OPTICAL ASSIGNMENT

GROUP MEMBERS
NAME REG NUMBER COURSE
KALANZI JUDE 18/U/23550/PS BSTE
MUTEBI RONALD 19/U/8579/PSA BSTE
ODOCH QUINTO 17/U/980 BSTE
KAYONDE VANESSA 17/U/382 BSTE
KASOZI MICHEAL 19/U/8330/PS BSTE
SENKAALI DENNIS 19/U/8916/PSA BSTE
INEBE MILLYCENT 19/U/9054/PS BSTE
KITARA MOSES 19/U/29645/PS BSTE
MPAWULO STEVEN 19/U/0528 BSTE
KAWUMA EDWARD 18/U/41313 BSTE
BISO GODFREY 19/U/8800/PSA BSTE
KALYANGO JULIUS 19/U/8669/PS BSTE
SSERUNKUUMA MARVIN 18/U/126 BSTE
 SINGLE-MODE OPTICAL FIBER

• Light travels as electromagnetic waves along an optical fiber.

Therefore mode can be defined as the different patterns of
electric and magnetic fields formed across the fiber.

• A single-mode optical fiber (SMF), also known as

fundamental mode or mono-mode is the lowest mode of
operation where m = 0 and it corresponds to the ray
travelling along the axis of the fiber.
 Single mode cont’d
• The single mode fiber has a small central core that allows only one path
for light ray through the cable.

• In single mode optical fiber only one mode is allowed to propagate and
other light rays are attenuated by leakage or absorption.

• Single mode fiber is typically used only with laser sources because of the
high coupling losses associated with LEDs and supports only the HE11
mode.

• This fiber is designed such that all higher-order modes are cut off at the
operating wavelength.
 Conditions of single mode optical fiber

• Reducing the diameter of the fiber to a point at which the V (Normalized frequency) is

less than 2.405. It’s at this point where higher-order modes are effectively extinguished

and thus single mode operation is possible.

• 𝑉 = (2𝜋a/𝜆) × 𝑁. 𝐴

• a - fiber core radius.

• 𝜆 - operating wavelength below which the cut-off condition.

• N.A - Numerical Aperture.

• OS1 and OS2 are standard single-mode optical fiber used with wavelengths 1310 nm and

1550 nm (125 µm) with a maximum attenuation of 1 dB/km and 0.4 dB/km respectively.
 MULTIMODE OPTICAL FIBER
• A multi-mode fiber is a type of optical fiber designed to carry multiple light rays
or modes simultaneously, each at a marginally different reflection angle inside the
optical fiber core.

• Multimode fiber optic cable has a large core diameter that allows multiple modes
of light to propagate. Because of this, the number of light reflections created as
the light passes through the core increases, creating the ability for more data to
pass through at a given time.

• Multimode fiber is usually 50/125 and 62.5/125 in construction, implying that the
core to cladding diameter ratio is 50 microns (micrometers) to 125 microns
(micrometers) and 62.5 microns to 125 microns.
 Multimode optical fiber cont’d
• Each mode occupies a different cross section of the optical fiber core
and takes a slightly distinguished path along the optical fiber.
• Multi mode optical fiber suffers intermodal/modal dispersion and
this causes signal distortion causing limitations in signal quality. This
is because of the difference in mode path lengths in multimode fiber.
• Multimode operates at 850 and 1300nm wavelengths.
• Multi-mode fiber provides users with high bandwidth through
space-division multiplexing in optical communication systems at high
speeds across moderate distances.
Types of multimode optical fibers

• Step-index multimode fibers

• Graded-index multimode fibers
 Step-index multimode fibers

• Step-index optic fiber has a core with one unified refraction index that contrasts with

the refractive index of the cladding, thus when light rays travel through a Step-index

optic fiber core, they travel in straight lines inside the core and get reflected each

time they hit the inner wall of the fiber cladding.

