UNIT 2

OPTICAL SOURCE
1. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD OPTICAL SOURCE
1. Be compatible in size to low-loss optical fibers by having a small light-emitting
area capable of launching light into fiber
2. Launch sufficient optical power into the optical fiber to overcome fiber attenuation
and connection losses allowing for signal detection at the receiver
3. Emit light at wavelengths that minimize optical fiber loss and dispersion.
4. Optical sources should have a narrow spectral width to minimize dispersion
5. Allow for direct modulation of optical output power
6. Maintain stable operation in changing environmental conditions (such as
temperature).
7. Cost less and be more reliable than electrical devices.
8. Permitting fiber optic communication systems to compete with conventional
systems

2.OPTICAL FIBER SOURCES

Semiconductor optical sources suitable for fiber optic systems range from inexpensive
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to more expensive semiconductor LASERS. Semiconductor
LEDs and laser diodes (LDs) are the principal light sources used in fiber optics.

The major difference between LED and LASER diodes is that

the optical output from an LED is incoherent whereas that from a LASER is cohehent

DIRECT AND INDIRECT BAND GAP

In semiconductor physics, the band gap of a semiconductor is always one of two types,
a direct band gap or an indirect band gap. The band gap is called "direct" if the
momentum of electrons and holes is the same in both the conduction band and the
valence band; an electron can directly emit a photon. In an "indirect" gap, a photon
cannot be emitted because the electron must pass through an intermediate state and
transfer momentum to the crystal lattice. The minimal-energy state in the conduction
band and the maximal-energy state in the valence band are each characterized by a
certain crystal momentum (k-vector) in the Brillouin zone. If the k-vectors are the same,
it is called a "direct gap". If they are different, it is called an "indirect gap".
Diagram showing:-Energy vs. crystal momentum for a semiconductor with an indirect band
gap, showing that an electron cannot shift from the lowest-energy state in the
conduction band (green) to the highest-energy state in the valence band (red) without a
change in momentum. Here, almost all of the energy comes from a photon (vertical
arrow), while almost all of the momentum comes from a phonon (horizontal arrow).

Diagram showing:-Energy vs. crystal momentum for a semiconductor with a direct band
gap, showing that an electron can shift from the lowest-energy state in the conduction
band (green) to the highest-energy state in the valence band (red) without a change in
crystal momentum. Depicted is a transition in which a photon excites an electron from
the valence band to the conduction band
1.LED-
Introduction
A light emitting diode (LED) is a device which converts electrical energy to light
energy. LEDs are preferred light sources for short distance (local area) optical fiber
network because they: are
1. inexpensive,
2. robust
3. have long life (the long life of an LED is primarily due to its being a cold
device, i.e. its operating temperature being much lower than that of, say, an
incandescent lamp)
4. can be modulated (i.e. switched on and off) at high speeds (this property of an
LED is also due to its being a cold device as it does not have to overcome
thermal inertia)
5. couple enough output power over a small area to couple to fibers (though the
output spectrum is wider than other sources such as laser diodes).

An LED is essentially a p-n junction diode. It may be recalled that a p- type

semiconductor is made by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with acceptor impurities
while an n- type is made by doping with donor impurities. Ionization of carriers from
the localized levels near the bottom of the conduction band provides electron carriers
in the conduction band. Similarly, excitation of electrons from near the top of valence
band leave holes in the valence band.

LED STRUCTURE
The two basic LED configuration being used for fiber optics are
1.SURFACE EMITTER LED:-Surface-emitting LEDs (SLEDs) have a thin active layer
parallel to the surface from which the light extracted. In a simple flat-diode
configuration (as shown in below figure ), the active layer is just below the emitting
surface, and the current is applied with a ring electrode. The light emitted in the
“wrong” direction is absorbed by the substrate. There are also devices where the
substrate is made transparent, and the back electrode reflects back that light, so that
at least some part of it can be used.

A variant is the Burrus-type LED, where the active layer can be deeper within the
originally grown semiconductor structure, and a trench etched into the structure
allows for more efficient light extraction. It is also possible to introduce a fiber into the
trench in order to obtain a fiber-coupled LED.
2.EDGE EMITTER LED:-Edge-emitting LEDs have a structure similar to that of edge-emitting
semiconductor lasers: they are emitting from the edge of a cleaved wafer, where the active
region meets the cleaved surface. Such devices allow more efficient fiber coupling than surface-
emitting LEDs. Applied in optical fiber communications, they allow higher data rates.

A variant of the edge-emitting LED is the super luminescent diode (SLD), where the
spontaneous emission is substantially amplified within a waveguide. Here, the emission is much
more directional, and as a consequence the brightness is much higher, even for SLDs with quite
low output power