Introduction

 One of the important property of optical fiber is signal attenuation. It is also known as fiber
loss or signal loss.
 The signal attenuation of fiber determines the maximum distance between transmitter and
receiver.
 The attenuation also determines the number of repeaters required, maintaining repeater is a
costly affair.
 As the signal pulse travels along the fiber length it becomes broader. After sufficient length
the broad pulses starts overlapping with adjacent pulses.
 This creates error in the receiver. Hence the distortion limits the information carrying
capacity of fiber.
 Losses in Optical Fiber
 Losses in optical fiber is the decay of signal strength or loss of light power that occurs
as light pulses propagate through the length of the fiber.

 Fiber optic cable, which is lighter, smaller and more flexible than
copper, can transmit signals with faster speed over longer distance.

 However, many factors can influence the performance of fiber optic

transmission.

 Losses in optical fiber are serious issues among them, and it has
been a top priority for every engineer to work with and figure out
solutions for.
 Different Types of Losses in Optical Fiber
 The various losses in optical fiber are absorption loss, dispersion
loss, scattering loss, bending loss, splicing loss, connector loss. Fiber
attenuation, which is also called signal loss or fiber loss, is the
consequence of the properties of an optical fiber (multimode and
single mode fiber).

 Apart from the intrinsic fiber losses, there are some other types of
losses in the optical fiber that contribute to the link loss, such as
splicing, patch connections, bending, etc.
Figure 1: Different types of losses in optical fiber.
• Absorption loss is related to the material composition and fabrication process of fiber.
Absorption loss results in dissipation of some optical power in the fiber cable. Although glass
fibers are extremely pure, some impurities still remain as residue after purification. When the
photon interacts with the components of the glass, the light power is absorbed and transferred
into other forms of energy like heat, due to molecular resonance and wavelength impurities.
• The amount of absorption by these impurities depends on their concentration and light
wavelength.

Absorption in optical fiber is caused by these three mechanisms.

• Absorption by atomic defects in the glass composition

• Extrinsic absorption caused by impurities introduced into glass material

• Intrinsic absorption by vibration frequency of impurity atomic bonds of the fiber material.
 Dispersion losses are the results of the distortion of optical signal when traveling
along the fiber. Dispersion losses in optical fiber can be intermodal ( multi modes)
or intramodal. Intermodal dispersion is the pulse broadening due to the
propagation delay differences between modes in multimode fiber. Intramodal
( single )dispersion is the pulse spreading in single mode fiber, because the
refractive index or the propagation constant varies with wavelength.
 Scattering losses in optical fiber are due to microscopic variations in the material
density, compositional fluctuations, structural in homogeneities and
manufacturing defects.
Figure 2: Light scattering due to compositional
fluctuations.
 Fiber optic splicing loss is another type of loss in optical fiber. By joining two optical
fibers end-to-end, splicing aims to ensure that the light passing through it is almost
as strong as the virgin fiber itself. But no matter how good the splicing is, the splicing
loss is inevitable. Fusion splicing losses of multimode fiber are 0.1-0.5 dB, 0.3 dB
being a good average value. For single mode fiber, the fusion splicing loss typically
can be less than 0.05 dB.

 Connector losses or insertion losses in optical fiber, are the losses of light power
resulting from the insertion of a device in a transmission line or optical fiber.
Multimode connectors will have losses of 0.2-0.5 dB (0.3 typical). Factory made single
mode connectors will have losses of 0.1-0.2 dB and field terminated single mode
connectors may have losses as high as 0.5-1.0 dB (0.75 dB, TIA-568 max
acceptable).
 Bending Loss
 It occurs in two ways Micro and macro bending.

 Bending is the common problem that can cause optical fiber losses generated by improper fiber optic handling. There are
two basic types. One is micro bending, and the other one is macro bending (shown in the picture below). Macro bending
refers to a large bend in the fiber (with more than a 2mm radius).It occurs due to the structural imperfection within the
fiber.

Figure 3: Bending losses in optical fiber.

 Optical Fiber Losses Measurement
 When measuring the total losses in optical fiber, also used to calculate the “link
budget”, the above-mentioned types of losses should all be considered. Besides, the
light power budget margin (due to the aging of the fiber, incidental bend and twisting,
etc.) is also important.
 Most system designer will add a loss budget margin of 3-10 dB .Of course this rule is
irrelevant if the power budget is ~2 dB like some of the 10G multimode links.
 So the calculation of losses in optical fiber should be:
Link Budget = [fiber length (km) * fiber attenuation per km] +
[splice loss * of splices]+
[connector loss * of connectors] + [safety margin]
 Here’s an example of a typical 850nm 2km with attenuation of 3.5db/km, multimode
link with 5 connections having attenuation of 0.3 dB (2 connectors at each end and 3
connections at patch panels in the link) and one splice in the middle with attenuation
of 0.3dB. The loss budget margin is 5 dB. So the total optical fiber loss of this link is:
[2 km*3.5 dB/km] + [1*0.3 dB] + [5*0.3 dB] + 5 dB = 12.3 dB.
Problem
 1.The following sample calculation for a 2-km-long multimode link with a power
budget (PB) of 13 dB to calculate link loss (LL) and power margin as the sum of fiber
attenuation (2 km @ 1 dB/km, or 2 dB) and loss for five connectors (0.5 dB per
connector, or 2.5 dB) and two splices (0.5 dB per splice, or 1 dB) as well as higher-
order mode losses (0.5 dB).