• Rays of light enter the fiber with different angles to the fiber axis. Rays that enter with

a smaller angle to the fiber axis travel by a more direct shorter path, and arrive

sooner than those entering at greater angles, which reflect many more times off the

core-cladding boundaries as they travel along the length of the fiber. It’s this arrival of

different modes of the light at different times that leads to Modal

Dispersion/distortion.
 Step-index multimode fibers
cont’d

• Step-Index Multi-Mode can transfer data at

bandwidth that rates from 10 to 50 MHz/Km.
Step-index multimode fibers are mostly used
for imaging and illumination.
 Graded-index optic fiber

• Graded-index fiber’s refractive index decreases gradually away from its center, finally

dropping to the same value as the cladding at the edge of the core. So the further

the light goes from the center of the fiber, the faster its speed. The speed difference

compensates for the longer paths followed by the light rays that go farthest from the

center of the fiber. This equalizing of transit times of different modes greatly reduces

modal dispersion.

• The change in refractive index causes refraction, instead of total internal reflection,

which bends light rays back towards the fiber axis as they pass through layers with

lower refractive index. No total internal reflection happens because refraction bends

light rays back into the fiber axis before they reach the cladding boundary.
• Graded-Index Multi-Mode fibers can transfer data
at bandwidths that range from 200-300 MHz/Km to
5-6 GHz/Km, which is extremely higher than Step-
index fiber.
• Graded-index multimode fibers are used for data
communications and networks.
 Advantages of multi-mode optical fibers

• Because of their larger size, they are easier to

splice and couple, and they are generally less
expensive to install compared to single-mode
fibers.
• The connectors, components and active
elements used are more economical/cheaper
than those of single-mode.
• Cheaper LEDs light sources and sensors are
used for light transfer.
Disadvantages of multi-mode optical fibers

• They are used for shorter distances compared

to single-mode fibers.
• Due to their limited speed, they are
particularly preferred for large-scale
applications.
• Multi-mode cables are thicker and their prices
are twice as expensive as single-mode cables.
 MODE FIELD DIAMETER AND SPOT SIZE

• The Mode Field Diameter is parameter used for

characterizing the properties of single mode fibers
which takes into account the wavelength
dependent field penetration into the fiber cladding.
• It is thus a better parameter for measuring the
functional properties of single mode fiber than core
diameter. A Gaussian distribution is used to
approximate the field of step index and graded
single mode fibers operating near cutoff
wavelength λc.
• From this distribution, the Mode Field Diameter is obtained from the
distance between the 1/e = 0.37 field amplitude points and the power 1/e2
= 0.135 points in relation to the corresponding values on the fiber axis.

• Another important parameter which is related to the Mode Field Diameter

is the spot size ω0 and it is regarded as the nominal half width of the input

excitation. It is used to estimate the core radius

Relationship between MFD and spot size

where;

E(r) is the field distribution

r is the radius

ω0 is the width of the Electric Field Distribution

 WAVE GUIDED MODES

• Transverse electric mode (TE): The electric field is perpendicular to the direction

of propagation and the magnetic field is in the direction of propagation.

• Transverse magnetic mode: The magnetic field is perpendicular to the direction of

propagation and the electric field is in the direction of propagation.

• Hybrid mode: This consists of components of both electrical and magnetic field

vectors in the direction of propagation. In fiber optics such modes correspond to

skew (non-meridional) rays. Hybrid modes have a higher value of Normalized

frequency.
 CONFINEMENT FACTOR

• The optical waveguide confinement factor indicates how well

electromagnetic fields are confined to the core and it’s found by the
ratio of the electromagnetic fields within the core region to the
electromagnetic fields within the entire waveguide structure.

• The optical waveguide confinement factor is found to be between

zero and one.

• The optical waveguide confinement factor is a unit less quantity.

 NORMALISED FREQUENCY

• This is the frequency below which optical modes reach cutoff. Cutoff
occurs when the optical mode propagates with an effective refractive
index n| equal to the refractive index of the cladding, n| = n2 thus
normalized frequency(V) can be calculated as:

Where;
core radius of the fibre.

