FIBER OPTICS
COMMUNICATIONS
ENGR. RYAN PAUL S. RIWARIN
WHAT IS FIBER OPTICS
Fiber Optics:
The technology of transferring information, for example, in communications or
computer technology, through a number of thin flexible glass or plastic tubes (optical
fibers) using modulated light waves.
Optics:
Branch of physical science dealing with the propagation and behavior of light.
Optical Fibers:
In the simplest form, they are cylindrical dielectric waveguides made up of central
cylinder of glass (core) with one index of refraction, surrounded by an annulus (clad)
with a slightly different index of refraction.
HISTORY OF FIBER OPTICS
1850 John Tyndall, a British physicist, demonstrated that light can be
guided along a curved stream of water using Total Internal Reflection.
1880 Alexander Graham Bell experimented with an apparatus he
called photophone.
1930 John L. Baird and C. W. Hansell were granted patent for scanning
and transmitting television images through uncoated fiber cables.
1951 A.C.S. van Heel, H.H. Hopkins and N.S. Kapany experimented
with light transmission through bundles of fiber that led to the
development of the flexible fiberscope.
HISTORY OF FIBER OPTICS
1956 N.S. Kapany coined the term “fiber optics”.
1958 Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow wrote a technical paper
about
LASER and MASER.
1960 Theodore Maiman, built the first optical maser.
1967 K.C. Kao and G.A. Bockham proposed a cladded fiber cables.
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.
❖ Tremendous Bandwidth - An optical fiber can easily support 100
Mbps while advanced systems are carrying beyond 1 Gbps.
❖ No Interference - The light pulses travel entirely within the fiber
causing no harmful interference, known as electromagnetic
interference (EMI) and radio-frequency interference (RFI) in
nearby wire cables or adjacent optical fiber.
❖ Noise Immunity - The optical fiber system is also immune to
nearby signals and EMI/RFI, regardless of interference magnitude
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.
❖ No Electrical Hazard - There is complete electrical isolation
between ends of the link. This eliminates ground loops which
affects performance, as well as the danger of shock at one end if
there is a misconnection or failure at the other end.
❖ Secure Communication - Since the light energy stays entirely
within the fiber, the only way to intercept the signal is to tap
physically into the line since there is no radiated energy field to
intercept. Taps are difficult to accomplish physically, and a tap in
the line causes a loss in signal power that can easily be detected.
BENEFITS OF FIBER-BASED SYSTEM.
❖ Safe to use in Dangerous Environment - Since there is no electrical
energy present; fiber optics can be used wherever, even there is a
danger of explosion from sparks.
❖ Lightweight - The weight and bulk of fiber optical cable is much less than
the equivalent wire cables for the same effective bandwidth and number
of users.
DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTICS TECHNOLOGY
❖ Cost - The cost of the fiber is a little greater than that of basic
copper wire in some configurations.
❖ Complex deployment & repairs - It is difficult to splice optical
fibers to make them longer or to repair breaks.
❖ Complex connectors - Connectors for fibers are more complex to
attach to the cable and require precise physical alignment.
DISADVANTAGES OF FIBER OPTICS TECHNOLOGY
❖ Complex network - Switching, routing and distribution
of fiber optic signals are difficult.
❖ Complicated test equipments - Fiber-based system
needs special test equipment.
NATURE OF LIGHT
Wave Nature of Light
Light is an electromagnetic wave having a very high oscillation
frequency and a very short wavelength.
➔ In fiber optics and any other field of expertise concerning
light signals, it is more pronounced to express it in
wavelength rather than frequency.
General Subdivision of light
Infrared
➔ Band of light wavelengths that are too long to be seen by the human eye.
(770 nm to 100,000 nm)
Visible Light
➔ Band of light wavelengths to which the human eye respond. (390 nm to
770 nm)
Ultraviolet
➔ Band of light wavelengths that are too short to be seen by the human
eye. (10 nm to 390 nm)
Wave Properties of Light
Reflection
➔ Phenomenon of wave motion, in which a wave is returned after
impinging on a surface. When energy, such as light, traveling from
one medium encounters a different medium, part of the energy
usually passes on while part is reflected.
Refraction
➔ The change in direction that occurs when a wave of energy such as
light passes from one medium to another of a different density, for
example, from air to water.
Wave Properties of Light
Diffraction
➔ The bending or spreading out of waves as they pass around the edge of
an obstacle or through a narrow aperture.
Absorption
➔ The reduction in the intensity of radiated energy within a medium
caused by converting some or all of the energy into another form.
Dispersion
The separation of visible light or other electromagnetic waves into different
wavelengths.
Ray Theory of Light
A number of phenomena are adequately explained by considering light as
narrow rays and this area of optical science concerns the application of laws of
reflection and refraction of light in the design of lenses.
❖ In a vacuum, ray travel at a velocity of 3x108 m/s.
❖ Rays travel in a straight path unless deflected by some change in the
medium.
❖ When ray is reflected, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
refraction (Specular Reflections)
❖ If any power crosses the boundary (refraction occurs), the transmitted ray
directions is given by Snell’s Law or Fresnel Law.
Critical Angle (θc)
Defined as the minimum
angle of incidence at which a
light ray may strike the
interface of two media and
results in an angle of
refraction of 90° or greater.
Snell’s Law
This important law, named after
Dutch mathematician Willebrord
Snell, states that the product of
the refractive index and the sine
of the angle of incidence of a
ray in one medium is equal to
the product of the refractive
index and the sine of the angle
of refraction in a successive
medium.
Index of Refraction (n)
The refractive index of a substance measures how the substance affects light
traveling through it. It is equal to the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the
speed of light in that substance.
Index Profile
A graphical representation of the value of the refractive index across the fiber.
Numerical Aperture (NA)
The figure of merit used to describe the light gathering or light collecting
ability of an optical fiber.
Acceptance Angle or Acceptance Cone Half Angle (θmax)
The maximum angle in which the external light rays may strike the air/fiber
interface and still propagate down the fiber.
Fractional Index Change (Δ)
The normalized difference between the index of the core and cladding.
SAMPLE PROBLEM
SAMPLE PROBLEM
