Advantages of Optical Fiber Cables

The advantages of using optical fibers include the following:

1. Wider bandwidth and greater information capacity. Optical fibers have greater information
capacity than metallic cables because of the inherently wider bandwidths available with optical
frequencies. Optical fibers are available with bandwidths up to several thousand gigahertz. The
primary electrical constants (resistance, inductance, and capacitance) in metallic cables cause
them to act like low-pass filters, which limit their transmission frequencies, bandwidth, bit rate,
and information-carrying capacity. Modern optical fiber communications systems are capable
of transmitting several gigabits per second over hundreds of miles, allowing literally millions of
individual voice and data channels to be combined and propagated over one optical fiber cable.

2. Immunity to crosstalk. Optical fiber cables are immune to crosstalk because glass and plastic
fibers are nonconductors of electrical current. Therefore, fiber cables are not surrounded by a
changing magnetic field, which is the primary cause of crosstalk between metallic conductors
located physically close to each other.

3. Immunity to static interference. Because optical fiber cables are nonconductors of electrical
current, they are immune to static noise due to electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by
lightning, electric motors, relays, fluorescent lights, and other electrical noise sources (most of
which are man-made). For the same reason, fiber cables do not radiate electromagnetic energy.

4. Environmental immunity. Optical fiber cables are more resistant to environmental extremes
(including weather variations) than metallic cables. Optical cables also operate over a wider
temperature range and are less affected by corrosive liquids and gases.

5. Safety and convenience. Optical fiber cables are safer and easier to install and maintain than
metallic cables. Because glass and plastic fibers are nonconductors, there are no electrical
currents or voltages associated with them. Optical fibers can be used around volatile liquids and
gasses without worrying about their causing explosions or fires. Optical fibers are also smaller
and much more lightweight and compact than metallic cables. Consequently, they are more
flexible, easier to work with, require less storage space, cheaper to transport, and easier to
install and maintain.

6. Lower transmission loss. Optical fibers have considerably less signal loss than their metallic
counterparts. Optical fibers are currently being manufactured with as little as a few-tenths-of-a-
decibel loss per kilometer. Consequently, optical regenerators and amplifiers can be spaced
considerably farther apart than with metallic transmission lines.

7. Security. Optical fiber cables are more secure than metallic cables. It is virtually impossible to
tap into a fiber cable without the user’s knowledge, and optical cables cannot be detected with
metal detectors unless they are reinforced with steel for strength.
8. Durability and reliability. Optical fiber cables last longer and are more reliable than metallic
facilities because fiber cables have a higher tolerance to changes in environmental conditions
and are immune to corrosive materials.

9. Economics. The cost of optical fiber cables is approximately the same as metallic cables.
Fiber cables have less loss and require fewer repeaters, which equates to lower installation and
overall system costs and improved reliability.

Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Cables

Although the advantages of optical fiber cables far exceed the disadvantages, it is important
to know the limitations of the fiber. The disadvantages of optical fibers include the
following:

1. Interfacing costs. Optical fiber cable systems are virtually useless by themselves. To be
practical and useful, they must be connected to standard electronic facilities, which often
require expensive interfaces.

2. Strength. Optical fibers by themselves have a significantly lower tensile strength than coaxial
cable. This can be improved by coating the fiber with standard Kevlar and a protective jacket of
PVC. In addition, glass fiber is much more fragile than copper wire, making fiber less attractive
where hardware portability is required.

3. Remote electrical power. Occasionally, it is necessary to provide electrical power to remote

interface or regenerating equipment. This cannot be accomplished with the optical cable, so
additional metallic cables must be included in the cable assembly.

4. Optical fiber cables are more susceptible to losses introduced by bending the cable.
Electromagnetic waves propagate through an optical cable by either refraction or reflection.
Therefore, bending the cable causes irregularities in the cable dimensions, resulting in a loss of
signal power. Optical fibers are also more prone to manufacturing defects, as even the most
minor defect can cause excessive loss of signal power.

5. Specialized tools, equipment, and training. Optical fiber cables require special tools to splice
and repair cables and special test equipment to make routine measurements. Not only is
repairing fiber cables difficult and expensive, but technicians working on optical cables also
require special skills and training. In addition, sometimes it is difficult to locate faults in optical
cables because there is no electrical continuity.

