PART B

11.a)i) Derive the mode equations for circular fiber using Maxwells equation
Modes
The exact solution of Maxwells equations for a cylindrical homogeneous core
dielectric waveguide* involves much algebra and yields a complex result Although the
presentation of this mathematics is beyond the scope of this text, it is useful to consider
the resulting modal fields. In common with the planar guide TE (where Ez = 0) and TM
(where Hz = 0) modes are obtained within the dielectric cylinder. The cylindrical
waveguide, however, is bounded in two dimensions rather than one. Thus two integers, l
and m, are necessary in order to specify the modes, in contrast to the single integer (m)
required for the planar guide. For the cylindrical waveguide we therefore refer to TElm
and TMlm modes. These modes correspond to meridional rays traveling within the fiber.
However, hybrid modes where Ez and Hz are nonzero also occur within the cylindrical
waveguide. These modes, which result from skew ray propagation within the fiber, are
designated HElm and EHlm depending upon whether the components of H or E make the
larger contribution to the transverse (to the fiber axis) field. Thus an exact description of
the modal fields in a step index fiber proves somewhat complicated.

Fortunately, the analysis may be simplified when considering optical fibers for
communication purposes. These fibers satisfy the weakly guiding approximation where
the relative index difference _ 1. This corresponds to small grazing angles in In fact
is usually less than 0.03 (3%) for optical communications fibers. For weakly guiding
structures with dominant forward propagation, mode theory gives dominant transverse
field components. Hence approximate solutions for the full set of HE, EH, TE and TM
modes may be given by two linearly polarized components .These linearly polarized (LP)
modes are not exact modes of the fiber except for the fundamental (lowest order) mode.
However, as in weakly guiding fibers is very small, then HEEH mode pairs occur
which have almost identical propagation constants. Such modes are said to be degenerate.
The superpositions of these degenerating modes characterized by a common propagation
constant correspond to particular LP modes regardless of their HE, EH, TE or TM field
configurations. This linear combination of degenerate modes obtained from the exact
solution produces a useful simplification in the analysis of weakly guiding fibers.

The relationship between the traditional HE, EH, TE and TM mode designations
and the LPlm mode designations is shown.. The mode subscripts l and m are related to the
electric field intensity profile for a particular LP mode .There are in general 2l field
maxima around the circumference of the fiber core and m field maxima along a radius
vector. Furthermore, it may be observed from Table 2.1 that the notation for labeling the
HE and EH modes has changed from that specified for the exact solution in the
cylindrical waveguide mentioned previously. The subscript l in the LP notation now
corresponds to HE and EH modes with labels l 1 and l 1 respectively. The electric field
intensity profiles for the lowest three LP modes, together with the electric field
distribution of their constituent exact modes, are shown in Figure 2.15.

It may be observed from the field configurations of the exact modes that the field
strength in the transverse direction (Ex or Ey) is identical for the modes which belong to
the same LP mode. Hence the origin of the term linearly polarized. Using Eq. for the
cylindrical homogeneous core waveguide under the weak guidance conditions outlined
above, the scalar wave equation can be written in the form where is the field ( E or H),
n1 is the refractive index of the fiber core, k is the propagation constant for light in a
vacuum, and r and are cylindrical coordinates. The propagation constants of the guided
modes lie in the range:
where n2 is the refractive index of the fiber cladding. Solutions of the wave equation for
the cylindrical fiber are separable, having the form:

where in this case represents the dominant transverse electric field component. The
periodic dependence on following cos l or sin l gives a mode of radial order l. Hence
the fiber supports a finite number of guided modes of the form
11.a)ii)

11.b)i) Explain the ray theory of fiber with a special mention about TIR, Acceptance
angle and NA.[ Refer the Question 14.b.i) in the Anna university QP NOV/DEC
2014]

11.b)ii) Describe the single mode fiber and their mode field diameter.What are the
propagation modes in them?
SingleModeFibers
Thecoresizeofsinglemodefibersissmall.Thecoresize(diameter)istypically
around 8 to 10 micrometers (μm). A fiber core of this size allows only the
fundamental or lowest order mode to propagate around a 1300 nanometer (nm)
wavelength. Single mode fibers propagate only one mode, because the core size
approaches the operational wavelength (λ). The value of the normalized
frequencyparameter(V)relatescoresizewithmodepropagation.
Insinglemodefibers,Vislessthanorequalto2.405.WhenV≤2.405,single
mode fibers propagate the fundamental mode down the fiber core, while highorder
modes are lost in the cladding. For low V values (≤1.0), most of the power is
propagatedinthecladdingmaterial.Powertransmittedbythecladdingiseasilylostat
fiberbends.ThevalueofVshouldremainnearthe2.405level.
Singlemodefibershavealowersignallossandahigherinformationcapacity
(bandwidth)thanmultimodefibers.Singlemodefibersarecapableoftransferringhigher
amountsofdataduetolowfiberdispersion.Basically,dispersionisthespreadingoflight
as light propagates along a fiber. Dispersion mechanisms in single mode fibers are
discussed in more detail later in this chapter. Signal loss depends on the operational
wavelength(λ).Insinglemodefibers,thewavelengthcanincreaseordecrease
thelossescausedbyfiberbending.Singlemodefibersoperatingatwavelengthslarger
thanthecutoffwavelengthlosemorepoweratfiberbends.Theylosepowerbecauselight
radiatesintothecladding,whichislostatfiberbends.Ingeneral,singlemodefibersare
consideredtobelowlossfibers,whichincreasesystembandwidthandlength.
MODE FIELD DIAMETER
The typical core diameter of communication single mode fibers is from 8~10um
for operating wavelength 1.31um to 1.5um. Fiber with a core diameter less than about ten
times the wavelength of the propagating light cannot be modeled using geometric optics
as we did in the explanation of step-index multimode fiber. Instead, it must be analyzed
as an electromagnetic structure, by solution of Maxwell's equations as reduced to the
electromagnetic wave equation. So even though the fiber cladding confines the light
within the fiber core, some light does penetrate into the cladding, despite the fact that it
nominally undergoes total internal reflection. This occurs both in single mode and
multimode fibers, but this phenomenon is more significant in single mode fibers. For a
Gaussian power distribution (lasers used in communications are Gaussian power
distribution) in a single mode optical fiber, the mode field diameter (MFD) is defined as
the point at which the electric and magnetic field strengths are reduced to 1/e of their

