ES 475 - Optical Communication and

Computing
Lecture 13

Dr. Asad Mahmood

March 01, 2023
Outline
• Announcements: (Assignment and Quiz # 2)
• Quick Review of Last Lecture
• Chapter 3: Attenuation and Dispersion
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• Outline for Today’s Lecture
• Chapter 3: Attenuation and Dispersion
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
 Chapter 3
Attenuation and Dispersion
Dr. Asad Mahmood
Chapter 3 – Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter Contents:
• 3.1 - Attenuation
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• An optical signal weakens from attenuation mechanisms and broadens due to
dispersion effects
• If significant overlap, the receiver can no longer distinguish the individual adjacent
pulses and errors arise when interpreting the received signal

• 3.2.1 – Overview of Dispersion Origins

• Signal dispersion is a consequence of factors such as:
1. Inter-modal dispersion
2. Intra-modal/Chromatic dispersion
3. Polarization-mode dispersion
4. Higher-order dispersion effects

• Distortions can be explained by examining the behavior of the group velocities of the
guided modes
3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.2.1 – Overview of Dispersion Origins
• Signal dispersion is a consequence of factors such as:
1. Inter-modal delay/dispersion (Also called Modal delay)
• Only in Multi-mode transmission
• Cause = Each mode having a different value of the Group
velocity at a single frequency

2. Intra-modal/Chromatic dispersion
• Pulse-spreading that takes place within a single mode
• Cause = Finite spectral emission width of an optical source
• Its effect on distortion increases with the spectral width of
the source → Lasers vs LED!
• Two main causes
1. Material Dispersion
• Due to the variations of the refractive index of the core
material as a function of wavelength → similar effect by
which a prism spreads out a spectrum
• pulse spreading occurs even when different
wavelengths follow the same path
2. Waveguide dispersion
3.2.1 – Overview of Dispersion Origins
• Intra-modal/Chromatic dispersion
• Material Dispersion
• 3.2.1 – Overview of Dispersion Origins
• Signal dispersion is a consequence of factors
such as:
2. Intra-modal/Chromatic dispersion
• Two main causes
1. Material Dispersion
2. Waveguide dispersion
• Because only part of the optical
power inside the core, and
different RI for core and
cladding!
3. Polarization Dispersion
• Light-signal energy at a given wavelength
in a single-mode fiber actually occupies
two orthogonal polarization states or
modes
• Each polarization mode will encounter a
slightly different refractive index →
different velocity → Dispersion
3.2.2 – Inter-modal dispersion/ Modal delay
1. Inter-modal dispersion/ modal delay
• Only in Multi-mode transmission
• Cause = Group velocity of a mode different from the group
velocity of another mode
• From a ray-tracing perspective
• Each unique angle of rays → unique mode
• Rays with higher-order angles → Smaller axial velocity
component → Different axial velocities for different
modes
• Example 3.7
• An important question that arises is What maximum bit rate B can be sent over multimode
step-index fiber considering dispersion?
• Hint: Pulse-spread relation with the width of the bit-period
• Bit rate – distance product → Typically used to describe fiber capacity ( Example)
• RMS delay spread because of inter-modal dispersion (Example 3.9)
• Derived assuming ray angles are uniformly distributed across the range of acceptance angles
• Improvement/Reduction of inter-modal dispersion via use of graded-index fibers → Lower RI
on the edge makes the higher-modes travel faster!
3.2.3 (Factors contributing to Dispersion) and 3.2.4 (Group Delay)

• These sections involve a deeper mathematical treatment of determining the term

Dispersion (D). Interested students can go through them but these will not be
part of the syllabus, as we are more interested in what is represented by D
and/or how to use it to determine the pulse-spread.
• The main reason for dispersion is the dependence of β on different wavelengths!
• The quantity D (Dispersion) defines the pulse spread as a function of wave
length and is measured in picoseconds per kilometer per nanometer
[ps/(nm.km)].
• It is a result of material and waveguide dispersion.
• For simplicity, it can be assumed, that material dispersion and waveguide dispersion
can be calculated separately and then added to give the total dispersion.
 3.2.4 (Group Delay)
• Group Delay
 3.2.5 – Material Dispersion
• Material dispersion occurs because the index of refraction varies as
a function of the optical wavelength → Various spectral
components will travel at different speed → Dispersion
• It is an intra-modal dispersion effect
• Important for single-mode fibers and LEDs
• Can be reduced by
1. Use of narrower BW
2. Operating at Higher Wavelengths

• Expression to calculate rms pulse spread (σmat) from the material

dispersion (Dmat)
 3.2.5 – Material Dispersion
• Example 3.10 and 3.11:
• A manufacturer’s data sheet lists the material
dispersion Dmat of a GeO2-doped fiber to be
110 ps/(nm . km) at a wavelength of 860 nm.
Find the rms pulse broadening per kilometer
due to material dispersion if the optical source
is a GaAlAs LED that has a spectral width of 40
nm at an output wavelength of 860 nm.
• What if a laser with spectral width of 0.2 nm is
used at 1550 nm?