5 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF AN OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

In the transmitter, the light source can be modulated by a digital or an analog signal. The
voltage-to-current converter serves as an electrical interface between the input circuitry and
the light source. The light source is either an infrared light-emitting diode (LED) or an injection
laser diode (ILD). The amount of light emitted by either an LED or ILD is proportional to the
amount of drive current. Thus, the voltage-to-current converter converts an input signal voltage
to a current that is used to drive the light source. The light outputted by the light source is
directly proportional to the magnitude of the input voltage. In essence, the light intensity is
modulated by the input signal.

The source-to-fiber coupler (such as an optical lens) is a mechanical interface. Its function is to
couple light emitted by the light source into the optical fiber cable. The optical fiber consists of
a glass or plastic fiber core surrounded by a cladding and then encapsulated in a protective
jacket. The fiber-to-light detector-coupling device is also a mechanical coupler. Its function is to
couple as much light as possible from the fiber cable into the light detector.

The light detector is generally a PIN (p-type-intrinsic-n-type) diode, an APD (avalanche

photodiode), or a phototransistor. All three of these devices convert light energy to current.
Consequently, a current-to-voltage converter is required to produce an output voltage
proportional to the original source information. The current-to-voltage converter transforms
changes in detector current to changes in voltage.

The analog or digital interfaces are electrical interfaces that match impedances and signal levels
between the information source and destination to the input and output circuitry of the optical
system.
 Light ray propagation thru a Fiber

Figure 11 shows the source end of a fiber cable and a light ray propagating into and then
down the fiber. When light rays enter the core of the fiber, they strike the air/glass interface at
normal A. The refractive index of air is approximately 1, and the refractive index of the glass
core is 1.5. Consequently, the light enters the cable traveling from a less dense to a more dense
medium, causing the ray to refract toward the normal. This causes the light rays to change
direction and propagate diagonally down the core at an angle that is less than the external
angle of incidence (θin). For a ray of light to propagate down the cable, it must strike the
internal core/cladding interface at an angle that is greater than the critical angle (θc). Using
Figure 12 and Snell’s law, it can be shown that the maximum angle that external light rays may
strike the air/glass interface and still enter the core and propagate down the fiber is Since the
refractive index of air is 1, Equation 11a reduces to

θin(max) is called the acceptance angle or acceptance cone half-angle. θin(max) defines
the maximum angle in which external light rays may strike the air/glass interface and still
propagate down the fiber. Rotating the acceptance angle around the fiber core axis describes
the acceptance cone of the fiber input. Acceptance cone is shown in Figure 13a, and the
relationship between acceptance angle and critical angle is shown in Figure 13b. Note that the
critical angle is defined as a minimum value and that the acceptance angle is defined as a
maximum value. Light rays striking the air/glass interface at an angle greater than the
acceptance angle will enter the cladding and, therefore, will not propagate down the cable.

Numerical aperture (NA) is closely related to acceptance angle and is the figure of merit
commonly used to measure the magnitude of the acceptance angle. In essence, numerical
aperture is used to describe the light-gathering or light-collecting ability of an optical fiber (i.e.,
the ability to couple light into the cable from an external source). The larger the magnitude of
the numerical aperture, the greater the amount of external light the fiber will accept. The
numerical aperture for light entering the glass fiber from an air medium is described
mathematically as
Optical Fiber Losses

Absorption Losses
Absorption losses in optical fibers is 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
optical fibers is approximately 99.9999% pure. Still, absorption losses between 1 dB/km and
1000 dB/km are typical. Essentially, there are three factors that contribute to the absorption
losses in optical fibers: ultraviolet absorption, infrared absorption, and ion resonance
absorption.

 Ultraviolet absorption. Ultraviolet absorption is caused by valence electrons in the silica

material from which fibers are manufactured. Light ionizes the valence electrons into
conduction. The ionization is equivalent to a loss in the total light field and,
consequently, contributes to the transmission losses of the fiber.

 Infrared absorption. Infrared absorption is a result of photons of light that

are absorbed by the atoms of the glass core molecules. The absorbed photons are converted
to random mechanical vibrations typical of heating.

 Ion resonance absorption. Ion resonance absorption is caused by OH_ ions in the
material. The source of the OH_ ions is water molecules that have been trapped in the
glass during the manufacturing process. Iron, copper, and chromium molecules also
cause ion absorption.