maximum values, i.e., the diameter at which power is reduced to 1/e2 (0.135) of the peak
power (because the power is proportional to the square of the field strength).
For single mode fibers, the peak power is at the center of the core. Mode field
diameter is slightly larger than the core diameter, as shown in the following illustration.

ModeTheory:
Themodetheory,alongwiththeraytheory,isusedtodescribethepropagation
oflightalonganopticalfiber.Themodetheoryisusedtodescribethepropertiesoflight
that ray theory is unable to explain. The mode theory uses electromagnetic wave
behavior to describe the propagation of light along a fiber. A set of guided
electromagneticwavesiscalledthemodesofthefiber.
12.a)i) Describe the expression for material dispersion and wave guide dispersion
and explain them.
o Material dispersion occurs because the spreading of a light pulse is
dependentonthewavelengths'interactionwiththerefractiveindexofthe
fiber core. Different wavelengths travel at different speeds in the fiber
material.Differentwavelengthsofalightpulsethatenterafiberatone
timeexitthefiberatdifferenttimes.Materialdispersionisafunctionof
the source spectral width. The spectral width specifies the range of
wavelengthsthatcanpropagateinthefiber.Materialdispersionislessat
longerwavelengths.
o Waveguide dispersion occurs because the mode propagation constant
(β) is a function of the size of the fiber's core relative to the
wavelengthofoperation.Waveguidedispersionalsooccursbecauselight
propagatesdifferentlyinthecorethaninthecladding.
o In multimode fibers, waveguide dispersion and material dispersion are
basicallyseparateproperties.Multimodewaveguidedispersionisgenerally
smallcomparedtomaterialdispersion.Waveguidedispersionisusually
neglected.
o However,insinglemodefibers,materialandwaveguidedispersionare
interrelated.

Thetotaldispersionpresentinsinglemodefibersmaybeminimizedbytrading
materialandwaveguidepropertiesdependingonthewavelengthofoperation.

MaterialDispersion:
Materialdispersionoccursbecausetheindexofrefractionvariesasafunctionof
theopticalwavelength. Oralternately,wecansaythatvarieswithn().

Materialdispersionisanintramodaleffectandofparticularimportanceforsingle
modeandLEDsystems.
Letthevariationintheindexofrefractionben().Thepropagationconstantis
now
Thegroupdelayduetomaterialdispersionisthen

ThetotaldispersionofalengthListhen

Intermsofrms,thepulsespreadmatis

WaveguideDispersion:
. Waveguide dispersion occurs because a single-mode fiber confines only
about 80% of the optical power to the core of the fiber. Waveguide dispersion is
another intramodal effect. It occurs within one mode and each mode in a many mode
system will have its own waveguide dispersion. In terms of the modal propagation
constant, varies a/. The optical fiber radial dimension (radius a) relative tothelight
wavelength is now the important parameter
Thegroupdelayintermsofthenormalizedpropagationconstantbis
(reviewchapter2andequation248)

Thederivationmovesforwardbyassumingtheweaklyguidedconditionwhere
<<1.

Solvingfor

o Thefirsttermintheequationisaconstant.Itisthetimedelayforalight
pulsetravelinginawaveguidewheren2=aconstant.
o Thesecondtermaboveisthegroupdelayarisingfromwaveguide
dispersion.
o TheauthorthenshowstheVfactorintermsofBesselfunctions.
Mainmessageonwaveguidedispersion:
o Thegroupdelayisdifferentforeveryguidedmode.
o Forsmallradiuswaveguides,waveguidedispersioncanbesignificant.
o Forlargeradiuswaveguides(multimode),waveguidedispersionisvery
smallandcanbeneglected.
12.a)ii) Describe various types of fiber connectors and couplers
Fiber connectors
Demountable fiber connectors are more difficult to achieve than optical fiber
splices. This is because they must maintain similar tolerance requirements to splices in
order to couple
light between fibers efficiently, but they must accomplish it in a removable fashion. Also,
the connector design must allow for repeated connection and disconnection without
problems of fiber alignment, which may lead to degradation in the performance of the
transmission line at the joint. Hence to operate satisfactorily the demountable connector
must provide reproducible accurate alignment of the optical fibers. In order to maintain an
optimum performance the connection must also protect the fiber ends from damage which
may occur due to handling (connection and disconnection), must be insensitive to
environmental factors (e.g. moisture and dust) and must cope with tensile load on the
cable. Additionally, the connector should ideally be a low-cost component which can be
fitted with relative ease. Hence optical fiber connectors may be considered in three major
areas, which are:
(a) the fiber termination, which protects and locates the fiber ends;
(b) the fiber end alignment to provide optimum optical coupling;
(c) the outer shell, which maintains the connection and the fiber alignment, protects the
fiber ends from the environment and provides adequate strength at the joint. The use of an
index-matching material in the connector between the two jointed fibers can assist the
connector design in two ways. It increases the light transmission through the connection
while keeping dust and dirt from between the fibers. However, this design aspect is not
always practical with demountable connectors, especially where fluids are concerned.
Apart from problems of sealing and replacement when the joint is disconnected and
reconnected, liquids in this instance may have a detrimental effect, attracting dust and dirt
to the connection.
There are a large number of demountable single-fiber connectors, both
commercially
available and under development, which have insertion losses in the range 0.2 to 3 dB.
Fiber connectors may be separated into two broad categories: butt-jointed connectors and