 The power margin (PM) is calculated as follows:

PM = PB – LL

PM = 13 dB – 2 km (1 dB/km) – 5 (0.5 dB) – 2 (0.5 dB) – 0.5 dB

PM = 13 dB – 2 dB – 2.5 dB – 1 dB – 0.5 dB

PM = 7 dB
 2.The following sample calculation for an 8-km-long single-mode link with a
power budget (PB) of 13 dB uses the estimated values from values to calculate
link loss (LL) as the sum of fiber attenuation (8 km @ 0.5 dB/km) and loss for
seven connectors (0.5 dB per connector).

 The power margin (PM) is calculated as follows:

PM = PB – LL

PM = 13 dB – 8 km (0.5 dB/km) – 7(0.5 dB)

PM = 13 dB – 4 dB – 3.5 dB

PM = 5.5 dB
In both examples, the calculated power margin is greater than zero, indicating
that the link has sufficient power for transmission and does not exceed the
maximum receiver input power.
 Attenuation Summary
 Attenuation is a measure of decay of signal strength or loss of light power that occurs as light pulses
propagate through the length of the fiber.
 In optical fibers the attenuation is mainly caused by two physical factors absorption and scattering
losses. Absorption is because of fiber material and scattering due to structural imperfection within the
fiber. Nearly 90 % of total attenuation is caused by scattering only. Micro bending of optical fiber also
contributes to the attenuation of signal.
 The rate at which light is absorbed is dependent on the wavelength of the light and the characteristics of
particular glass. Glass is a silicon compound, by adding different additional chemicals to the basic
silicon dioxide the optical properties of the glass can be changed.
 The Rayleigh scattering is wavelength dependent and reduces rapidly as the wavelength of the incident
radiation increases.
 The attenuation of fiber is governed by the materials from which it is fabricated, the manufacturing
process and the refractive index profile chosen. Attenuation loss is measured in dB/km.
 Attenuation Units
 As attenuation leads to a loss of power along the fiber, the output power is significantly less
than the couples power. Let the couples optical power is p(0) i.e. at origin (z = 0).
Then the power at distance z is given by,

… (2.1.1)

where, αp is fiber attenuation constant (per km).

This parameter is known as fiber loss or fiber attenuation.
• Attenuation is also a function of wavelength. Optical fiber wavelength as a function of
wavelength is shown in Fig. 2.1.1.

Fig 2.1.1: Optical fiber wavelength as a function of wavelength

Example 2.1.1 : A low loss fiber has average loss of 3 dB/km at 900 nm. Compute the length
over which –
a) Power decreases by 50 %
b) Power decreases by 75 %.
Solution : α = 3 dB/km
P(0)
  50 %  0.5
p(z)
b) P(0)  25%  0.25
a) Power decreases by 50 %. p(z)
is given by, Since power decrease by 75 %.
P(0)
  50 %  0.5
p(z)

z = 2 km… Ans.

z = 1 km… Ans.
Example 2.1.2 : For a 30 km long fiber attenuation 0.8 dB/km at 1300nm. If a 200 µwatt power
is launched into the fiber, find the output power.
Solution : z = 30 km
= 0.8 dB/km

P(0) = 200µW

Attenuation in optical fiber is given by,

Example 2.1.6 : The input power to an optical fiber is 2 mW while the power measured at the output end is 2
µW. If the fiber attenuation is 0.5 dB/km, calculate the length of the fiber.
Solution: Given : P(0) = 2 mwatt = 2 x 10-3 watt
P(z) = 2 µwatt = 2 x 10-6 watt
α = 0.5 dB/km

 P(0) 
=10   
 P(z) 

z = 60 km1

1  2 10-3 
0.5=10  log  -6 
z  2  10 
1
0.5=  3
z
3
0.5=
0.05
The higher the radiation intensity more the attenuation as shown in Fig 2.2.1.
 How to Reduce Losses in Optical Fiber
 Make sure to adapt the high-quality cables with same properties as much as possible.

 Choose qualified connectors as much as possible. Make sure that the insertion loss should be lower than
0.3dB and the additional loss should be lower than 0.2dB.

 During splicing, strictly follow the processing and environment requirements.

 The connecting joints must have excellent patch and closed coupling so that can prevent the light
leakage.

 Make sure of the cleanliness of the connectors.

 Choose the best route and methods to lay the fiber cables during design the construction.

 Select and form a qualified construction team to guarantee the quality of the construction.

 Strengthen the protection work, especially lightning protection, electrical protection, anti-corrosion and
anti mechanical damage.