OBJECTIVE: > To understand the fundamental of optical fibers and analogue optical fiber communication. MATERIALS REQUIRED: 4. LAB Basic Fiber Optic Design Trainer. 2. DMM~2Nos. 3. Patching wires. 4. CRO. THEORY: WHAT IS FIBER OPTICS? Individual optical fibers are used in virtually all communications applications and for many other purposes. Each fiber is optically separate from other fibers, although many separate fibers may be housed in a common cable. Most fibers are made of glass, plastic, or plastic-clad glass; some special fibers are made of other materials, such a8 exotic fluoride compounds. Standard fibers are flexible but somewhat stiff, flexibility depends on fiber diameter. Optical fibers are often compared to human hairs, but whoever thought of that comparison must have had some very stiff hairs or very thin plastic fibers. Communication fibers are stiffer than even a man’s coarse beard hair of the same length. A better comparison would be to monofilament fishing line Unlike wires, fibers spring back to their original straight form after being bent.LIGHT TRANSMISSION: ‘The crucial operating difference between @ fiber optic communication system and other types is thet signals are transmitted as light. Conventional electronic communication relies on electrons passing through wires. Radiofrequency and microwave communications (including satelite links) rely on radio waves and micro waves traveling through pen space. Different media are suited tor afferent warnmunieation jobe. The choien depends on the Joo and the nature of the transmission madium, One important factor is how signels are to be distributed, If the same signal [so be sent from one point to many people in an area-es in broadcast television or radio-the best choice may be non directional radio transmission. Radiofrequency communication is the best way 19 avoid cables for cellular phones and to reach remote places like tropical islands or arctic pases. On the other hand a ceble aystem is preferable for making physical links among many fixed points, a8 in telephone and cable television networks, Cable 's also useful for permanent connections between two fixed points. Some types of transmission are shown in figure below. Telephon Network Remote Comauter | FT] Terminal ¢. Polntto PontEXPERIMENT -1 DETERMINATION OF NUMERICAL APERTURE OF OPTICAL FIBERS OBJECTIVES: To determine the numerical aperture of the PMMA FIBER cables included with this FO-41 BASIC DEFINITIONS: Numerical aperture of any optical system is a measure ot how much light can be collected by the optical system. It is the product of the refractive index of the incident medium and the sine of the maximum ray angle. NA= nisinOnes; Ni foralris 4, hence NA = sindmaxs For a step-index FIBER, as in the present case, the numerical aperture is given by N= Vicor For very small differences in refractive indices the equalion reduces to NA= ncore (24), = Meimaang) Where; Als the fractional difference in refractive indices ‘The fiber may refer to the specifications of the PMMA FIBER given in appendix-1 and record the manufacturer's NA, Noiading ANG Nese and.STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE: (WITH BLOCK SCHEMATIC): FIGURE - 2: THE SCHEMATIC OF THE NUMERICAL APERTURE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM 4. Connect one end of the Gable 1 (1-meter FO cable) to FO LED in the FIBER Optic LED driver secton of FO7 and tne ctner end to the INA Jig, a8 shown in 2, Switch On the trainer. Light should appear at the end of the FIBER on the NA lig Turn the Set Pow knob clockwise to set to maximum Po. The light intensity should increase 3, Hold the white screen with the concentric circles (5, 10. 15, 20 and 25mm diameter) vertically at a suitable distance to make the red spot from the emitting FIBER coincide with the 10 11m circle, Note that the circumference of the spot (outermost) must coincide with the circle. A dark room will faciitate good contrast. Record “L" the distence of the screen from the FIBER end and note the diameter) of the spol. You may measure the diameter of the circle accurately with a suitable scale. 4, Compute NA from the formula; ure = 2. INA = ain0ma= WI (4L2+W?)"