• Number of modes of a multimode fiber =

• A fiber with a large value of normalized frequency supports many
modes.
 DISPERSION

• This is the spreading of light pulses when the wave travels through an
optical fibre from one end to another. Dispersion has different types of
mechanisms which include the following:
• Modal dispersion (intermodal/ multimode dispersion): this occurs in
multimode fibres.
• Chromatic dispersion (intramodal dispersion): this occurs in single
mode and multimode fibres.
• Polarization mode Dispersion.
• The modal description is related to the different group velocities
associated with different modes.
• Therefore, different spectral components of the pulse travel at slightly
different group velocities. This phenomenon is referred to as group
velocity dispersion (GVD), intramodal dispersion or fibre dispersion.
 GROUP VELOCITY DISPERSION

• This is the group delay dispersion per unit

length.
• Group velocity dispersion has two
components which are;
• Material dispersion
• Waveguide dispersion
 MATERIAL DISPERSION

• Material dispersion occurs because the refractive index of silica and or the material

used for fiber fabrication, changes with the optical frequency. On a fundamental level,

the origin of material dispersion is related to the characteristic resonance frequencies

at which the material absorbs the electromagnetic radiation.

• Far from the medium resonances, the refractive index is well approximated by the

Sellmeier equation

• Where is the resonance frequency and is the oscillator strength. Here stands for or ,

depending on whether the dispersive properties of the core or the cladding are

considered.
• The above graph shows the wavelength dependence of and in the range

for fused silica. Material dispersion is related to the slope of through

equation [9]. It turns out that at, the value marked by the dotted vertical

line in the graph. This wavelength is called the zero-dispersion wavelength

because at .The dispersion parameter is negative below (normal

dispersion) and becomes positive above that (anomalous dispersion). In

the wavelength range it can be approximated by an empirical relation

 WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION

• The above graph shows, , and their sum , for a typical single-mode fibre. The
main effect of waveguide dispersion is to shift by an amount so that the total
dispersion is zero near 1.31 µm. It also reduces from its material value in the
wavelength range that is of interest for optical communication systems. Typical
values of are in the range of 15 to 18 ps/ (km-nm) near. High values of limit the
performance of light wave systems.
• Since the waveguide contribution depends on fiber parameters such as the core
radius and the index difference Δ, it is possible to design the fibre such that is
shifted into the vicinity of. Such fibers are called dispersion-shifted fibers.
• It is also possible to tailor the waveguide contribution such that the total
dispersion is relatively small over a wide wavelength range extending from. Such
fibers are called dispersion–flattened fibres.
 POLARISATION MODE DISPERSION (PMD)

• This is a form of material dispersion for example in Single-mode fiber, which

support two orthogonal polarization modes.
• Single mode fibers with nominal circular symmetry about the core axis along the
propagation of two nearly degenerate modes with orthogonal polarization.
• However, in reality, the core is not perfectly circular, due to external and internal
stresses in the fiber, such as bending, built in stress and twist.
• The fiber therefore, behaves as birefringent medium due to difference in
refractive indices, and hence the phase velocities, for these two orthogonally
polarized modes [4].
• The maximum difference in the mode propagation times due to this dispersion is
called Differential Group Delay (DGD), whose unit is typically given in
picoseconds. Because of its dynamic properties, PMD does not have a single
fixed value for a given section of fiber, but has a distribution of DGD values over
time. The probability of a DGD with a certain value at any particular time follows
the Maxwell distribution
 DIFFERENTIAL GROUP DELAY (DGD)

• This is a measure of difference in transit time

for light launched into the first axis and light
launched in the slow axis

• B is the Birefringence, Lp is the Length and the

wavelength
 References
[1] J. M. Senior, Optical Fiber Communications Principles and Practice, Pearson, 2022.

[2] Brunel University uk, "Mode Field Diameter(MFD)," [Online]. Available:

http://www.brunel.ac.uk/eestprh/EE5514/lesson2_new.pdf. [Accessed 18 November 2022].

[3] G. P. Agrawal, Fibre-Optic Communication Systems, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.

[4] "newport," [Online]. Available: www.newport.com. [Accessed 18 11 2022].

[5] J. M.Senior, Optical Fiber Communication Principles and Practice, Edinburgh gate: Pearson
Educative Ltd, 2009.

[6] "Humanetics," [Online]. Available: fibercore.humaneticsgroup.com. [Accessed 18 11 2022].