Module: 3

Optical Fiber
1. INTRODUCTION

In electronic communication, radio waves and microwaves are used as the

carrier of information through copper wires and coaxial cables. The
information carrying capacity of these wires is highly restricted in view of its
limited bandwidth and loss of information (signal) over the long distance.
Alexander Graham Bell in 1880 demonstrated that light waves can be used as
the vehicle of an information carrier. He invented a photo phone which
transmitted speech on a beam of light. The technological advances with the
invention of lasers in 1960 have revolutionized the area of telecommunication
and networking. The availability of lasers, which are a coherent source of light
waves, presented communication engineering with suitable carrier waves
capable of carrying enormous amounts of information compared with radio and
microwaves. Although the dream of carrying millions of telephones through a
single light beam is yet to be realized, the technology is slowly edging toward
making the dream reality.
Concept of Bandwidth: The information carrying capacity of a
communications system is directly proportional to its bandwidth; Wider the
bandwidth, the greater its information carrying capacity. Theoretically; BW is
10% of the carrier frequency. A system with light as carriers has an excessive
bandwidth (more than 100,000 times than achieved with microwave
frequencies).
2. OPTICAL FIBERS
An optical fiber is a strand of glass or plastic
material
with special
optical
properties, which enable light to travel a
large distance down its length. It is as thin
as human hair (a few micrometers). An
optical fiber works on a principle of total
internal reflection. If a light wave enters at
one end of a fiber in proper conditions,
most of it is propagated down the length of
the fiber and comes out from the other end.
Dr. Nityanand Choudhary, Professor, Department of Physics, JSSATE, Bangalore Page 1
There may be some loss due to small fraction leakage through the side wall of
the fiber; this type of fiber is called light-guide fiber.
Structure of an Optical Fiber: An optical fiber has in general three coaxial
regions, core, cladding and jacket as shown in fig. Its outer diameter ranges
from 100-150µm. whereas
a.​ Core: The innermost region of fibre is called core. It is a light guiding
region. Core diameter ranges from 5-50 µm.
b.​ Cladding: The core surrounded by the coaxial middle region is known
as cladding. The refractive index of cladding is always lower than that
of core. Thus, cladding makes the light confined to the core by total
internal reflection. Light launched into the core and striking the core
to cladding interface at greater than critical angle will be reflected
back into the core. Since, the angle of incidence and reflection are
equal, the light will continue to rebound and propagate through the
fibre. Cladding diameters ranges from 125-750µm.
c.​ Sheath: The outermost surrounding the core and cladding is called
sheath. It protects cladding and core from abrasions, contamination
and harmful influence of moisture. It also increases mechanical
strength to fibre
Optical fibers are fabricated from glass or plastic which are transparent to
optical frequencies. With these materials, three major types of fibers are made:
(a)​ Plastic core with plastic cladding: In this case the core can be
polystyrene and cladding is generally of silicone or Teflon
(b)​ Glass core with plastic cladding: The glass core is made of
silica. It has a refractive index of 1.458 at a wavelength of
8500Ao.
(c)​ Glass core with glass cladding: If a small silica material is
doped with germania, the refractive index of material increases.
Such material is used as core and pure silica is used as cladding.
1.​ LIGHT PROPAGATION IN OPTICAL FIBER
The main function of optical fiber is to accept and transmit as much light from
the source as possible. The light gathering ability of a fiber depends on two
factors namely core size and numerical aperture. The numerical aperture of
fiber is determined by acceptance angle and the fractional refractive index
change

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 3.1.​ Acceptance angle and acceptance cone
Let us consider an optical fiber into which light is launched. The end at
which light is
launched into the
fiber is called the
launching end. The
maximum angle
subtended between
launched light and
axis of fiber is
called acceptance
angle.