? ‘Tabulate the reading and repeat the far 15mm, 20mm and 25 mm diameters too.FIGURE - 3 5. In case the FIBER is under filed, the intensity within the spot may not be evenly distributed. To ensure even distribution of light in the FIBER, first remove twists on the FIBER and then wind § tums of the FIBER on to the mandrel as shown in figure- 3. Use an adhesive tape to hold the windings in position. Now view the spot. The intensity will be more evenly distributed within the core, TABLE 41 [S.No L (mm) [_Womm) NA © (degrees) | 1 10 10 0.447 265 2 16 15 0.423 25.0 3 20 20 0.447 26.5 4 26 25 0.432 25.64 5 30 I DISCUSSION: The numerical aperture as recorded in the manufacturer's data sheet is 0.5 typically the value measured here is 0.437. The lower reading recorded is mainly due to the FIBER being under filled. The acceptance angle is given by 20max, The value of 52 degrees recorded in this is close to the range of §5-60 degrees. The lower reading is again due to the FIBER being under filedWIRING DIAGRAM SECTION II: EXPERIMENT: 1 HBEROFEC ED OMUEREXPERIMENT - 2 LOSSES IN OPTICAL FIBERS OBJECTIVES: > To study various types of losses that, occur in optical FIBERs and measure the loss in dB of two optical FIBER patchcords. BASIC DEFINITIONS: ‘Attenuation in an optical FIBER is a result of a number of effects, Inis aspect is well covered in the books referred to. We will confine our study to attenuation in a FIBER due to macro bending and estimate the losses in two patchcoras. Preferably we will use patcheords of two different iengths. “The loss as a function of the length of the FIBER is measurable only when we se a Meter cable too In the experiments. FIBER loss variations with wavelength for the MMA FIBER under consideration are16 shown in appendix-1 The optical power at a distance, L. in an optical FIBER is given by; p, 10'sv0K0 Where, Po is ne taunched power and a, Is the attenuation coefficient in decibels per unit length? “a” is the typical attenuation coefficient value for the FIBER under consideration here is 0.3dB per meter at a wavelength of 680nm. Loss in FIBERS expressed in decibels is given by —10log (PoP) where, Po is the launched power and Pris power at the far end of the FIBER. Typical losses at connector junctions may vary trom 0.308 to 0.5 UB. Losses in FIBERS occur at FIBER-FIBER Joints or splices due to axial displacement, angular displacement, separation (airgap), mismatch of cores diameters, mismatch of numerical apertures, improper cleaving and polishing at the ends. The loss equation for a simple FIBER optic link is given as: Pig (ABMm)-Pout (ABM) = LurtLrios+Luc+Lest Lvs (4B)‘Where, Ly) (4) Is the loss ul the LED-conneetor junction, Les: (6B) Is the loss in cablet, Li (4B) is the insertion loss at splice or in-line adaptor, Lez (dB) is tne loss in cable2 and Lis (4B) is the loss at the connector-detecter junction. STEP - BY - STEP PROCEDURE: (WITH BLOCK SCHEMATIC): FIQURE - 4: THE SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF OPTICAL FIBER LOSS MEASUREMENT 1. Connect one end of FO Cable (1-Meter) to the FO LED on the FO LED port in the FIBER optic LED driver section and the other end to the FO detector in the optical power section Set the DMM to the 2090mV range. Connect the DMM Va. to P41 and the DMM ‘common P2. Turn the OMMON The power meter is now ready for use. 3, Switch ON the trainer. Connect the optical FIBER patch cord securely as shown, fiber relieving all twists and strains on the FIBER. Adjust the set Pour knob to set Po to a suitable value say, -15.0dBm (the DMM will read 150 mV). Note this as Por.4. Wind one turn of the FIBER on the mandrel es shown’ in experiment-1 and note the new reading of the power meter Poz. Now the loss due to bending and strain on the plastic FIBER is PorPoxtB. For more accurate readout set the DMM to the 200.0mV range and take the measurement Typically the loss due to the strain and bending the FIBER ic 0.3 lo 0.8 dB. 5, Next remove the mandrel and relieve the cable of all twists and strains. Note the reading Por for cable 1 (1-meter cable). Repeat the measurerent with the cable 2(S-meter cable) and note the reading Pog. Use the in-line SMA adaptor and