Gerd Keiser : Optical Fiber Communications, Special India Edition, 5E

Lecture Notes for Chapter 2:

Optical Fibers
1
Structures, Waveguiding, and

Overview Chapter 2

2.1 The Nature of Light 28

2.2 Basic Optical Laws and Definitions 34
2.3 Optical Fiber Modes and Configurations 40
2.4 Mode Theory for Circular Waveguides 47
2.5 Single-Mode Fibers 64
2.6 Graded-Index Fiber Structure 68
2.7 Fiber Materials 70
2.8 Photonic Crystal Fibers 72
2.9 Fiber Fabrication 74
2.10 Mechanical Properties of Fibers 78
2.11 Fiber Optic Cables 82
Summary 87
Problems 88
References 91

2.1 The Nature of Light

The electric or
magnetic field of
plane linearly
polarized waves
traveling in a
direction k, where the
wave vector k = 2/
is the wave
propagation constant:

A linearly polarized
wave with
polarization vector ex
is

2.2 Basic Optical Laws and

Definitions

The ratio of the speed of light c in

a vacuum to the speed s in matter
is the index of refraction
(refractive index) n of the material:
n = c/s 1.0

2.2 Basic Optical Laws and

Definitions (2)
Snells Law:

At a material boundary, part of the ray is

reflected at the interface and part is
refracted into the next material
Snells Law gives the angular relationship

n1 sin 1 n 2 sin 2

2.2 Basic Optical Laws and

Definitions (3)
Applications of Snells Law

2.3 Optical Fiber Modes and

Configurations (1)
In step-index fibers the core of radius a has
a refractive index n1, which is typically
equal to 1.48. This is surrounded by a
cladding of slightly lower index n2 = n1(1 ).
is the core-cladding index difference or
the index difference. Typical values range
from 1-3 % for multimode fibers and from
0.2-1.0 % for single-mode fibers.

Optical Fiber Type

Comparisons
The indices are
uniform in a stepindex fiber
The index varies
with the core radius
in a graded-index
fiber
Typical diameters
SM core: 8-10 m
SM cladding: 125 m
MM core: 50 or 62.5
m
MM cladding: 125 m
(SM = single mode)

Cladding

Cladding

2a

2a

Core

Core

n1

n1
n2

Stepindexfiber
n1

n1
n2

Gradedindexfiber

(a)Basicfibertypes (b)Sampletailoredprofiles

Propagating Rays in
Fibers

Propagation mechanism in an ideal step-index

waveguide
Light enters the core at an angle 0 from a medium
of index n
Propagating rays are totally internally reflected at
core/clad interface
Meridional rays follow a zig-zag path along the fiber
core
These rays pass through the fiber axis after each
reflection
Snells law determines the minimum angle for total
internal reflection

Numerical Aperture
From Snells law, the minimum angle for
total internal reflection is sin min = sin c =
n2/n1
This condition is related to the maximum
entrance angle 0,max = A (acceptance
2
2 1/ 2
n sinthe
0,max
n1 sin c n1 n 2
angle) by
relationship

where c = /2 - c

[recall that sin x = (1 cos2x)1/2 ]

This equation defines the numerical aperture NA:

NA = n sin A = (n12 n22)1/2 n1 (2) 1/2
10

Numerical Aperture
Example

11

Modal Field Patterns

Electric field distributions of lower-order guided modes
in a planar dielectric slab waveguide (or crosssectional view of an optical fiber along its axis)
Evanescent tails extend into the cladding

Zeroth
order mode

First
order mode

Second
order mode

Zeroth-order mode = Fundamental mode

A single-mode fiber carries only the fundamental mode
12

V Number Definition
An important parameter connected
with the cutoff condition is the V
number defined by

13

Number of Modes in a
Fiber

V can be used to express the

number of modes M in a multimode
step-index fiber when V is large

14

2.5 Single-Mode Fibers

Single-mode fiber features:
The dimension of the core
diameter is a few wavelengths
(usually 812)
The index difference between
the core and the cladding is
small (0.2 to 1.0 %)
The core diameter is just below
the cutoff of the first higherorder mode: V < 2.405
15

Mode Field Diameter

The mode-field diameter (MFD)

can be determined from the
mode-field distribution of the
fundamental fiber mode and is a
function of the optical source
wavelength

The MFD is used to predict fiber

splice loss, bending loss, cutoff
wavelength, and waveguide
dispersion

To find MFD: (a) measure the farfield intensity distribution E2(r)

(b) calculate the MFD using the
Petermann II equation

16