Let refractive index of core and cladding be µ1 and µ2respectively. Let µ0 be

the refractive index of the medium from which light is launched into the fiber
as shown in fig.
Let light ray is launched at an angle θi to the axis of fiber. Let ray refracts
at an angle θr and strike the core cladding interface at an angle ϕ. If ϕ is
greater than critical angle ϕc, the rays undergoes total internal reflection at
the interface. As long as the angle ϕ is greater than ϕc, the light will be within
the fiber.
Let us now compute the incident angle θi for which ϕ > ϕc, such that light
rebounds within the fiber.
Applying Snell’s law to the launching face of the fiber, we get
µ0𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑖=µ1𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑟​ ​ ​ ​ (1)

If θi is increased beyond limit, ϕ will drop below the critical value ϕc and the ray
escapes from the side walls of the fiber. The largest value of θi occurs when ϕ =
ϕc
From the ΔABC,
0 0
θ𝑟 + ∅𝑐 + 90 = 180

0
θ𝑟 = 90 − ∅𝑐

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 (
𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑟 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 90 − ϕ𝑐
0
) ​ ​ (2)
Using, equation (2) into equation (1), we get
(3)​
µ1
​ ​ ​ 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑖 = µ0
𝑐𝑜𝑠ϕ𝑐 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

From the concept of total internal reflection, we know that

(4)
µ2
​ 𝑠𝑖𝑛ϕ𝑐 = µ1
​ ​ ​

2
(µ −µ )
2 2

𝑐𝑜𝑠ϕ𝑐 =
2
1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ϕ𝑐 = 1− ( ) µ2
µ1
= 1

µ1
2
2
​ ​ (5)
Substituting the value of (5) in equation (3), we have
​

​ 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ𝑖 =
µ1 (µ −µ )
2
1
2
2
µ0 2
µ1

2 2

θ𝑖 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛
−1 µ1−µ2
µ0
​ (6)

The angle θi is called the acceptance angle of the fiber. Acceptance angle
may be defined as the maximum angle that a light ray can have relative to
the axis of the fiber and propagate down the fiber.
The light rays contained within the cone having a full angle 2 θi are
accepted and transmitted along the fiber. Therefore, this cone is called the
acceptance cone.
Light incident at an angle beyond θi refracts through the cladding and
the corresponding optical energy is lost. It is obvious that the larger the
diameter of the core, the larger the acceptance angle
3.2.​FRACTIONAL REFRACTIVE INDEX CHANGE
The fractional difference between the refractive indices of the core and the
cladding is known as fractional refractive index change. It is expressed as
(7)
µ −µ 1 2
∆= µ
1

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 This parameter is always positive. In order to guide light rays effectively
through a fiber, << 1. Generally, is of the order of 0.01.
3.3.​ NUMERICAL APERTURE
Numerical aperture determines the light gathering ability of the fiber. It is a
measure of the amount of light that can be accepted by a fiber.
Mathematically, numerical aperture (NA) is defined as the sine of the
acceptance angle. Thus,
2 2 2 2

(8)
−1 µ1−µ2 µ1−µ2
𝑁𝐴 = 𝑆𝑖𝑛θ𝑖 = 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑆𝑖𝑛 µ0
= µ0

Further,
2
µ1 − µ2 =
2
( )( )(2µ ) ≈ (µ )(∆)(2µ )
µ1+µ2
2
µ1−µ2
µ1 1 1 1

Therefore, from equation (8)

(9)
µ1 2∆
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 𝑁𝐴 = µ0

It is seen from equation 8 that NA is dependent only on the refractive

indices of the core and cladding materials. Its value ranges from 0.13 to 0.50.
A large NA implies that a fiber will accept a large amount of light for
propagation from the source.
4.​ CLASSIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBERS
As already stated
earlier, an optical
fiber is a piece of
very thin and
almost absolutely
pure glass /
plastic. It is as
thin as human
hair. No single
fiber design meets
all application
requirements,
however, fiber can
be classified
mainly based on
refractive index
profile and modes
of propagation.

Dr. Nityanand Choudhary, Professor, Department of Physics, JSSATE, Bangalore Page 5

 4.1.​ CLASSIFICATION ON REFRACTIVE INDEX PROFILE
Refractive index profile is the plot of refractive index down on the horizontal
axis versus the distance from the core drawn on the vertical axis. Considering
refractive index profile fiber can be classified in the following two categories
(a)​ Step Index Fibre: A step index fiber is one for which the refractive
index of core µ1 is constant and is larger than the refractive index of cladding
µ2. The refractive index of this type of fiber undergoes an abrupt change at the
core-cladding boundary as shown in fig. Because of this abrupt change in
refractive index, it is called Step Index fiber. The core and cladding diameter of
these fibers are 50/125,100/140 and 200/230 μm