expanded beam connectors. Butt-jointed connectors rely upon alignment of the two
prepared fiber ends in close proximity (butted) to each other so that the fiber core axes
coincide.
Expanded beam connectors utilize interposed optics at the joint (i.e. lenses) in
order to expand the beam from the transmitting fiber end before reducing it again to a size
compatible with the receiving fiber end. Butt-jointed connectors are the most widely used
connector type and a substantial number have been reported. In this section we review
some of the more common buttjointed connector designs which have been developed for
use with both multimode and single-mode fibers.

5.4.1 Cylindrical ferrule connectors

The basic ferrule connector (sometimes referred to as a concentric sleeve

connector), which is perhaps the simplest optical fiber connector design, is illustrated in
Figure 5.16(a) The two fibers to be connected are permanently bonded (with epoxy resin)
in metal plugs known as ferrules which have an accurately drilled central hole in their end
faces where the stripped (of buffer coating) fiber is located. Within the connector the two
ferrules are placed in an alignment sleeve which, using accurately machined components,
allows the fiber ends to be butt jointed. The ferrules are held in place via a retaining
mechanism which, in the example shown in Figure 5.16(a), is a spring. It is essential with
this type of connector that the fiber end faces are smooth and square (i.e. perpendicular to
the fiber axis). This may be achieved with varying success by:

(a) cleaving the fiber before insertion into the ferrule;

(b) inserting and bonding before cleaving the fiber close to the ferrule end face;
(c) using either (a) or (b) and polishing the fiber end face until it is flush with the end of
the ferrule. Polishing the fiber end face after insertion and bonding provides the best
results but it tends to be time consuming and inconvenient, especially in the field.

Duplex and multiple-fiber connectors

A number of duplex fiber connector designs were developed in order to provide

two-way
communication, but few have found widespread use For example, AT&T produced a
duplex version of the ST single-fiber connector Moreover, the media interface connector
plug shown in Figure was part of a duplex fiber connector which was developed to meet

the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specification for use within optical
fiber LANs This connector plug will mate directly with connectorized optical LAN
components (i.e. transmitters and receivers). A duplex fiber connector for use with the
Fiber Distributed Data Interface also subsequently became commercially available. It
comprised two ST ferrules housed in a protective molded shroud and exhibits a typical
insertion loss of 0.6 dB. Hence, such duplex connectors were preferred for their
simplicity. Multiple-fiber connection is obviously advantageous when interconnecting a
large number of fibers.
Both cylindrical and biconical ferrule connectors can be assembled in housings to
form multiple-fiber configurations Singleferrule connectors generally allow the alignment
sleeve to float within the housing, thus removing any requirement for high tolerance on
ferrule positioning within multiple-ferrule versions. However, the force needed to insert
multiple cylindrical ferrules can be large when many ferrules are involved. In this case
multiple biconical ferrule connectors prove advantageous due to the low insertion force of
the biconic configuration.
Optical couplers [ Refer the question 12.b)i) in anna university QP 2014]
12.b)i)Explain fiber alignment and joint losses[ Refer the question 12.b)ii) in anna
university QP 2014]
12.b)ii) Describe various fiber splicing techniques with their diagrams.
A permanent joint formed between two individual optical fibers in the field or
factory is known as a fiber splice. Fiber splicing is frequently used to establish long-haul
optical fiber links where smaller fiber lengths need to be joined, and there is no
requirement for repeated connection and disconnection. Splices may be divided into two
broad categories depending upon the splicing technique utilized. These are fusion splicing
or welding and mechanical splicing.
Fusion splices
The fusion splicing of single fibers involves the heating of the two prepared fiber
ends to
their fusing point with the application of sufficient axial pressure between the two optical
fibers. It is therefore essential that the stripped (of cabling and buffer coating) fiber ends
are adequately positioned and aligned in order to achieve good continuity of the
transmission medium at the junction point. Hence the fibers are usually positioned and
clamped with the aid of an inspection microscope

