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Optics
Optics
intended only for students registered in NIT Jalandhar, for academic session
July-December 2021, 3 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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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Total Internal Reflection (TIR)
• Total internal reflection in the core occurs
if φ ≥ θc, i.e.
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TIR contd.
• For air n0 = 1, so that the
maximum angle of acceptance
θ0MAX of the fiber is given by:
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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:
21
22
Attenuation
• Power loss in an optical fiber cable is often called
as attenuation.
• Attenuation has severe effects on the
performance, including reducing the system’s
bandwidth, information transmission rate,
efficiency, and overall system capacity.
• Mathematically, total power loss or attenuation
Adb in an optical fiber cable is expressed as:
Pout
A dB 10 log
P
in
Where, Pout = cable output power (watts) and Pin = cable input
power (watts)
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Attenuation contd.
Further, the optical power in watts measured at a given distance from a power source can be
determined mathematically as:
P Pt 10 Al /10
Where, P = measured power level (watts); Pt = transmitted power level (watts);
A = cable power loss (dB/km); l = cable length (km)
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Absorption losses
• Absorption losses in optical fibers are analogous
to power dissipation in copper cables; impurities
in the fiber absorb the light and convert it to heat.
• The ultrapure glass used to manufacture fibers is
99.9999 % pure. Still, absorption losses between
1 dB/km and 1000 dB/km are typical.
• The contributing factors:
– Ultraviolet absorption
– Infrared absorption
– Ion resonance absorption
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Fig. Absorption losses versus
wavelength1
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Rayleigh losses
• “During manufacturing, glass is
drawn into long fibers of very
small diameter. During this
process, the glass is in a plastic
state (not liquid and not solid).
The tension applied to the glass
causes the cooling glass to
develop permanent
submicroscopic irregularities.
When light rays propagating down
a fiber strike one of these
impurities, they are diffracted.
Some of the diffracted light
continues down the fiber, and
some of it escapes through the Fig. Rayleigh scattering loss as function of
cladding. The light rays that wavelength
escape represent a loss in light
power. This is called Rayleigh
scattering loss.”
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Losses contd.
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Losses contd.
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Numerical Problems
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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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