Optical Fiber

Fiber Optics more properly refers to a particular field of optics, but the Optical Fibers
themselves are often referred to colloquially as fiber optics

Optical Fiber Structures

The structure used for most POFs (Plastic Optical Fiber), including those manufactured by
Mitsubishi Rayon. On the other hand, quartz fiber used for telephone lines uses a "graded index"
(GI) structure for increased transmission volume. In GI-POF, the index of refraction
progressively increases toward the center of the optical fiber. Therefore, it utilizes the principle
of refraction, not reflection as in the previous example. This method is the same as what occurs
when light refracts at the surface of water. GI fiber uses this principle to progressively change
the track of the light to contain it within the fiber. This type of fiber is suitable for high-speed,
high-volume transmission. The only GI-POF on the market today is Eska GIGA manufactured
by Mitsubishi Rayon.

Optical Fiber Types

Multi-step structure fiber uses both of the principles above for transmission. As its name
indicates, the structure uses multiple-step indices. Although the basic principle is the same as that
of SI-POF, because the index of refraction changes in multiple steps, the focus of the light is
shifted toward the center at the same time. This structure was recognized as a simple solution to
increasing bandwidth, and in 1999, Mitsubishi Rayon developed and successfully tested Eska
Miu, the first multi-step index fiber. This fiber is still under final development.

Consumer demand for POF dictates that this fiber remain at reasonable prices. The multi-step
index structure can be mass produced much easier than GI-POF. Also, since it can easily be
applied to varying bandwidths by changing the number of steps, it has the added benefit of
simple conversion to larger capacities in the future.
Numerical aperture
Numerical aperture depends on the angle at which rays enter the fiber and on the diameter of the
fibers core.

Numerical aperture (NA), shown in Figure, is the measure of maximum angle at which light rays
will enter and be conducted down the fiber. This is represented by the following equation:

Is the difference between ncore and ncladding positive or negative? Why?

Numerical Aperture (NA)

NA= n(air) sin (a)

(a) is the acceptance angle

NA = n2 1 n2 2
There are several causes of attenuation in an optical fiber:

Intrinsic
Rayleigh Scattering Microscopic-scale variations in the index of refraction of the core material
can cause considerable scatter in the beam, leading to substantial losses of optical power.
Rayleigh scattering is wavelength dependent and is less significant at longer wavelengths. This is
the most important loss mechanism in modern optical fibers, generally accounting for up to 90
percent of any loss that is experienced.

Absorption Current manufacturing methods have reduced absorption caused by impurities

most notably water in the fiber to very low levels. Within the band pass of transmission of the
fiber, absorption losses are insignificant.

Extrinsic
Bending Manufacturing methods can produce minute bends in the fiber geometry.
Sometimes these bends will be great enough to cause the light within the core to hit the
core/cladding interface at less than the critical angle so that light is lost into the cladding
material. This also can occur when the fiber is bent in a tight radius (less than, say, a few
centimeters). Bend sensitivity is usually expressed in terms of dB/km loss for a particular
bend radius and wavelength.

Insertion Loss -In any fiber optic interconnection, some loss occurs. Insertion loss for a
connector or splice is the difference in power that you see when you insert the device into
the system.

There are four special wavelengths that you can use for fiber optic transmission with low optical
loss levels, which this table lists:

Windows Wavelength Loss

1st wavelength 850nm 3dB/km
2nd wavelength 1310nm 0.4dB/km
3rd wavelength 1550nm (C band) 0.2dB/km
4th wavelength 1625nm (L band) 0.2dB/km
What is a Decibel?

A decibel (dB) is a unit used to express relative differences in signal strength. A decibel is
expressed as the base 10 logarithm of the ratio of the power of two signals, as shown here:
It is normally assumed that a decrease in the signal is proportional to the length of the fiber and
the signal power

dP= - dP dx

P(z) = P(0) Exp(-a z)

= (1/z) ln [ ln (P(0)/P(z))]

(dB/Km) = 10/z log [ P(0)/P(z)]

dB = 10 x Log10 (P1/P2)
How to Measure Optical Power

Fibre Optic Attenuation and Loss Values

Maximum Cable Attenuation (dB/km) as per AS/NZS 3080 (Table 26 P49)

MMF 50/125m MMF 62.5/125m SMF 9/125m

850nm 1300nm 850nm 1300nm 1310nm 1550nm
3.5 1.5 3.5 1.5 1.0 1.0

Maximum Fusion Splice Loss (dB) as per AS/NZS 3080 (Table 46 P63)

MMF SMF
0.3 0.3

Maximum Channel Attenuation (dB) as per AS/NZS 3080 (Table 23 P44)

Channel MMF SMF

850nm 1300nm 1310nm 1550nm
OF-300 2.55 1.95 1.80 1.80
OF-500 3.25 2.25 2.00 2.00
OF-2000 8.50 4.50 3.50 3.50

ISO IEC 11801 maximum channel insertion loss for IEEE 802.3 10G Base-SR/SW applications
on OM3 (50/125m) fiber, OF-300 channel (Table F.3 P110) and AS/NZS 3080 (Table F.3 P98)

dB Wavelength
2.55 850nm

Note: Channel loss includes patching cables

Maximum Connector Insertion Loss (dB) as per AS/NZS ISO/IEC 14763.3 (P10 & P21)

Reference Reference Reference Random Random Random

MMF SMF MMF SMF MMF SMF
0.10 0.20 0.30 0.50 0.75 0.75

Fiber to light coupling / Fiber to detector coupling

Fiber to fiber coupling (Splice)

http://www.thefoa.org/tech/ref/OSP/term.html
Laser beam modulation

Aerial laser communications (free-space optical communication)

E/O converter (Transmitter)

The basic principle is direct modulation of the incoming RF signal onto the output of the laser
diode.
O/E converter (Receiver)
Inside the receiver module a high speed PIN photodiode performs an O/E conversion operation,
to deliver an RF electrical signal output.

Fiber optics communications

Fiber Sensor
Fiber optics can be used to deliver light from a remote source to a detector to obtain pressure,
temperature or spectral information. The fiber also can be used directly as a transducer to
measure a number of environmental effects, such as strain, pressure, electrical resistance and pH.
Environmental changes affect the light intensity, phase and/or polarization in ways that can be
detected at the other end of the fiber.