SKET 4523

Optical Communication System

Chapter 2: Light Propagation in Optical

Fiber

Dr Asrul Izam bin Azmi

Communication Engineering Department
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,
Email: asrul@utm.my
Basic Structure of an Optical Fiber

Core
Physical medium that transports
optical data signals from an attached
light source to a receiving device

Cladding
Provide a lower refractive index at the
core interface causing reflection
within the core Coating
Ensure light is confined and
A layer of plastic that surrounds the core and
transmitted through the core
cladding to reinforce the fiber core
Absorb shocks, and provide extra protection
against excessive cable bends
Protects the fiber from absorbing surface
contaminants e.g. water
Guide unwanted cladding modes out of the
fiber.
 Basic Structure of an Optical Fiber

Strengthening fibers

Protect the core against crushing forces

and excessive tension during installation

Made of a bundle of flexible fibrous

polymer strength members like aramid
(e.g. Twaron or Kevlar)

Cable jacket

The outermost layer of protection for the fibers that is chosen to

withstand the environment in which the cable is installed.

Material used depends on the environment e.g. indoor or outdoor

 Types of Optical Fiber
Types based on material used:
Glass core, with glass cladding all glass or silica fiber
Glass core with plastic cladding plastic cladded silica (PCS)
Plastic core with plastic cladding all plastic or polymer fiber

Types based on propagation:

Single Mode Fiber (SMF)
Multimode Fiber (MMF)

Types based on refractive index profile:

Step Index (SI) Fiber
Graded Index (GI) Fiber
Types of Optical Fiber

Single Mode Multimode

Fiber (SMF) Fiber (MMF)

Step Step
Index Index

Graded
Index
 Types of Optical Fiber
Silica Fiber
The refractive index range of glass ; n1 - n2 to be small.

This small value then reduces the light coupling efficiency of

the fiber, i.e. large loss of light during coupling.
The attenuation loss is the lowest compared to the other two
fibers making it suitable for long and high capacity.

Plastic Cladded Silica (PCS)

A larger range for the value of refractive index difference.
Have higher loss than the all glass fiber
Suitable for shorter links ; < 1 km
Light coupling efficiency is better.
 Types of Optical Fiber
Polymer Fiber
Has the highest loss during transmission.
Normally used for very short links ; < 100 m
Large core size, therefore light coupling efficiency is high.
The core size can be as large as 1 mm.
Smaller bend radius, and is more resilient to damage and abuse than
glass due to its intrinsic material characteristics.
It is easier to terminate, polish, and connect as well, which can reduce
the cost of installation and maintenance
 Types of Optical Fiber

Relative size

Polymer Fiber
PCS
Core/cladding size

Silica Fiber

MMF SMF
 Summary of fiber characteristics
Material Type Core/Cladding NA Atten- BW Typical Use
Diameter (m) uation (Mb/s.km)
(dB/km)
All MM/ 200-600/ 0.5- 330- Low Very low cost,
plastic SI 450-1000 0.6 1000 short haul (100m)

Plastic MM/ 50-100/ 0.2- 4-15 4-15 Low cost, short

Cladding SI 125-150 0.3 haul, low BW

Silica MM/ 50-400/ 0.16- 4-50 6-25 Low cost, short

SI 125-300 0.50 haul, low BW

Silica MM/ 30-60/ 0.2- 2-10 150-2000 Medium haul,

GRIN 100-150 0.3 medium BW, lead
laser systems
(100m 1km)
Silica SM/SI 3-10/ 0.08- 0.5-5 500-40000 Long haul, high
50-125 0.15 BW, Laser
systems(1km
60km)
Silica SM/SI Up to 100 Intercontinental
Soliton x 106 wide BW systems

MM Multimode : SI Step index : NA Numerical Aperture

 The Nature of Light

Quantum Theory Light consists of small particles

(photons). This theory better explains light
detection and generation processes.
Wave Theory Light travels as a transverse
electromagnetic wave. This theory better explains
light propagation.
Ray Theory Light travels along a straight line and
obeys laws of geometrical optics. This theory is
useful to explain reflection, refraction, light
guiding in optical fiber.
 Ray Theory

Based on three laws which describe the propagation

of rays:
Light rays in homogenous media are straight lines.
Laws of reflection
Snells law of refraction
 Index of Refraction(n)

When light enters a dense medium like glass or water, it

slows down
The index of refraction (n) is the ratio of the speed of light
in vacuum (c) to the speed of light in the medium (V)

n=c/v

Water has n = 1.33

Light takes 30% longer to travel through it
Fiber optic glass has n = 1.45-1.48
Light takes 50% longer to travel through it
 Reflection and Refraction of Light