Figure 19 shows typical losses in optical fiber cables due to ultraviolet, infrared, and
ion resonance absorption.
Material, or Rayleigh, Scattering 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. Diffraction causes
the light to disperse or spread out in many directions. Some of the diffracted light continues
down the fiber, and some of it escapes through the cladding. The light rays that escape
represent a loss in light power. This is called Rayleigh scattering loss. Figure 20 graphically
shows the relationship between wavelength and Rayleigh scattering
loss.

Chromatic, or Wavelength, Dispersion

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emit light containing many wavelengths. Each wavelength within
the composite light signal travels at a different velocity when propagating through glass.
Consequently, light rays that are simultaneously emitted from an LED and propagated down an
optical fiber do not arrive at the far end of the fiber at the same time, resulting in an
impairment called chromatic distortion (sometimes calledwavelength dispersion). Chromatic
distortion can be eliminated by using a monochromatic light source such as an injection laser
diode (ILD). Chromatic distortion occurs only in fibers with a single mode of transmission.

 Radiation Losses
Radiation losses are caused mainly by small bends and kinks in the fiber. Essentially, there are
two types of bends: microbends and constant-radius bends. Microbending occurs as a result of
differences in the thermal contraction rates between the core and the cladding material. A
microbend is a miniature bend or geometric imperfection along the axis of the fiber and
represents a discontinuity in the fiber where Rayleigh scattering can occur. Microbending losses
generally contribute less than 20% of the total attenuation in a fiber.

Modal Dispersion
Modal dispersion (sometimes called pulse spreading) is caused by the difference in the
propagation times of light rays that take different paths down a fiber. Obviously, modal
dispersion can occur only in multimode fibers. It can be reduced considerably by using
gradedindex fibers and almost entirely eliminated by using single-mode step-index fibers.
Modal dispersion can cause a pulse of light energy to spread out in time as it propagates down
a fiber. If the pulse spreading is sufficiently severe, one pulse may interfere with another. In
multimode step-index fibers, a light ray propagating straight down the axis of the fiber takes
the least amount of time to travel the length of the fiber. A light ray that strikes the
core/cladding interface at the critical angle will undergo the largest number of internal
reflections and, consequently, take the longest time to travel the length of the cable.

Figure 21 shows three light rays propagating down a multimode step-index optical fiber. The
lowest-order mode (ray 1) travels in a path parallel to the axis of the fiber. The middle-order
mode (ray 2) bounces several times at the interface before traveling the length of the fiber. The
highest-order mode (ray 3) makes many trips back and forth across the fiber as it propagates
the entire length. It can be seen that ray 3 travels a considerably longer distance than ray 1 over
the length of the cable. Consequently, if the three rays of light were emitted into the fiber at
the same time, each ray would reach the far end at a different time, resulting in a spreading out
of the light energy with respect to time. This is called modal dispersion and results in a
stretched pulse that is also reduced in amplitude at the output of the fiber.

Figure 22 shows light rays propagating down a single-mode step-index cable. Because the radial
dimension of the fiber is sufficiently small, there is only a single transmission path that all rays
must follow as they propagate down the length of the fiber. Consequently, each ray of light
travels the same distance in a given period of time, and modal dispersion is virtually eliminated.

Figure 23 shows light propagating down a multimode graded-index fiber. Three rays are shown
traveling in three different modes. Although the three rays travel different paths, they all take
approximately the same amount of time to propagate the length of the fiber. This is because
the refractive index decreases with distance from the center, and the velocity at which a ray
travels is inversely proportional to the refractive index.
LIGHT DETECTORS
There are two devices commonly used to detect light energy in fiber-optic communications
receivers: PIN diodes and APDs.

PIN Diodes
A PIN diode is a depletion-layer photodiode and is probably the most common device used as a
light detector in fiber-optic communications systems. Figure 37 shows the basic construction of
a PIN diode. A very lightly doped (almost pure or intrinsic) layer of n-type semiconductor
material is sandwiched between the junction of the two heavily doped n- and p-type contact
areas. Light enters the device through a very small window and falls on the carrier-void intrinsic
material. The intrinsic material is made thick enough so that most of the photons that enter the
device are absorbed by this layer. Essentially, the PIN photodiode operates just the opposite of
an LED. Most of the photons are absorbed by electrons in the valence band of the intrinsic
material. When the photons are absorbed, they add sufficient energy to generate carriers in the
depletion region and allow current to flow through the device.