This example shows that a dramatic reduction in dispersion

can be achieved when operating at longer wavelengths
with laser sources.
 3.2.6 – Waveguide Dispersion
• Waveguide Dispersion arises because the difference in core-cladding spatial power
distributions, together with the speed variations of the various wavelengths, causes a
change in propagation velocity for each spectral component.
• The degree of waveguide dispersion depends on the fiber design.
• Waveguide dispersion usually can be ignored in multimode fibers, but its effect is
significant in single-mode fibers.
• Expression to calculate rms pulse spread (σwg) from the waveguide dispersion (Dwg)
3.2.7 – Dispersion in Single Mode Fibers
• For single-mode fibers, waveguide
dispersion is of importance and can be of
the same order of magnitude as material
dispersion.
• Comparing the waveguide dispersion with
the material dispersion, we see that for a
standard non-dispersion-shifted fiber,
waveguide dispersion is important around
1320 nm.
• At this point, the two dispersion factors
cancel to give a zero total dispersion.
• However, material dispersion dominates
waveguide dispersion at shorter and longer
wavelengths; for example, at 900 nm and
1550 nm.
3.2.8 – Polarization Mode Dispersion
• Birefringence property of the optical fiber results in polarization mode dispersion
(PMD)
• Birefringence in the fiber can result from
• intrinsic factors such as geometric irregularities of the fiber core
• internal stresses on it
• external factors, such as bending, twisting, or pinching of the fiber
• Each polarization-mode/ refracted ray will travel with a slightly different velocity →
pulse spreading
- Unlike chromatic dispersion, Polarization Mode
Dispersion (PMD) varies randomly along the fiber
• AN Experiment
• A 36-km spooled fiber in a temperature-controlled
chamber, a 48.8-km buried cable, and a 48-km
aerial cable. Over a 12- to 15-h period, the average
PMD parameters were measured to be 0.028, 0.29,
and 1.28 ps/ km, respectively
Chapter 3 – Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter Contents:
• 3.1 - Attenuation
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
3.2.7 – Dispersion in Single Mode Fibers
• For single-mode fibers, waveguide dispersion
is of importance and can be of the same
order of magnitude as material dispersion.
• Comparing the waveguide dispersion with the
material dispersion, we see that for a
standard non-dispersion-shifted fiber,
waveguide dispersion is important around
1320 nm.
• At this point, the two dispersion factors cancel
to give a zero total dispersion.
• However, material dispersion dominates
waveguide dispersion at shorter and longer
wavelengths; for example, at 900 nm and
1550 nm.
• Normal (+ive) dispersion vs Anamolous (-ive)
dispersion
3.2.8 – Polarization Mode Dispersion
• Birefringence property of the optical fiber results in polarization mode dispersion
(PMD)
• Birefringence in the fiber can result from
• intrinsic factors such as geometric irregularities of the fiber core
• internal stresses on it
• external factors, such as bending, twisting, or pinching of the fiber
• Each polarization-mode/ refracted ray will travel with a slightly different velocity →
pulse spreading
- Unlike chromatic dispersion, Polarization Mode
Dispersion (PMD) varies randomly along the fiber
• AN Experiment
• A 36-km spooled fiber in a temperature-controlled
chamber, a 48.8-km buried cable, and a 48-km
aerial cable. Over a 12- to 15-h period, the average
PMD parameters were measured to be 0.028, 0.29,
and 1.28 ps/ km, respectively
Chapter 3 – Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter Contents:
• 3.1 - Attenuation
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
3.3.1 – Refractive Index Profiles
• Manufacturers of optical fibers pay special
attention to the resulting chromatic and
polarization-mode dispersions → Direct
impact on datarates!
• We saw, lowest dispersion for step-
index silica fiber at 1310 nm
• However, lowest attenuation at 1550 nm
→ But chromatic dispersion is higher at
1550 nm!
• New methods have been devised to shift
the zero-dispersion point to higher
wavelengths
• Cant do much with material
dispersion but fiber characteristics
can greatly alter waveguide
dispersion!
3.3.1 – Refractive Index Profiles
• Index profiles for four different fibers:
a) 1310-nm-optimized fibers,
b) Dispersion-shifted fibers,
c) Dispersion-flattened fibers
d) Large-effective-core-area fibers
• Whereas material dispersion depends only on the
composition of the material, waveguide dispersion
is a function of
• core radius
• refractive index difference
• shape of the refractive index profile.
• Waveguide dispersion can vary dramatically with
the fiber design parameters
• Design fibers with larger negative waveguide
dispersion → zero-dispersion point gets shifted
to higher wavelengths → Dispersion Shifted
Fibers (DSF)
3.3.1 – Refractive Index Profiles