A possible drawback with fusion splicing is that the heat necessary to fuse the
fibers may weaken the fiber in the vicinity of the splice. It has been found that even with
careful handling, the tensile strength of the fused fiber may be as low as 30% of that of
the uncoated fiber before fusion [Ref. 44]. The fiber fracture generally occurs in the heat
affected zone adjacent to the fused joint. The reduced tensile strength is attributed to the
combined effects of surface damage caused by handling, surface defect growth during
heating and induced residential stresses due to changes in chemical composition. It is
therefore necessary that the completed splice is packaged so as to reduce tensile loading
upon the fiber in the vicinity of the splice.
Mechanical splicing
A number of mechanical techniques for splicing individual optical fibers have
been developed. A common method involves the use of an accurately produced rigid
alignment tube

into which the prepared fiber ends are permanently bonded. This snug tube splice is
illustrated in Figure 5.8(a) [Ref. 48] and may utilize a glass or ceramic capillary with an
inner diameter just large enough to accept the optical fibers. Transparent adhesive (e.g.
epoxy resin) is injected through a transverse bore in the capillary to give mechanical
sealing and index matching of the splice. Average insertion losses as low as 0.1 dB have
been obtained with multimode graded index and single-mode fibers using ceramic
capillaries. However, in general, snug tube splices exhibit problems with capillary
tolerance requirements. Hence as a commercial product they may exhibit losses of up to
0.5 dB

Multiple splices
Multiple simultaneous fusion splicing of an array of fibers in a ribbon cable has
been demonstrated for both multimode and single-mode fibers. In both cases a 12-fiber
ribbon was prepared by scoring and breaking prior to pressing the fiber ends onto a
contact plate to avoid difficulties with varying gaps between the fibers to be fused. An
electric are fusing device was then employed to provide simultaneous fusion. Such a
device is now commercially available to allow the splicing of 12 fibers simultaneously in
a time of around 6 minutes, which requires only 30 seconds per splice . Splice losses
using this device with multimode graded index fiber range from an average of 0.04 dB to
a maximum of 0.12 dB, whereas for single-mode fiber the average loss is 0.04 dB with a
0.4 dB maximum. A simple technique employed for multiple simultaneous splicing
involves mechanical splicing of an array of fibers, usually in a ribbon cable. The V-groove
multiple-splice secondary element comprising etched silicon chips has been used
extensively

13.a)i) Draw the structure of SLED and ELED , explain the principles of operation
Edge emitter LEDs
Basic high-radiance structure currently used in optical communications is the
stripe geometry DH edge emitter LED (ELED). This device has a similar geometry to a
conventional contact stripe injection laser, as shown in Figure 7.7. It takes advantage of
transparent guiding layers with a very thin active layer (50 to 100 m) in order that the
light produced in the active layer spreads into the transparent guiding layers, reducing
self-absorption in the active layer. The consequent waveguiding narrows the beam
divergence to a half-power width of around 30 in the plane perpendicular to the junction.
However, the lack of waveguiding in the plane of the junction gives a Lambertian output
with a half-power width of around 120, as illustrated in Figure 7.7. Most of the
propagating light is emitted at one end face only due to a reflector on the other end face
and an antireflection coating on the emitting end face. The effective radiance at the
emitting end face can be very high giving an increased coupling efficiency into small-NA
fiber compared with the surface emitter. However, surface emitters generally radiate more
power into air (2.5 to 3 times) than edge emitters since the emitted light is less affected by
reabsorption and interfacial recombination. Comparisons have shown that edge emitters
couple more optical power into low NA (less than 0.3) than surface emitters, whereas the
opposite is true for large NA (greater than 0.3).

The enhanced waveguiding of the edge emitter enables it in theory to couple 7.5
times more power into low-NA fiber than a comparable surface emitter. However, in
practice the increased coupling efficiency has been found to be slightly less than this (3.5
to 6 times) [Refs 16, 17]. Similar coupling efficiencies may be achieved into low-NA fiber
with surface emitters by the use of a lens. Furthermore, it has been found that lens
coupling with edge emitters may increase the coupling efficiencies by comparable factors
(around five times). The stripe geometry of the edge emitter allows very high carrier
injection densities for given drive currents. Thus it is possible to couple approaching a
milliwatt of optical power into low-NA (0.14) multimode step index fiber with edgeemitting LEDs operating at high drive currents (500 mA) [Ref. 18].
Edge emitters have also been found to have a substantially better modulation
bandwidth
of the order of hundreds of megahertz than comparable surface-emitting structures with
the same drive level [Ref. 17]. In general it is possible to construct edge-emitting LEDs
with a narrower linewidth than surface emitters, but there are manufacturing problems
with the more complicated structure (including difficult heat-sinking geometry) which
moderate the benefits of these devices. Nevertheless, a number of ELED structures have
been developed using the InGaAsP/
InP material system for operation at a wavelength of 1.3 m. A common device geometry
which has also been utilized for AlGaAs/GaAs ELEDs [Ref. 19] is shown in Figure 7.8
.This DH edge-emitting device is realized in the form of a restricted length, stripe
geometry p-contact arrangement. Such devices are also referred to as truncated stripe
ELEDs.

The short stripe structure (around 100 m long) improves the external efficiency
of the ELED by reducing its internal absorption of carriers. It was mentioned in Section
7.1 that a particular impetus for the development of high-performance LEDs operating at
a wavelength of 1.3 m was their potential application in the future optical fiber access
network. In this context the capacity to provide both high-speed transmission and
significant launch powers into single-mode fiber are of prime concern.