connect he cables in series as shown. Note the measurement Pos. Poo Pos gives loss in the Cable 2 + Loss in IL. Pos - Paz gives loss in the Cable 1 + Loss in th. Assuming a loss of 1.008 in the imine adaptor, we obiain the loss in each cable. “The experiment may be repeated in the higher sensitivity range ot 200. amv. TABLE OF READINGS: TABLE -2 SL.NO | Pos (dBm) | Paz (dBm) Pos(dBm) ] Loss in | Loss in Loss/ | Cablet Cable2 | meter | (4B) | (68) (0B) tT | +160 - , } 2 200 | | 3 “50 s 30.0 i | DISCUSSION: The readings are close to the recorded readings.WIRING DIAGRAM ‘OPTICAL POWER METER +60EXPERIME) = Loss DU. AIRGAPS ERS WITH IN-LD ADAPTORS OBJECTIVES: > Tostudy losses at FIBER junctions with an inline SMA -SMA adaptor by creating known air-gaps. BASIC DEFINITIONS: tn ling adaptors mechar may be connected in seres. These find application in all FIBER optic systems. In-line adaptors without air-gap Facilitate low loss connectivity. The loss arising out of such a comrector jay is limited to 0.5 to 1.0.48, A number of other mechanical connectorisation ) components, with which two optical FIBER cables methods are available. However for reliable permanent connections between cne HIBER and another, ‘usiuni splices would be the solution. Many FIBER optic communication systems require attenuators in the optical path to eneure proper matching of signals between the source and the cetector. In case of too large a signal from the transmitter, the receiver may got saturated. To facilitate adjustments of optical signal levels in optical FIBER networks, altenuators are used. Attenuators are based on @ variety of methods. Variable attenuators are also essentiel TIER optic acoceeenee. The simple and popular way to attenuate optical power at FIBER junctions is to create a known (fixed cr variable) ait-gap at the junction. All the light exiting from the transmitting side is not coupled to the receiving FIBER resulting in attenuation. In the present experiment we shall be studying the loss difference arising oul uf @ leluial air gap created in the in-line adaptor.STEP - BY - STEP PROCEDURE: (WITH BLOCK SCHEMATIC): FIGURE - 5; THE SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM TO MEASURE LOSS IN AN INLINE ADAPTOR 4. Mark one face of the hexagonal lock nut with a pen. Connect one end of the -Meter FO cable (designated as Cable) to FO LED in the FIBER optic LED driver section, keeping the connector with the marking on the hexagonal lock nut free. Connect one end of the 5m FO cable (designated as Cable2) to FIBER optic detector in optical power meter section. 2. Next connect the free end of cable (with the marking) to the in-line adaptor, by rotating it. Connect the free end of cable 2 to the other side of the in-line adaptor tightly, but without force. 3. Set the power meter to read a convenient value, say -20.00Bm...P1 4. Next loosen the lock nut with the marking by one turn. Pull the cables gently apart $0 as to create an alt gap in the ILA that corresponds to one thread of the connector (0.7mm). Note the meter reading as P2. Unwind another full thread of cable1 and pull the cables apart gently to create an airgap of 1.4mm. Note the meter reading as P3. Do not disturb cable 2 position in the in-line adaptor. 5. The losses due to the ait-gaps are given by the P2-P1 and P3-P1 (in dB) Repeat the experiment for other settings of optical power.TABLE-3 Pa 2 Lose for 0.7mm 2 | Loss for amm SL.NO | (48m) | (em) | air-yap(de) | (dBm) | airgap (dB) 4 -20.0 | | type i i | DISCUSSION: The readings for two ait-gaps are tabulated above. These do not corelale willy theoretical approximations for loss due to the air-gaps. The losses measured in these cases are much lower than those expected because light exiting from the short length If cable ie not uniformly distributed | ight is concentrated close to the axis, providing or etter coupling between the Fibers and hence lower losses than expected. This experiment hrstly demonstrates the need lw eliminate air-gape at FIBER junctions for loveloss transmission. It also demonstrates a method to introduce known losses int ‘optical FIBER networks. WIRING DIAGRAM EXPERIMENT -3 ‘BER OPTIC LED DRIVER + men omic