(b)​ Graded Index fibre (GRIN): In this fibre core it consists of concentric
layers consisting of different refractive indices. Therefore, the refractive index
of the core varies with distance from the fibre axis. It has high value at the
centre and falls off with increasing radial distance from the axis as shown in
fig. In case of Graded Index fibre, the acceptance angle and numerical
aperture decreases with radial distance from the axis of fibre as shown in fig,
The core and cladding diameter of these fibers are 50/125,62.5/125and
85/125 μm
4.2.​ CLASSIFICATION ON MODE PROFILE
On basis of mode of transmission, the fiber are classified in following two categories

4.2.1.​ Single
Mode
Fiber
A single mode fiber
supports only one
mode of
propagation. It has
a smaller core
diameter and exists
only in step index
profile. Single mode
step index fiber
allows for a higher
capacity to transmit
information because
it can retain fidelity
of each light pulse
Dr. Nityanand Choudhary, Professor, Department of Physics, JSSATE, Bangalore Page 6
 over a longer distance and it exhibits no dispersion caused by multiple
modes. It also enjoys lower fiber attenuation. However, it has some
disadvantages viz the smaller core diameter makes the coupling of light into
the core more difficult.
Although single mode fibers have small core diameters to allow single
mode propagation, the cladding diameter must be at least ten times the core
diameter to avoid losses from the evanescent field. Hence, with the buffer
jacket to provide protection and strength, single mode fibers have similar
overall diameter to multimode fibers.

Typical structure of silica single mode step index fiber is shown in table, below
Structure Diameter
Core diameter 5-10 µm, typically around 8.5µm
Cladding diameter Around 125 µm
Buffer Jacket diameter 250-1000 µm
Numerical aperture 0.08-1.5 usually 0.10
4.2.2.​Multimode fiber
A multimode fiber supports a number of modes. It has larger core diameter
and exists both in step index profile type and graded index profile. These
multimode fibers which have graded index profile may also be fabricated
using multi component glasses or doped silica. The performance
characteristics of multi- mode graded index fibers are generally better than
those for multimode step index fibers, although the overall diameter
including the buffer jacket is usually about the same. This gives the fiber
greater rigidity to resist bending. A typical structure is illustrated in table
below
Structure of multimode graded index fiber
Structure Diameter
Core diameter 30-100 µm
Cladding diameter 100-150 µm
Buffer Jacket diameter 250-1000 µm
Numerical aperture 0.02​ - 0.03

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5.​ DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGLE MODE AND MULTIMODE FIBERS

Single mode fiber Multi mode fiber

1.​ Single mode fiber sustains only Multimode fiber can propagate
one mode of propagation. hundreds of modes.
2. Small radii of single mode Large radii of multimode fibers
fibers make it difficult to make it easier to launch optical
launch optical power into the power into the fiber.
fiber.
3.​ Single mode fibers must Light can be launched into a
generally be excited with laser multimode fiber using a light
diode (LD). emitting diode (LED).
4.​ Single mode fibers are free Multimode fibers suffer intermodal
from intermodal dispersion. dispersion.
5. Attenuation (Fiber loss) in Attenuation (Fiber loss) in
single mode fiber is between 2 multimode step index fiber is
to 5 dB/km with a scattering between 2.6 to 50dB/km at a
limit of around 1 dB/km at a wavelength of 850 nm and in
wavelength of 850 nm. multimode graded index fiber is
between 2 to 10 dB/km at a
wavelength of 850 nm.
6.​ Single mode fiber is used for Multimode step index fiber is used
very long-haul communication for short- haul application and
multimode graded index fiber is
suited for medium haul
application.
7.​ Single mode fiber has higher Bandwidth in multimode step
bandwidth (> 500 MHz-km). index fiber is 6 to 50 MHz-km and
in multimode graded index fiber is
300 MHz-km to 3 GHz-km.
8.​ V-number for single mode fiber V-number of multimode fiber
V<2.405 V>2.405.
9. Single mode fiber is best Multimode fiber is best designed
designed for longer for short transmission distances,
transmission distances making and is suited for use in LAN
it suitable for long-distance systems and video surveillance.
telephony and multi-channel
television broadcast system.
6.​ ATTENUATION CONSTANT
An optical signal propagating through a fiber will get progressively
attenuated. The signal attenuation is defined as the ratio of optical output
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 power from a fiber of length L to the input optical power. It is expressed in
decibel per kilometer (dB/km)
10 𝑃𝑖
α= 𝐿
𝑙𝑜𝑔 𝑃0
−−−−−−−−− (14)