Superluminescent LEDs
Another device geometry which is providing significant benefits over both SLEDs
and ELEDs for communication applications is the superluminescent diode or SLD. This
device type offers advantages of: (a) a high output power; (b) a directional output beam;
and (c) a narrow spectral linewidth all of which prove useful for coupling significant
optical power levels into optical fiber (in particular to single-mode fiber .Furthermore, the
superradiant emission process within the SLD tends to increase the device modulation
bandwidth over that of more conventional LEDs. Figure 7.10 shows two forms of
construction for the SLD. It may be observed that the structures in both cases are very
similar to those of ELEDs or, for that matter, injection lasers. In effect, the SLD has
optical properties that are bounded by the ELED and the injection laser. Similar to this
latter device the SLD structure requires a pn junction in the form of a long rectangular
stripe (Figure 7.10(a), a ridge waveguide or a BH (Figure 7.10(b).
However, one end of the device is made optically lossy to prevent reflections and
thus suppress lasing, the output being from the opposite end. For operation the injected
current is increased until stimulated emission, and hence amplification, occurs (i.e. the
initial step towards laser action), but because there is high loss at one end of the device,
no optical feedback takes place. Therefore, although there is amplification of the
spontaneous emission, no laser oscillation builds up. However, operation in the current
region for stimulated emission provides gain causing the device output to increase rapidly
with increases in drive current due to what is effectively single-pass amplification.

High optical output power can therefore be obtained, together with a narrowing of
the spectral width which also results from the stimulated emission. An early SLD is
shown in Figure 7.10(a) which employs a contact stripe together with an absorbing region
at one end to suppress laser action. Such devices have provided peak output power of 60
mW at a wavelength of 0.87 m in pulsed mode .Antireflection (AR) coatings can be
applied to the cleaved facets of SLDs in order to suppress FabryProt resonance .Such
devices have launched 550 W of optical power in multimode graded index fiber of 50
m diameter at drive currents of 250 mA

13.a)ii) Draw the injection Laser diode structure explain it. [ Refer the question
13.a)i) in anna university QP 2014]
13.b)i)Draw the PIN and APD photo detectors and explain their operations.
PINPHOTODIODES
A PINphotodiode isasemiconductorpositivenegative(pn)structurewithan
intrinsicregionsandwichedbetweentheothertworegions(seefigure72).Itisnormally
operatedbyapplyingareversebiasvoltage.Themagnitudeofthereversebiasvoltage
dependsonthephotodiodeapplication,buttypicallyislessthanafewvolts.Whenno
lightisincidentonthephotodiode,acurrentisstillproduced.Thiscurrentiscalledthe
darkcurrent.Thedarkcurrentistheleakagecurrentthatflowswhenareversebiasis
applied and no light is incident on the photodiode. Dark current is dependent on
temperature. While dark current may initially be low, it will increase as the device
temperatureincreases.
ResponseTime
Thereareseveralfactorsthatinfluencetheresponsetimeofaphotodiodeandits
outputcircuitry.

Themostimportantofthesearethethicknessofthedetectoractiveareaandthe
detector RC time constant. The detector thickness is related to the amount of time
requiredfortheelectronsgeneratedtoflowoutofthedetectoractivearea.Thistimeis
referredtoastheelectrontransittime.Thethickerthedetectoractivearea,thelongerthe
transittimewillbe.

Figure73.Aschematicrepresentationofaphotodiode.

Figure72.ThebasicstructureofaPINphotodiode
The capacitance(C) ofthephotodiodeandthe resistance(R) oftheloadform
theRCtimeconstant.Thecapacitanceofthephotodetectormustbekeptsmalltoprevent
the RC time constant from limiting the response time. The photodiode capacitance
consistsmainlyofthejunctioncapacitanceandanycapacitancerelatingtopackaging.
TheRCtimeconstantisgivenbytRC=RC. Tradeoffsbetweenfasttransittimesand
lowcapacitancearenecessaryforhighspeedresponse.
However,anychangeinphotodiodeparameterstooptimizethetransit

timeandcapacitancecanalsoaffectresponsivity,darkcurrent,andcouplingefficiency.A
fast transit time requires a thin detector active area, while low capacitance and high
responsivityrequireathickactiveregion.
Thediameterofthedetectoractiveareacanalsobeminimized.Thisreducesthe
detectordarkcurrentandminimizesjunctioncapacitance.However,aminimumlimiton
thisactiveareaexiststoprovideforefficientfibertodetectorcoupling.
Linearity
Reversebiasedphotodetectorsarehighlylineardevices.Detectorlinearitymeans
thattheoutputelectricalcurrent(photocurrent)ofthephotodiodeislinearlyproportional
totheinputopticalpower.Reversebiasedphotodetectorsremainlinearoveranextended
range(6decadesormore)ofphotocurrentbeforesaturationoccurs.Outputsaturation
occursatinputopticalpowerlevelstypicallygreaterthan1milliwatt(mW).Becausefiber
opticcommunicationssystemsoperateatlowopticalpowerlevels,detectorsaturationis
generallynotaproblem.
AVALANCHEPHOTODIODES
An avalanchephotodiode(APD) isaphotodiodethatinternallyamplifiesthe
photocurrentbyanavalancheprocess.
Figure 74 shows an example APD structure. In APDs, a large reversebias
voltage,typicallyover100volts,isappliedacrosstheactiveregion.Thisvoltagecauses
the electrons initially generated by the incident photons to accelerate as they move
throughtheAPDactiveregion.
Astheseelectronscollidewithotherelectronsinthesemiconductormaterial,they
causeafractionofthemtobecomepartofthephotocurrent.Thisprocessisknownas
avalanchemultiplication.Avalanchemultiplicationcontinuestooccuruntiltheelectrons
moveoutoftheactiveareaoftheAPD.
ThegainoftheAPDcanbechangedbychangingthereversebiasvoltage.A
largerreversebiasvoltageresultsinalargergain.However,alargerreversebiasvoltage
also results in increased noise levels. Excess noise resulting from the avalanche
multiplication process places a limit on the useful gain of the APD. The avalanche
processintroducesexcessnoisebecauseeveryphotogeneratedcarrierdoesnotundergo
thesamemultiplication.
ThenoisepropertiesofanAPDareaffectedbythematerialsthattheAPDismade
of.TypicalsemiconductormaterialsusedintheconstructionoflownoiseAPDsinclude
silicon(Si),indiumgalliumarsenide(InGaAs),andgermanium(Ge).

