Optics and

Optical
Communication

Chapter-Two
Amanuel Admassu, mtu-ece
 Chapter Two

Optical Transmitters and Receivers

Amanuel Admassu,mtu-ece
e
 2.1 Light Sources and
Transmitters

2.1.1 General Source Characteristics

1. Materials

2. Spectral Output Width

3. Modulation Speed

Amanuel Ad.
 Semiconductor-based light sources are about
the size of a grain of salt.
 This size allows efficient coupling of their light
output into the small diameters of fibers.
 The electrons in semiconductor materials are
allowed to reside in only two specific energy
bands:
 valence band and
 conduction band.
 The conduction of electrons and holes in a
material can be increases greatly by adding
trace amounts of impurity atoms to a
material.
 2. Spectral Output Width
 This is an important factor when one is choosing
an optical source since signal spreading in an
optical fiber due to chromatic dispersion is
directly proportional to the wavelength band over
which a source emits light.
 In order to send a high-speed signal over long
distances, the source needs to emit light within
as narrow a spectral width as possible.
 LED has spectral widths ranging from 30 nm at a
central wavelength of 850 nm to around 120 nm at
a 1550-nm central wavelength.
 Laser diodes can have widths of a few
picometers (10 ^-3nm)
^-3 at 1550 nm.

Amanuel Admassu
 3. Modulation Speed

 Direct modulation is the process of using

a varying electric signal to change the
optical output level of a device.
 Modulation speed refers to how fast a
device can be turned on or off by an
electric signal to produce a corresponding
optical output pattern.
 Laser diodes can be modulated
significantly faster than LEDs.
Important Requirements for an
Optical Source
1. The light source should be
monochromatic light source i.e. light
should consists of single frequency.

2. The light sources should be capable of

being amplitude modulated by the
electrical signal to be transmitted through
the fiber.
Important Requirements for an
Optical Source

3.The intensity of light should be high

over a narrow band of wavelengths.

4. Optical source should be small in

size, compatible with the size of the
fiber, and inexpensive to manufacture.
 Optical Sources

A. LEDS

B.Laser
 A. LEDs

 The LEDs used in optical

communications are much smaller and
emit in the infrared region.

 But compared to the other

telecommunication light sources used,
they are
much less expensive and easier to use
in transmitters designs.
 LEDs

 However, because of their relatively low

output, broad emission pattern, and slow
turn-on time, their use is limited
to low speed (less than 200-Mbps), short
distance (up to a few kilometers)
applications using multimode fibers.
 Principle of Operation
 To create a supply of electrons and holes that
may flow across the pn junction to recombine
and thereby emit light, one applies a voltage
across the junction . This is called a bias
voltage.

 When forward biased, minority carriers are

injected across the p-n junction. Once across
the junction, these minority carriers recombine
with majority carriers and give up energy in the
form of light. The energy gap of the material used to
construct an LED determines the color of light it emits and
whether the light emitted by it is visible by the human eye.
 Principle of Operation

 To produce LEDs, semiconductors are

formed from materials with atoms
having either three or five valence
electrons.
 Nominally LEDs operate around 50- to
100-mA drive currents and require a bias
voltage of around 1.5 V.
 Type of LED
1) Surface Emitters LED
 In the surface emitter a
circular metal contact
defines the active region in
which light is generated.
 The contact is nominally
50 µm in diameter.
 To couple the light into the
fiber, first a well is etched
into the substrate on which
the device is fabricated.

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 2. Edge Emitters
 The edge emitter consists of
an active p-n junction region
where the photons are
generated and two light
guiding layers that function in
the same manner as an optical
fiber.

 The emission pattern is more

directional than that of a
surface emitter, which allows a
greater percentage of the
emitted light to be coupled into
the fiber.
• Outside Plant vs. Premises Installations
 B. Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated

Emission of Radiation) Diodes

 Semiconductor-based laser diodes
are the most widely used optical
sources in fiber communication
systems.
 Key properties of these lasers include
high optical output powers (greater
than 1mW), narrow linewidths (a
fraction of a nanometer), and highly
directional output beams for efficient
coupling of light into fiber cores.
Light emission can occur through two fundamental processes known as :
a. spontaneous emission
b. stimulated emission.
Laser Action
Laser Action
 (a) Spontaneous emission:
 In spontaneous emission atom returns to its lower energy state in random manner.
 photons are emitted in random directions with no phase relationship among them.
Very few photons create light in the desired direction.
Photons propagate within a wide cone thus yield widespread radiated light..
 (a) Spontaneous emission:

Radiation of photons is independent of

other photons i.e. no phase correlation
exists between different photons and total
radiated light is incoherent.