Changes in index of refraction are what causes light to bend

Beyond a certain angle, the refraction will cause light to be reflected from the surface
 Reflection and Refraction of Light
When a ray is incident of the interface between two dielectrics of
different indices (e.g. glass-air), reflection and refraction occur

The angle of incidence 1 and the angle of refraction 2 are

related to each other, and to the refractive indices of the
dielectrics by Snells law of refraction:
n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2
Reflection and Refraction of Light
Refracted
ray
2
n2
2
1 1
n1
Incident 1 1
ray
Reflected
ray
n1 < n2

Ray from lower RI to higher RI: 1 > 2

Reflection and Refraction of Light

2 Refracted
n2 ray
2
1 1
n1
Incident 1 1
ray
Reflected
ray
n1 > n2

Ray from higher RI to lower RI: 1 < 2

 Total Internal Reflection

As 1 increases (or 1 n1 > n2 n2

decreases) then there is no reflection

1
The incident angle
1 =c
1 = c = Critical Angle
n1

Beyond the critical angle, light ray n1 > n2 n2

becomes totally internally reflected
When 1 = 90o (or c = 0o) 1 1
1>c
n1 sin 1 = n2 n1
1 n2
Thus the critical angle c sin
n1
 Light Ray Guiding Condition

When there is No refraction is possible and No light escapes into

the air and the light ray is totally reflected back into the glass
medium
TIR
 Example

1. Calculate the critical angle for an interface between silica

(n1 = 1.45) and air (n2=1.0)

2. Calculate the critical angle for an interface between

doped silica (n1 = 1.46) and pure silica (n2=1.45)

c = 43.6, 83.3
 Ray propagation

> c, > max

4
c
3 a
2
1

Core n1

Air (no =1) Cladding n2

If a ray enters the fiber at an angle within the cone then it will be
captured and propagate as a bound mode.

If a ray enters the fiber at an angle outside the cone then it will leave the
core and eventually leave the fiber itself.
 Ray propagation

Acceptance cone > c, > max

c
a

Core n1

Air (no =1) Cladding n2

From Snells Law: n0 sin = n1 sin

n2
When = max, = c
Critical angle: sin =
c n
1
 Critical angle:
n
sin c = n2 -----(2)
1

From trigonometry
sin c = 1 2 c -----(3)

Sub. (3) into (2)

Snells Law:
n2
n0 sin = n1 sin 1 2 c =
n1
n0 sin = n1 cos c =
n
1 2
2
-----(4)
n1

When = max, = c Sub. (4) into (1)

n0 sin max = n1 cos c
n 2
sin max = n1 1 2
n1
sin max = n1 cos c ------(1)
(since n0=1 if launch from air) = n12 n22

Max launching angle: max = 1 n12 n22

 Ray propagation

sin max = n12 n22 : Numerical Aperture (NA)

The NA is the sine of the largest angle contained within the cone of acceptance.

Relative refractive index difference between core and cladding, :

n1 2 n 2 2

2n1 2

Relation between NA and :

NA 2

2n12

NA n1 (2)0.5
Fiber NA depends on n1 and
 Ray propagation

For << 1, further simplification of expression can be obtained

n1 2 n 2 2 n1 n2

2n1 2 n1
 Ray propagation
Typical NA for SMF is 0.1 and for MMF, NA is between 0.2 and 0.3.

Plastic optical fibers (POFs) are designed to have high numerical

apertures (typically, 0.4 0.5) to improve coupling efficiency.

NA is related to a number of important fiber characteristics:

It is a measure of the ability of the fiber to gather light at the input
end
The higher the NA the tighter (smaller radius) we can have bends
in the fiber before loss of light becomes a problem.
The higher the NA the more modes we have. This means that the
higher the NA the greater will be the dispersion of this fiber (in the
case of MM fiber)
In SM fiber a high RI contrast usually implies a high level of dopant
in the core. Dopant causes higher attenuation.
 Ray propagation
Two types of rays can propagate along an optical fiber.

Meridional rays - rays that pass through the axis of the optical fiber.
Skew rays - rays that travel through an optical fiber without passing
through its axis.
Q1. A silica fiber has a core refractive index of 1.5 and
cladding refractive index of 1.47. Determine (a) the critical
angle at the core-cladding interface; (b) the NA for the
fiber; (c) the acceptance angle in air for the fiber.
Q2. A typical relative refractive index difference for an optical fiber designed for long
haul transmission is 1%. Estimate the NA and solid acceptance angle in air for the
fiber when the core index is 1.46. Further, calculate the critical angle at the core-
cladding interface within the fiber.