Figure74.ThebasicstructureofanAPD

Tradeoffs are made in APD design to optimize responsivity and gain, dark
current,responsetime,andlinearity.Thischapterdoesnotattempttodiscusstradeoffsin
APDdesigninmoredetail.Manyaspectsofthediscussionprovidedonresponsivity,dark
current,andresponsetimeprovidedinthePINphotodiodessectionalsorelatetoAPDs.
TheresponsetimeofanAPDanditsoutputcircuitrydependsonthesamefactorsasPIN
photodiodes.TheonlyadditionalfactoraffectingtheresponsetimeofanAPDisthe
additionaltimerequiredtocompletetheprocessofavalanchemultiplication.Tolearn
moreaboutAPDdesigntradeoffsandperformanceparameters.

13.b)i)Derive the expression for SNR of both PIN and APD photo detectors .
PHOTODETECTORNOISE&S/N:
Detectionofweakopticalsignalrequiresthatthephotodetectorandits
followingamplificationcircuitrybeoptimizedforadesiredsignalto
noiseratio.

Itisthenoisecurrentwhichdeterminestheminimumopticalpowerlevelthat
canbedetected.Thisminimumdetectableopticalpowerdefinesthesensitivity
ofphotodetector.Thatistheopticalpowerthatgeneratesaphotocurrentwiththe
amplitudeequaltothatofthetotalnoisecurrent(S/N=1)

FigureshowsanexampleAPDstructure.InAPDs,alargereversebiasvoltage,
typicallyover100volts,isappliedacrosstheactiveregion.
Thisvoltagecausestheelectronsinitiallygeneratedbytheincidentphotonsto
accelerateastheymovethroughtheAPDactiveregion.
Astheseelectronscollidewithotherelectronsinthesemiconductormaterial,they
causeafractionofthemtobecomepartofthephotocurrent.
This process is known as avalanche multiplication. Avalanche multiplication
continuestooccuruntiltheelectronsmoveoutoftheactiveareaoftheAPD.
ThegainoftheAPDcanbechangedbychangingthereversebiasvoltage.A
largerreversebiasvoltageresultsinalargergain.However,alargerreversebiasvoltage
alsoresultsinincreasednoiselevels.
Excessnoiseresultingfromtheavalanchemultiplicationprocessplacesalimiton
theusefulgainoftheAPD.Theavalancheprocessintroducesexcessnoisebecauseevery
photogeneratedcarrierdoesnotundergothesamemultiplication.

S
N

signalpowerfromphotocurrent

photodetectornoisepoweramplifiernoisepower

SignalCalculation:
ConsiderthemodulatedopticalpowersignalP(t)fallsonthephotodetectorwith
theformof
P(t)P[1ms(t)]
0

Wheres(t)ismessageelectricalsignalandmismodulationindex.Thereforethe
primaryphotocurrentis(forpinphotodiodeM=1):
i
ph

MP(t)I [DCvalue]i (t)[ACcurrent]

P
p
h

Therootmeansquaresignalcurrentisthen
is2 ip2 M2s2
i

2
p

2 2
2 m IP
p
2

forsinusoidalsignal

NoiseSourcesinPhotodetecors:
l Theprincipalnoisesassociatedwithphotodetectorsare:
1Quantum(Shot)noise:arisesfromstatisticalnatureoftheproduction
andcollectionofphotogeneratedelectronsuponopticalillumination.It
hasbeenshownthatthestatisticsfollowaPoissonprocess.
2Darkcurrentnoise:isthecurrentthatcontinuestoflowthroughthebias

circuitintheabsenceofthelight.Thisisthecombinationofbulkdark
current,whichisduetothermallygeneratedeandhinthepnjunction,
andthesurfacedarkcurrent,duetosurfacedefects,biasvoltagean
surfacearea.
Inordertocalculatethetotalnoisepresentedinphotodetector,weshouldsumup
the root mean square of each noise current by assuming that those are
uncorrelated.

