelength).

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LasersandEyeSafety
TelecommunicationSystemsLab(ENS466)
Fall2013
Week12 Nov.26

LaserSafety

11

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LaserClassifications*
Lasersandlasersystemsareassignedoneofthefourbroadclasses(1
to4)dependingonthepotentialforcausingpotentialdamage:
Class1:"safe"ifnotdisassembled.Example:Laserprinters,CDRom
players/drives
Class2:mayexceedclass1exposurelimitsifviewedmorethan
0.25seconds[aversionresponsetime],butstillnotposea
significanteyehazards.Example:Supermarketlaserscanners
Class3aor3R:eyehazardifviewedusingcollectingoptics,e.g.,
telescopes,microscopes,orbinoculars.Example:laserpointer
Class3b:eyehazardsifbeamsarevieweddirectlyorspecular
reflectionsareviewed.Example:researchlab
Class4:eyehazardsifbeamsarevieweddirectlyorspecular
reflectionsandsometimesevenfromdiffusereflectionsareviewed.
Alsoskinburnsfromdirectbeamexposure. Example:research,
manufacturing.
*IEC608251(internationalstandard),ANSIZ136.1,Z136.2,Z136.5(USstandards)
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LaserHazards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Eye : Acute exposure of the eye to lasers of certain

wavelengths and power can cause eye injury and damage.
Skin : Acute exposure to high levels of optical radiation may
cause skin burns.
Chemical : Some lasers require hazardous or toxic
substances to operate (i.e., chemical dye, Excimer lasers).
Electrical : Many lasers utilize high voltages that can be
lethal.
Fire : The solvents used in dye lasers are flammable.
Flammable materials may be ignited by direct beams or
specular reflections from high power continuous wave (CW)
infrared lasers.

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LaserRadiationToEye
eye
Laser
Figure1.Viewingofdirect(primary)beam.
eye
Laser

Mirror

Figure 2. Viewing of a reflected beam from a flat surface reflector.

eye
Rough
surface

Laser

Figure3.Viewingofadiffuselyreflectedbeamfromaroughsurface
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BeCareful!!!

Laser light can deposit a lot of energy within a small area.

Laser Light can be visible and invisible

Take action with warning sign

Wear Safety Eyewear when required

( Laser safety eyewear is required for class 3b and 4
lasers)

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LaserSafetyWarningSigns

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FiberOpticSafety

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LightTransmittedWithinFiber

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MajorLaserHazardsinFiberOpticsCommunications
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Eye : Acute exposure of the eye to lasers of certain

wavelengths and power can cause eye injury and damage.
Skin : Acute exposure to high levels of optical radiation may
cause skin burns.
Chemical : Some lasers require hazardous or toxic
substances to operate (i.e., chemical dye, Excimer lasers).
Electrical : Many lasers utilize high voltages that can be
lethal.
Fire : The solvents used in dye lasers are flammable.
Flammable materials may be ignited by direct beams or
specular reflections from high power continuous wave (CW)
infrared lasers.

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FiberOpticSafety
EyeSafety:
Neverlookdirectlyintothefiberendwithyourbareeyeor
withanopticallens
Alwayswearsafetyglasseswithsideshieldswhenever
handlingandterminatingbarefibers.
Seek immediatemedicalattentionforeyeinjuries.
FiberOpticGlassHandleSafety:
Opticalfibershardsareverysharpandcaneasilypiercetheskin.
Placeanylooseshardsincovereddebriscontainersoron
adhesivecollectionsurfacessuchastape.
Alwayscleavefibersoveryourworkmat.Keepyourwork
areacleanandfreeoffibershardstoavoidinjury.
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FiberSplicingSafety

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FiberSplicingSafety
EyeSafety:
Alwayswearsafetyglasseswheneverhandlingandterminating
barefibers.
FiberOpticHandleSafety:
Placeanylooseshardsincovereddebriscontainersoron
adhesivecollectionsurfacessuchastape.
Alwayscleavefibersoveryourworkmat.Keepyourwork
areacleanandfreeoffibershardstoavoidinjury.
FiberCleaverSafety:
DontputyourfingerinsidetheFiberCleavers.
FiberSplicerSafety:
Dontputyourfingerinbetweentheelectrodes.
OnlystartsplicingwhentheWindprotectorhoodisclosed.
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ENS466/ELT466 Last3Labs

Thelast3labshaveonlyonesetupofeachtype,so3groupswillrotateamongLabs
A(Lasers&LEDs),B(900MHzAmplifierCharacterization),andC(OpticalFiberSplicing).

Newlabgroups Togiveeveryonetheexperienceofworkingwithavarietyof
colleagues,Iamassigningdifferentworkinggroupsforthelast3weeks:

Redgroup:B.Askharoun,M.Incherchera,A.Parise

Greengroup:M.Altman,T.Hussain

Bluegroup:A.Kasmi,S.Magaddino,K.Tham

BecausetheFiberSplicinglabisnotameasurementlabsimilartotheotherswehave
done,nolabreportisrequiredforit.However,youmaywishcompletetheoptional
extracreditassignmentoutlinedintheLabChandout.

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ENS466/ELT466 Assignments

LabReport:

IfyouhavedoneLabAssignmentAorBthisweek,yourlabreportisdueatthe
startofclasson12/3.

IfyouhavedoneLabAssignmentCthisweek,youroptionalextracreditassignment
isdueatthestartofclasson12/3.

Reading:

tobepostedonBlackboard.

Nextweek:

FiberOpticSystems

Backups/Alternates
TelecommunicationSystemsLab
(ENS466)
Fall2013

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AnglePolishedConnectors
Evenwhenlossisacceptable,backreflectioncanbeaproblem.TheFresnelreflectionfroma
perpendicularglassairinterfaceis14.7dB enoughtodisturbbothlabmeasurementsand
practicalcommunicationsystems.ModernUPCconnectorsofferreturnloss of55dB,butthe
lowestbackreflectionspec(65dB)requiresangledphysicalcontact(APC) connectors.

AlthoughAPCconnectorsremovebackreflectionasapracticalconcern,theyhaverelatively
highandirreproducibleinsertionloss,sinceslighterrorsinferrulelength(orovertightening)
willcausetheferrulestoskateoffcenterandcreateanlateralmisalignment.

NevertrytomateaPCorUPCconnectorwithanAPCconnector!

Waveguiding RayOptics
Guidingoflightcanbeunderstood
asrepeatedtotalinternal
reflection.

SnellsLaw
n1*sin(1)=n2*sin(2)

c =sin1(n2/n1)

c isthecriticalanglefortotalinternalreflection.

Maxacceptanceangleis:

n2 n 2
1
2

n0

max sin 1

Numericalapertureparameter:

n 2
sin 1 1

n0

N . A. n0 sin( max )
n12 n22 n1 2
n1 n2
1
n1

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