UNIT 2

2.LASER DIODES
Laser diodes are electrically pumped semiconductor lasers in which the gain is
generated by an electrical current flowing through a p–n junction or (more frequently) a
p–i–n structure. In such a heterostructure, electrons and holes can recombine, releasing
the energy portions as photons. This process can be spontaneous, but can also be
stimulated by incident photons, in effect leading to optical amplification, and with optical
feedback in a laser resonator to laser oscillation. The article on semiconductor lasers
describes more in detail how the laser amplification process in a semiconductor works.
Diode lasers are lasers based on one or several laser diodes. Most semiconductor
lasers are based on laser diodes, but there are also optically pumped semiconductor
lasers which do not require a diode structure and thus do not belong to the category of
diode lasers.

Laser is the result of three key processes:-

1.Photon absorption:- In the diagram shown below E1is the ground state energy and
E2 is the excited state energy . According to Planck’s law , a transition between these
two state involves the absorption or emission of a photon of energy hv 12=E2-E1.when this
photon of energy impinges on the system an electron in state E1 can absorb the photon
and excited to state E2.

2.Spontaneous emission:-When an atom (or a laser ion in a gain medium) is excited

into a higher-lying energy level, e.g. by absorption of a photon, it may after some time
spontaneously return to its ground state, or to some intermediate energy level, by
releasing the energy in the form of a photon, which carries the energy in some random
direction. (More precisely, the photon can correspond to any propagation mode of the
medium surrounding the atom or ion.) This process is called spontaneous emission.

3.Stimulated emission:-If a laser-active atom or ion is in an excited state (quantum-

mechanical energy level), it may after some time spontaneously decay into a lower
energy level, releasing energy in the form of a photon, emitted in a random spatial
direction. This process is called spontaneous emission. However, it is also possible that
the photon emission is stimulated by incoming photons, if these have a suitable photon
energy (or optical frequency); this is called stimulated emission. In that case, a photon is
emitted into the mode of the incoming photon. In effect, the power of the incoming
radiation is amplified. This is the physical basis of light amplification in laser amplifiers
and laser oscillators.
2.POWER LAUNCHING AND COUPLING

FIBER SPLICING:-a technique of making low-loss fiber joints by fusing fiber ends
together. Techniques used were as follow:-
1.Fusion splicing of optical fiber:-The principle of fusion splicing is that the two bare
fiber ends (with coatings removed) are fused together under the influence of heat. More
precisely, the fiber ends are initially brought in close contact, with a small gap in
between. After heating them for a short while such that the surfaces melt, they are
pushed together, such that the ends fuse together.

The heating is often accomplished with a high-voltage electric discharge, but there are
other methods: an electrically heated Nichrome wire, a CO2 laser, or a gas flame.

Surface tension helps to achieve a good alignment, if the fiber cores are on the fiber
axes. It is also possible to precisely align the fibers before the splicing such that the
cores (even when they are slightly off-center) match well, but there is a risk that surface
tension will pull the fiber ends toward a position where the total areas (rather than the
cores) are matched.
2.V-groove optical fiber:-This fusion splicing method uses V-grooves produced with
high precision to position and orient optical fibers and utilizes the surface tension of
melted optical fibers for alignment effects (cladding alignment).Splices made by this
method achieve low loss thanks to the recent advancement of optical fiber production
technology, which has improved the dimensional accuracy regarding the placement of
core. This method is primarily used for splicing a multi-fiber cable in a single action.

3.Elastic tube splice:-

OPTICAL FOBER CONNECTOR:-Optical fiber connectors are used to join optical fibers
where a connect/disconnect capability is required. Connectors are available in screw –
on,Bayonet mount and push –pull configuration.The basic mechanical coupling used
either butt joint or expanded beam.

1.In Butt Joint connection two polished fibre ferrules are connectedinside a ceramic
sleeve.

The butt-joint connector has a low insertion loss, usually around 0.2 dBand gives a
stable signal as long as the environment is controlled. The two-fibre ferrule stays
pressed together by springs and is easily attached and removed. The core of the
fibre is normally 9-10 μm in case of single mode and 50.0 or 62.5 μm in multimode.
A misalignment due to vibration or rapid change of temperature or
dust particles in the light pathway can easily disrupt the signal totally. The cost of
using butt-joint connectors is low and that is one of the reasons that it is the by far
most usual way of connecting two fibres.

2. In the expanded beamtechnology the light beam coming out from a fiber is
expanded and collimated by a spherical lens and the light is transported through air to a
second lens where it is focused down into a second fiber. This is described in the figure
below. The single mode expanded beam is about 2400 times enlarged compared to
when it exits the fiber core. This makes it considerably less sensitive to dust, vibration
and temperature changes. It has a slightly higher insertion loss than the butt-joint
connector, around 1.0- 1.5 dB for single mode and 0.5-1.0 dB for multimode. Due to the
fact that the expanded beam technology uses free air communication the efficiency
stays the same for a very long time, it does not deteriorate the same way

Features of good connector design:

1. Low insertion loss
2. High return loss (low amounts of reflection at the interface)
3. Ease of installatio
4. Low cost
5. Reliability
6. Low environmental sensitivity
7. Ease of use