Totalphotodetectornoisecurrent=quantumnoisecurrent+bulkdarkcurrentnoise
+surfacecurrentnoise

Noisecalculation:
Quantumnoisecurrent(lowerlimitonthesensitivity):
i2 2 2qI BM2F(M)
Q

B:Bandwidth,F(M)isthenoisefigureandgenerallyis
F(M)Mx0x1.0
Bulkdarkcurrentnoise:

DB 2qIDBM F(M)
Surfacedarkcurrentnoise
DB

DS 2qILB

DS

Thetotalrmsphotodetectornoisecurrentis:
iN2 N2 iQ2 iDB2 iDS2
2q(IPID)BM2F(M)2qILB
Thethermalnoiseofamplifierconnectedtothephotodetectoris:

4kBTBR

iT T

S/NCALCULATION:
Havingobtainedthesignalandtotalnoise,thesignaltonoiseratiocanbewrittenas:
S

iP

N2q(I

M2

)BM2F(M)2qI

B4kTB/
R
B

SincethenoisefigureF(M)increaseswithM,therealwaysexistsanoptimumvalueofMthat
maximizestheS/N.Forsinusoidallymodulatedsignalwithm=1andF(M)Mx
:
M

2qIL
4kBT/RL

x2

opt

xq(IP ID)

14.a) What are the various types of pre amplifiers available for optical networks and
explain.
The choice of circuit configuration for the preamplifier is largely dependent upon the
system application. Bipolar or field effect transistors (FETs) can be operated in three useful
connections. These are the common emitter or source, the common base or gate, and the emitter
or source follower for the bipolar and field effect transistors respectively. Each connection has
characteristics which will contribute to a particular preamplifier configuration.
It is therefore useful to discuss the three basic preamplifier structures (lowimpedance,
high-impedance and transimpedance front-end) and indicate possible choices of transistor
connection. In this context the discussion is independent of the type of optical detector utilized.
However, it must be noted that there are a number of significant differences in the performance
characteristics between the pin and avalanche photodiode which must be considered within
the overall design of the receiver. The simplest preamplifier structure is the low-input-impedance
voltage amplifier.
This design is usually implemented using a bipolar transistor configuration because of the
high input impedance of FETs. The common emitter and the grounded emitter (without an
emitter resistor) amplifier shown in Figure 12.17 are favored connections, as they may be
designed with reasonably low input impedance and therefore give operation over a moderate
bandwidth without the need for equalization. However, this is achieved at the expense of
increased thermal noise due to the low effective load resistance presented to the detector.

choosing a transistor with characteristics which give a high current gain at a low emitter
current in order to maintain the bandwidth of the stage. Also, an inductance may be inserted at
the collector to provide partial equalization for any integration performed by the stage. The
alternative connection giving very low input impedance is the common base circuit.
Unfortunately, this configuration has an input impedance which gives insufficient power gain
when connected to the high impedance of the optical detector. The preferred preamplifier
configurations for low-noise operation use either a high impedance integrating front-end or a
trans impedance amplifier Careful design employing these circuit structures can facilitate high
gain coupled with low-noise performance and therefore enhanced receiver sensitivity. Although
the bipolar transistor incorporated in the emitter follower circuit may be used to realize a high
impedance front-end amplifier, the FET is generally employed for this purpose because of its
low-noise operation. It was indicated in Section 9.5 that the grounded source FET connection
was a useful circuit to provide a high-impedance front-end amplifier. The same configuration
with a source resistor (common source connection) shown in Figure 12.18

Two configurations which provide a low-input-impedance stage are shown in Figure

12.19. Figure 12.19(a) shows the grounded source FET followed by a bipolar transistor in the
common emitter connection with shunt feedback over the stage. Another favored configuration
to reduce Miller capacitance in the first-stage FET is shown in Figure 12.19(b). In this case the
second stage consists of a bipolar transistor in the common base configuration which, with the
initial grounded source FET, forms the cascode configuration. provides a similar high-input
impedance and may also be used (often both configurations are referred to as the common source
connection). When operating in this mode the FET power gain and output impedance are both
high, which tends to minimize any noise contributions from the following stages. It is especially
the case when the voltage gain of the common source stage is minimized in order to reduce the
Miller capacitance associated with the gate to drain capacitance of the FET. This may be
achieved by following the common source stage with a stage having a low-input impedance.

14.b) With diagram explain the following

a. Measurement of Refractive index profile
b. Measurement of Cut off wavelength
[ Refer the question 14.b) in Anna university QP NOV/DEC 2014]
15.a)i) Explain the SA/SA Protocol and modified SA/SA Protocol of broadcast and select
networks
The Internet Protocol (IP) is a network layer (i.e. layer 3 protocol in the OSI model) that
contains both addressing and control information to enable packets (or datagrams) to be routed
within a network. The Internet can be characterized as a logical architecture (independent of any
particular network) which can permit multiple different networks to be interconnected enabling
each network node to communicate without the need to know which network it is using or how
to route information between them. As indicated in Figure 15.15, the IP provides the means of
communication between the link and transport layers. A virtual connection is established
between nodes requiring communication when IP is combined with a specific higher level
protocol such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or the User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
For this role TCP/IP is preferred, since UDP/IP does not guarantee reliable delivery of data in
comparison with TCP/IP, which generally encapsulates data from the link layer protocols such as
Ethernet The IP provides protocols for both the functions of signaling and routing required to
carry the entire signal operation necessary to transmit and receive from optical nodes. The
signaling protocols include Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and Generalized
Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) while the routing protocols include the Open ShortestPath First (OSPF), the Intermediate-System-to-Intermediate System (ISIS) and the Border
Gateway Protocol (BGPThree generic stages of deployment for optical IP networks are shown in
Figure 15.16. The first generation used ATM to carry IP packets (i.e. IP over ATM), which has
proved