Where Pin is the power of an optical signal launched at one end of the fiber
and Po is the power of an optical signal emerging at the other end of the
fiber. In case of an ideal fiber, Po=Pin and the attenuation will be 0dB/km.
However, in case of an optical fiber a typical attenuation of 3dB/ km is usual
in practice. The attenuation is wavelength dependent and therefore
wavelength should be specified.
7.​ FIBER LOSSES
Fiber loss is the reduction of signal strength or light power over the length of
the light carrying medium. The major losses are due to the following factors
7.1.1.​Material or Impurity losses
In the fabrication of various types of fibers, we use different dopants in silica
like GeO2, P2O5, and B2O3 etc. While B2O3 produces a strong absorption
peak at 3.2µm, P2O5 produces the same at 3.8µm. This is why Boron and
Phosphorus based dopants are not used in low loss single mode fiber.
7.1.2.​Rayleigh scattering Loss
The glass, which is used in the fabrication of fibers has many microscopic
inhomogeneities in its composition, as a result of which, a portion of light
passing through the glass fiber get scattered. This phenomenon is called
Rayleigh scattering. The losses due to Rayleigh scattering effect varies
inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength. The scattering loss due to
density function is given by

2 3
359.094
α= 4 (µ − 1) 𝐾𝐾𝑇𝐾𝐹 −−−−−−−− 15
λ

Where, λ =operating wavelength

K= Boltzman’s constant
TF=Frogging temperature
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 KT= Isothermal compressibility of the material
7.1.3.​Absorption Loss
The absorption loss is the inherent property of glass and is called intrinsic
loss. Even highly pure glass absorbs light in specific wavelength regions. The
following three separate absorption mechanisms contribute to the total
absorption loss in glass fibers.
a.​ Ion-resonance absorption
b.​ Ultraviolet absorption
c.​ Infrared absorption
In pure fused silica, valence electrons can be ionized into conduction
electrons by light, with energy of about 9eV and then UV absorption takes
place.
Impurities are a major source of losses in fibers. Hydroxyl radical ions
and transition metals such as copper, nickel, chromium, and manganese
have electronic absorption in and near the visible part of the spectrum. Their
presence causes heavy losses.
7.1.4.​Bending losses
Whenever a fiber deviates from a straight line path, radiative losses occur.
These losses are prominent for improperly installed single mode optical cable.
Microbending and macro- bending are two types of bending losses. These are
losses caused by the deformation of the fiber structures.

7.1.5.​Radiation induced losses

When the glass molecular matrix interacts with electrons, neutrons,
gamma-rays and x-rays, the structure of these glass molecules is altered and
the fiber darkens. This introduces additional losses which increase with
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 amount and type of radiation dose and exposure time of radiation. Radiation
hardening of fiber optic cable is a source of a great deal of research.
8.​ APPLICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER
Optical Fiber Communication

Figure shows the block diagram of components in the optical fiber

communication system. The input electrical signal modulates the intensity of
light from the optical source. The optical carrier can be modulated internally
or externally using an electro-optic modulator (or) acousto-optic modulator.
Nowadays, electro-optic modulators (KDP, LiNbO3 or beta barium borate) are
widely used as external modulators which modulate the light by changing its
refractive index through the given input electrical signal. In the digital optical
fiber communication system, the input electrical signal is in the form of coded
digital pulses from the encoder and these electric pulses modulate the
intensity of the light from the laser diode or LED and convert them into optical
pulses. In the receiver stage, the photodetector like avalanche photodiode
(APD) or positive-intrinsic negative (PIN) diode converts the optical pulses into
electrical pulses. The transmission medium consists of an optical fiber cable
and receiver consists of an optical detector. A decoder converts the electrical
pulses into the original electric signal. Photodiodes and in some instances
phototransistors and photoconductors are utilized for the detection of the
optical signal and optical electrical conversion.

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