• Index profiles for four different fibers:

a) 1310-nm-optimized fibers,
b) Dispersion-shifted fibers,
c) Dispersion-flattened fibers
d) Large-effective-core-area fibers
 3.3.1 – Dispersion Shifted
Fibers
• For dispersion-shifted fiber
• Negative dispersion for below 1510
nm and Positive dispersion for
below 1510 nm → Non-linear
effects for WDM channels placed
close together
• Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber
(NZDSF)
• small amount of either all positive
or all negative dispersion
throughout the C-band
• Larger effective core area fibers are
also NZDSF ( see last slide)
3.3.2 – Cutoff Wavelength
• The cutoff wavelength of the first higher-order mode
is an important transmission parameter for single-
mode fibers because it separates the single-mode
from the multimode regions
• How to calculate Cutoff Wavelength?
Experimental setup to determine Cutoff Wavelength
• Two lowest order modes are uniformly excited in a 2m
fiber, and output power measured
• A small radius loop inserted to filter out the higher
mode and then output power again measured
• The effective cutoff wavelength λc is defined as the
largest wavelength at which the higher-order LP11
mode power relative to the fundamental LP01 mode
power is reduced to 0.l dB; that is, when When ratio
R(λ)=0.1 dB
3.3.3 – Dispersion Calculations
• The total chromatic dispersion in single-mode fibers
consists mainly of material and waveguide dispersions
• The dispersion behavior varies with wavelength and also
with fiber type (1310 optimized, dispersion-shifted,
dispersion-flattened etc.)
• Thus, the EIA and the ITU-T have recommended different
formulas to calculate the chromatic dispersion for specific
fiber types operating in a given wavelength region

Example 3.14 A manufacturer’s data sheet states

that a non-dispersion-shifted fi ber has a zero-dispersion
wavelength of 1310 nm and a dispersion slope of 0.092
ps/(nm2 .km). Compare the dispersions for this fiber at
wavelengths of 1280 nm and 1550 nm.
3.3.3 – Dispersion Calculations
• Importance of controlling dispersion in a single-mode fiber from the figure
3.3.4 – Mode-field diameter
• One uses the mode field diameter in describing the functional properties of a
single-mode fi ber, since it takes into account the wavelength-dependent fi eld
penetration into the cladding.
3.3.5 – Bending Loss

• Macrobending and microbending losses are important in the design of single-

mode fibers.
• These losses are principally evident in the 1550-nm region and show up as a rapid
increase in attenuation when the fiber is bent smaller than a certain bend radius.

• The bending losses are primarily

a function of the mode-field
diameter → Generally, the
smaller the mode-field diameter
the smaller the bending loss.

• Solution to reduce bending loss ?

Chapter 3 – Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter Contents:
• 3.1 - Attenuation
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
3.4 – International Standards

• Leading organizations in development of standards: ITU, TIA, EIA

• Standards specify a series of recommendations for manufacturing and testing
various classes of multimode and single-mode optical fibers. Bounds of certain
parameters, such as:
• Core and cladding sizes and circularity
• Attenuation
• Cutoff wavelength
• Chromatic dispersion
3.4 -
Standards
3.4 - Standards
3.4 - Standards
• Recommendation G.652
• Recommendation G.652 deals with the geometrical, mechanical, and transmission
characteristics of a single-mode fiber that has a zero-dispersion value at 1310 nm
• Experiments have shown transmission with 160 Gbps over long distances with
G.652a fibers
Chapter 3 – Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter Contents:
• 3.1 - Attenuation
• 3.2 – Signal Dispersion in Fibers
• 3.3 - Characteristics of Single-Mode Fibers
• 3.4 - International Standards
• 3.5 – Specialty Fibers
3.5 - Specialty Fibers
• Specialty fibers are designed to interact with light and thereby manipulate or
control some characteristic of an optical signal, for use in application, such as:
• Optical signal amplification
• Optical power coupling
• Dispersion compensation
• Wavelength conversion
• Sensing of physical parameters e.g. temperature, pressure, vibration, and fluid levels
 Chapter 4
Optical Sources
Dr. Asad Mahmood