It is not to be an efficient technique as compared with the direct use of SDH/SONET. This is
because of the overhead requirements of the ATM cell structure together with the inherent

overlap of IP packets which map significantly outside the ATM cell size. Therefore service
providers are considering running IP content directly over SONET (i.e. IP over
SONET). In order to carry IP packets, however, mapping of the IP packets directly to the
SDH/SONET frames is required and the resultant technique is referred to as packet over
SONET (PoS). This mapping of IP frames can be accomplished in three stages. In the first
stage the data is segmented into IP packets which are then encapsulated via the PointtoPoint Protocol (PPP). The framing information is then added in the second stage and
then finally, in the third stage, the resultant data is mapped synchronously onto the SDH/
SONET frame.
The second stage and column in Figure 15.16 shows the three tiers comprising IP, a thin
layer of SONET and dense WDM. The ongoing IP revolution suggests that SDH/SONET
is not bandwidth efficient for IP packet transport [Ref. 4]. For example, SDH/SONET uses
synchronous time division multiplexing where each time slot must be occupied otherwise
there is a waste of capacity when there is no data traffic flowing on specific channel
bandwidth. This situation can be improved if statistical multiplexing techniques (see
Section 15.2.1.4) are employed where bandwidth is not assigned if the user has not
requested [Ref. 45]. Thus a thin SONET layer is still present in the second stage with the
switch over from WDM to DWDM at the physical layer. The latter case, however, is considered
more useful if IP can be directly mapped onto DWDM. The removal of the ATM
and SONET layers to produce IP over DWDM is possible due to the increasing sophistication
of the optical and photonic enabling technologies (see Sections 11.2 to 11.6). Hence
the third stage of deployment for IP optical networks is expected to incorporate optical/
photonic switching [Refs 4, 46].
The realization of IP running directly on a DWDM physical layer has become an
important goal in optical networking. Implementation schemes for IP over DWDM and
the further development of IP over OTN are illustrated in Figure 15.17. IP over a point-topoint
WDM network employing optoelectrical conversion at the edges for the IP routing is
shown in Figure 15.17(a) [Ref. 47]. In this case routers are directly interconnected with
high-capacity point-to-point WDM links. Hence the entire traffic is processed in the
router, at the packet level, after converting the optical signal to the electronic domain and
extracting packets from the signal stream. Therefore most of the traffic processed by the
router is transit traffic, as indicated in Figure 15.17(b). The IP over WDM architecture utilizes
the high capacity of the router requiring high-throughput and thus power-consuming

15.b) Explain SONET/SDH architecture:

Layers
hierarchy of signals, all multiple of basic rate (50.688)
basic rate about 50 Mbps to carry DS3 payload
bit-oriented mux
mechanisms to carry DS1, DS2, DS3
Many other proposals were merged into 1987 draft document (rate 49.920) In summer of 1986
CCITT express interest in cooperation
needed a rate of about 150 Mbps to carry E4
wanted byte oriented mux
Initial compromise attempt
byte mux
US wanted 13 rows * 180 columns
CEPT wanted 9 rows * 270 columns
Compromise!
US would use basic rate of 51.84 Mbps, 9 rows * 90 columns
CEPT would use three times that rate - 155.52 Mbps, 9 rows * 270 columns
SONET/SDH architecture: Layers: SONET was designed with definite layering concepts
Physical layer optical fiber (linear or ring)
when exceed fiber reach regenerators
regenerators are not mere amplifiers,
regenerators use their own overhead
fiber between regenerators called section (regenerator section)
Line layer link between SONET muxes (Add/Drop Multiplexers)
input and output at this level are Virtual Tributaries (VCs)
actually 2 layers
lower order VC (for low bitrate payloads)
higher order VC (for high bitrate payloads) Path layer end-to-end path of client data
(tributaries) client data (payload) may be
PDH
ATM
packet data

SONET architecture: SONET (SDH) has at 3 layers:

path end-to-end data connection, muxes tributary signals path section

there are STS paths + Virtual Tributary (VT) paths
line protected multiplexed SONET payload multiplex section
section physical link between adjacent elements regenerator section
Each layer has its own overhead to support needed functionality SDH terminology A SONET
signal is called a Synchronous Transport Signal The basic STS is STS-1, all others are multiples
of it - STS-N The (optical) physical layer signal corresponding to an STS-N is an OC-N
SONET Optical rate

STS-1 can carry 1 T3 or 28 T1s or 1 E3 or 21 E1s

STM-1 can carry 3 E3s or 63 E1s or 3 T3s or 84 T1s

It can be easily seen from Figure 23 that by having pulse a compressed pulse and a
dispersed pulse, the pulse can traverse un-dispersed. Pulses that are not dispersed are referred to
as solitons or solitary pulses. These pulses must have a certain definite shape and will require a
minimum strength. The energy in the pulse introduces intensity induced refractive index change
in the material of the fiber. Index changes from intensity variations are a manifestation of the
non-linearity of the material. Intensity induced changes leads to pulse compression because such

changes are equivalent to self-phase modulation. Phase modulation and frequency modulation
increase the frequency content in the pulse. Using the Fourier property of duality (expansion in
the frequency domain causes a compression in the frequency domain and vice versa), the pulse
must now be narrower. This narrowing of the pulse will be sufficient to compensate for the
dispersion in the fiber, keeping the pulse from spreading. Fiberoptic communication systems
based on solitons use SRS or other amplifiers to keep the signal energy back to the minimum
value required to produce the nonlinearities needed. Thus, the system shown in Figure 22 where
the input pulse is of a specific shape, will provide a fiberoptic communication system that
mitigates the twin problems of attenuation and dispersion.