Optical fiber

Presented By:
Jawad Abdul Qayyum
07-0282
Elements of a Telecommunication System
 Telecommunication Channels

 Transmission lines: carrier is electrical

energy, channel is copper wire.
 Optical Fiber: carrier is electromagnetic
energy at light frequency, carrier is
optical fiber
 Radio Waves: carrier is electromagnetic
energy at Radio frequency, aerial carriers
are used.
 Introduction of optical fiber

• Medium of transferring information

•Developed in 1970’s, replacing copper

wire

•Thin, flexible, transparent fiber acts as

“light pipe”

•Field concerned with optical fibers is

known as fiber optics
 Comparison b/w Optic fiber & Copper
Wire
OPTICAL FIBER COPPER WIRE
 Higher Bandwidth  Lesser Bandwidth
 Glass is cheaper &  Copper is an expensive
lighter metal
 Transfer medium is safe  Electrical discharge
i.e. light. would be dangerous
 Higher carrying  Less wire can be bundled
capacity in copper wire
 The loss of signal is less
 Most of signal is lost due
to heating up of wire
Generations of Optic Fiber
First Generation
 System operated at a bit rate of 45 Mbps with repeater spacing
of up to 10 km.
 On 22 April, General Telephone and Electronics sent the first
live telephone traffic through fiber optics at a 6 Mbit/s

Second Generation
 Developed for commercial use in early 1980s.
 Operated at 1.3 µm, & used InGaAsP semiconductor lasers.
 By 1987, these systems were operating at bit rates of up to
1.7 Gb/s with repeater spacing up to 50 km.
 Third Generation
 Operated at 1.55 µm and had losses of about 0.2 dB/km.
 using dispersion-shifted fibers designed to have minimal
dispersion at 1.55 µm
 Third-generation systems commercially operated at 2.5 Gbit/s
with repeater spacing in excess of 100 km, a huge difference

Fourth Generation
 Optical amplification Systems , to reduce the need for
repeaters.
 Increase data capacity by wavelength-division multiplexing .
 In 2001, Bit rate of 10 Tb/s reached, revolution in Telecom
 Fifth Generation

 In development phase, main focus on extending

the wavelength range over which a WDM system
can operate.
 C band, covers the wavelength range 1.53-1.57 µm
 New dry fiber range of 1.30-1.65 µm.
Structure of Optical Fiber
 Core - Thin glass center of the
fiber where the light travels
 Cladding - Outer optical material
surrounding the core that reflects
the light back into the core
 Buffer coating - Plastic coating
that protects the fiber from
damage and moisture
 Jacket – which strengthens the
wire
 Principle In Optical Fiber
 Total internal reflection principle is used.
 Light emitting diodes produces the light in glass
Fiber.
 Glass fiber are “waveguides”
for light
 Light travels through the
core (hallway) by constantly
bouncing from the cladding
(mirror-lined walls).
 Advantages
 Light signals - Unlike electrical signals in copper
wires, light signals from one fiber do not interfere
with those of other fibers in the same cable. This
means clearer phone conversations or TV reception.
 Low power - Because signals in optical fibers degrade
less, lower-power transmitters can be used instead of
the high-voltage electrical transmitters needed for
copper wires. Again, this saves your provider and you
money.
 Digital signals - Optical fibers are ideally suited for
carrying digital information, which is especially useful
in computer networks.
Types of optical fiber
 Two major projects of optical fiber:

SEE ME WE 3

SEE ME WE 4
 Conclusion

 Low attenuation and very low dispersion.

 We can achieve very high band width or high
data rate.
 Vast array of applications in computer systems.
 Future of telecom industry.
 Can handle ever-increasing data loads,
increasing processing speeds.