 Photoelectric effect.
Light entering through the window of a PIN diode is absorbed by the intrinsic material and adds
enough energy to cause electronics to move from the valence band into the conduction band.
The increase in the number of electrons that move into the conduction band is matched by an
increase in the number of holes in the valence band. To cause current to flow in a photodiode,
light of sufficient energy must be absorbed to give valence electrons enough energy to jump
the energy gap.

APDs
Figure 38 shows the basic construction of an APD. An APD is a pipn structure. Light enters the
diode and is absorbed by the thin, heavily doped n-layer. A high electric field intensity
developed across the i-p-n junction by reverse bias causes impact ionization to occur. During
impact ionization, a carrier can gain sufficient energy to ionize other bound electrons. These
ionized carriers, in turn, cause more ionizations to occur. The process continues as in an
avalanche and is, effectively, equivalent to an internal gain or carrier multiplication.
Consequently, APDs are more sensitive than PIN diodes and require less additional
amplification. The disadvantages of APDs are relatively long transit times and additional
internally generated noise due to the avalanche multiplication factor.

Characteristics of Light Detectors

The most important characteristics of light detectors are the following:

1. Responsivity. A measure of the conversion efficiency of a photodetector. It is the ratio

of the output current of a photodiode to the input optical power and has the unit of
amperes per watt. Responsivity is generally given for a particular wavelength or
frequency.
2. Dark current. The leakage current that flows through a photodiode with no light input.
Thermally generated carriers in the diode cause dark current.
3. Transit time. The time it takes a light-induced carrier to travel across the depletion
region of a semiconductor. This parameter determines the maximum bit rate possible
with a particular photodiode.
4. Spectral response. The range of wavelength values that a given photodiode will
respond. Generally, relative spectral response is graphed as a function of wavelength or
frequency, as shown in Figure 39.
5. Light sensitivity. The minimum optical power a light detector can receive and still
produce a usable electrical output signal. Light sensitivity is generally given for a
particular wavelength in either dBm or dBμ.

Optical Fiber Link Budget

Link budgets are generally calculated between a light source and a light detector; therefore, for
our example, we look at a link budget for a repeaterless system. A repeaterless system consists
of a light source, such as an LED or ILD, and a light detector, such as an APD connected by
optical fiber and connectors. Therefore, the link budget consists of a light power source, a light
detector, and various cable and connector losses. Losses typical to optical fiber links include the
following:

1. Cable losses. Cable losses depend on cable length, material, and material purity. They are
generally given in dB/km and can vary between a few tenths of a dB to several dB per
kilometer.
2. Connector losses. Mechanical connectors are sometimes used to connect two sections of
cable. If the mechanical connection is not perfect, light energy can escape, resulting in a
reduction in optical power. Connector losses typically vary between a few tenths of a dB to as
much as 2 dB for each connector.
3. Source-to-cable interface loss. The mechanical interface used to house the light source and
attach it to the cable is seldom perfect. Therefore, a small percentage of optical power is not
coupled into the cable, representing a power loss to the system of several tenths of a dB.
4. Cable-to-light detector interface loss. The mechanical interface used to house the light
detector and attach it to the cable is also not perfect and, therefore, prevents a small
percentage of the power leaving the cable from entering the light detector. This, of course,
represents a loss to the system usually of a few tenths of a dB.
5. Splicing loss. If more than one continuous section of cable is required, cable sections can be
fused together (spliced). Because the splices are not perfect, losses ranging from a couple
tenths of a dB to several dB can be introduced to the signal. Cable bends. When an optical
cable is bent at too large an angle, the internal characteristics of the cable can change
dramatically. If the changes are severe, total reflections for some of the light rays may no
longer be achieved, resulting in refraction. Light refracted at the core/cladding interface enters
the cladding, resulting in a net loss to the signal of a few tenths of a dB to several dB. As with
any link or system budget, the useful power available in the receiver depends on transmit
power and link losses. Mathematically, receive power is represented as

EXAMPLE