Compiled notes for three lectures of optical fiber measurement systems

The material provided here is being used for academic purposes only, and is
intended only for students registered in NIT Jalandhar, for academic session
July-December 2021, and is not intended for wider circulation.

Ref. Books:
[1] Tomasi, Wayne, and Cheryl Tomasi. Electronic communications systems:
fundamentals through advanced. Pearson Education.
 Contents
• Introduction
• Generalized block diagram of optical fiber communications
link
• Sources
– General principles
– LED sources
• Transmission medium
– General principle
– Optical fibers
• Working principle
• Different types
• Attenuation of light beam
• Detectors and signal conditioning

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Generalized block diagram of optical
fiber communications link1

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 Sources: General principles
• All of the sources used in optical measurement
systems emit radiation over a continuous band of
wavelengths rather than at a single wavelength λ.
The intensity of a source is specified by the
spectral exitance function S(λ) which is defined
via the following:
– The amount of energy per second emitted from 1 cm 2
of the projected area of the source, into a unit solid
angle, between wavelengths λ and λ + Δλ is S(λ)Δλ.

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Fig. Lambertian emitter and solid angle 2

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• The total power emitted over all wavelengths
is termed as the radiance of the source R, i.e.

• For many of the sources used in optical

measurement systems, the source S(λ) is the
same when viewed in all directions. Such a
source is said to be Lambertian; a common
example is a surface-emitting LED.

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 LED Sources
• LEDs are p-n junctions formed from p-type and n-type
semiconductors, which when forward biased emit optical radiation.
• LEDs emitting visible radiation are widely used in displays.
– Examples are gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) which emits red
light (λ ≈ 0.655 μm) and gallium phosphide (GaP) which emits green
light (λ ≈ 0.560 μm).
• Infrared LED sources are often preferred for use with optical fiber
transmission links because their wavelength characteristics S(λ) are
compatible with the fiber transmission characteristics T(λ).
• LEDs based on gallium aluminium arsenide (GaAlAs) alloys emit
radiation in the 0.8 to 0.9 μm wavelength region, and those using
indium gallium arsenide phosphide (InGaAsP) emit in the 1.3 to 1.6
μm region.
• Light-emitting diodes emit radiation over a narrow band of
wavelengths.

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LED Sources contd.

Fig. S(λ) for GaAlAs LED2

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 Transmission medium:
General principles
• If light is passed through any medium – gas, liquid or solid – then
certain wavelengths present in the radiation cause the molecules to
be excited into higher energy states. These wavelengths are thus
absorbed by the molecules; each type of molecule is characterized
by a unique absorption spectrum which is defined by:

• Similarly, the transmission spectrum T(λ) is defined by:

• From conservation of energy, A(λ) + T(λ) = 1 so that a transmission

minimum corresponds to an absorption maximum.

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 Optical fibers

Fig. Optical fiber principles--- (a) Optical fiber construction (b) Reflection and refraction at a
boundary2

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 Optical fibers contd.

Fig. Optical fiber principles--- (c) Total internal reflection in a fiber 2

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 Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
• Total internal reflection in the core occurs
if φ ≥ θc, i.e.

• If θ0 is the angle of incidence of a ray to

the fiber, then the ray enters the core at
an angle θ given by:

• Combining above two equations, we get:

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 TIR contd.
• For air n0 = 1, so that the
maximum angle of acceptance
θ0MAX of the fiber is given by:

• Thus rays with θ0 ≤ θ0MAX have

φ ≥ θc and are continuously
internally reflected: rays with
θ0 > θ0MAX have φ < θc, refract
out of the core and are lost in
the cladding.

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Different types of optical fiber2

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 Attenuation of light beam
• A light beam is attenuated as it propagates along a fiber; this attenuation
increases with the length of the fiber.
• The main attenuation mechanisms are Rayleigh scattering, absorption by
ions present in the fiber core, and radiation.
• The overall attenuation loss α dB/km of a fiber of length L km is defined
by:

where WIM and WOM are the input and output powers and T is the transmission factor.

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Fig. Optical fiber attenuation characteristics 2

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 Detectors and signal conditioning
• The detector converts the incident radiant power into
an electrical output that is a resistance or small
voltage.
• A signal conditioning element, such as a bridge and/or
amplifier, is usually required to provide a usable
voltage signal.
• The four main performance characteristics of detectors
are:
– Responsivity (sensitivity), KD
– Time constant, τ
– Wavelength response, D(λ)
– Noise equivalent power (NEP) or factor of merit, D*.

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 Photovoltaic detectors2

(b)

(a)

(c)

Fig. Current-voltage characteristics for photodiode (b) Norton equivalent circuit for photodiode (c)
Wavelength response for photovoltaic detectors

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Extended discussion:

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 References
1. Tomasi, Wayne. Electronic communications systems: fundamentals
through advanced. Pearson Education, 2007.
2. Bentley, John P. Principles of measurement systems. Pearson education,
2005.

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Thank you!

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