Spontaneous emission occurs in LED

which has very wide spectral width
 (b) Stimulated emission:

 When a photon having an energy equal

to the energy difference between the two
states (E2 — E1) interacts with the atom
in the upper energy state, it causes the
atom to return to lower energy, state with
the emission of second photon
 In stimulated emission an external photon
stimulates the induced emission.
 (b) Stimulated emission:

 Stimulated emission, by contrast, is

initiated by an existing photon.
 The emitted photon matches the original
photon not only in energy (or in
frequency), but also in its other
characteristics, such as the direction of
. propagation.
 (b) Stimulated emission:

 All lasers, including semiconductor

lasers, emit light through the process of
stimulated emission and are said to emit
coherent light.

 In contrast, LEDs emit light through the

. incoherent process of spontaneous
emission.
 (b) Stimulated emission:
 The stimulated photon propagates in the
same direction as the photon that
stimulated it so the stimulated light will be
well directed.
 The stimulated radiation is coherent as
stimulated photon is in time alignment with
external photon.
 All stimulated photons propagate in the
same direction and contribute to output light
so the sources having stimulated emission
have high current to light efficiency.
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
 The role of an optical transmitteris to
convert the electrical signal into
optical form and to launch the
resulting optical signal into the optical
fiber.
 It consists of an optical source, a
modulator, and a channel coupler.
 Generally, a light source is part of a
transmitter package.
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
 Semiconductor lasers or light-
emitting diodes are used as optical
sources because of their compatibility
with the optical-fiber communication
channel;
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
 This package provides the following:
 a mounting block for the light
source, a holder for attaching a
light-coupling fiber,
 a means for maintaining the
temperature at affixed value, and
various control electronics.
 In some cases the transmitter package
also contains an external modulator for
very high-speed applications.
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
1. LED Transmitter
 Compared to a laser diode it use is
limited to:
 short-distance,
 low-speed (up to 200Mbps over a
few kilometers) applications using
multimode fibers.
 uses a single 3.3V power supply and
operates over a temperature range of 0 to
+70oC
 Slow characteristics compared to Laser
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
2. Laser Transmitter
3. External Modulators
 2.1.2 Optical Transmitters:
3. External Modulators
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1Photodiodes
 The choice of a photodetector
material is important since its
bandgap properties determine the
wavelength over which the device
will operate.
 Early optical fiber systems used
photodetectors made of Si, Ge, GaAs,
since these materials were available and
respond well to photons in the 800- to
900-nm region.
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1Photodiodes
 Si and GaAs are most widely used
than Ge because of higher noise
levels•
 Si and GaAs are not sensitive for
wavelengths beyond 1100 nm
(where long distance communication
links operate)•
 InGaAs and InGaAsP were
developed and InGaAs is used most
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1Photodiodes
 Quantum Efficiency
 It is the number of electron-hole
pairs that are generated per incident
photon of energy hv.

or
Where: q = electron charge
Ip = average photocurrent generated by a
steady photon stream of average power Po in
incident on the detector
v = c/λ = light frequency
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1 Photodiodes
 Detector Responsivity
 It specifies the photocurrent
generated per unit optical power.
 This is related to quantum efficiency
by:

Where λ≡c/ν is expressed in micrometers

Representatives Values:
• 0.65 A/W for silicon at 900 nm
• 0.45 A/W for germanium at 1300 nm
• 0.9 A/W for InGaAs at 1300 nm and 1.0 A/W at 1550 nm
 2.2.2 Optical Receivers:
2.2.1 Photodiodes
 The requirements for a photodetector
are similar to those of an optical
source.
 It should have high sensitivity, fast
response, low noise, low cost, and high
reliability.
 Its size should be compatible with the
fiber-core size.
 2.2.1 Photodiodes

 Common Type of Photodetectors

 p–n Photodiodes
 p–i–n Photodiodes
 Avalanche Photodiodes(APD)
 2.2.1 Photodiodes
 Common Type of Photodetectors
 pin Photodiodes
 2.2.1 Photodiodes
 Common Type of Photodetectors
 p–n Photodiodes
 2.2.1 Photodiodes
 p–n Photodiodes
 2.2.1 Photodiodes
 p–n Photodiodes
 2.2.1 Photodiodes
 Avalanche Photodiodes(APD)
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1 Optical Receivers
 This consists of a photodetector and
electronics for amplifying and processing
the signal.
 The role of an optical receiver is to
convert the optical signal back into
electrical form and recover the data
transmitted through the light wave
system.
 Its main component is a photodetector that
converts light into electricity through the
photoelectric effect.
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1 Optical Receivers
2.2 Photodiodes and Receivers:
2.2.1 Optical Receivers
Thank you