Module 2: Transmission characteristics of optical Fibers
Introduction
One of the important properties 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
Another important property of optical Fiber is distortion mechanism
As the signal pulse travels along the Fiber length it becomes more broader
After enough length the broad pulses starts overlapping with adjacent pulses, creates error in
the receiver
Hence the distortion limits the information carrying capacity of Fiber
2.1 Attenuation
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 Rayleigh scattering only
Microbending of optical Fiber also contributes to the attenuation of signal
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 coupled power
The loss can be defined as the ratio of the input/transmitted optical power (pi) into the Fiber to
the output/received optical power (p0) from the Fiber
It can be expressed as:
Where ‘L’ is the Fiber length
Attenuation is also a function of wavelength
Optical Fiber wavelength as a function of wavelength is shown in Fig. 2.1
Figure 2.1 Fiber attenuation as a function of wavelength
2.2 Absorption
Absorption loss is related to the material composition and fabrication process of the Fiber
Absorption loss results in dissipation of some optical power as here in the Fiber cable
Although glass Fibers are extremely pure, some impurities remain as residue after purification
The amount of absorption by these impurities depends on their concentration and light
wavelength
Absorption is caused by three different mechanisms
1) Absorption by atomic defects in glass composition
2) Extrinsic absorption by impurity atoms in glass material
3) Intrinsic absorption by basic constituent atom of Fiber
Absorption by Atomic Defects
Atomic defects are imperfections in the atomic structure of the Fiber materials such as missing
molecules, high density clusters of atom groups
These absorption losses are negligible compared with intrinsic and extrinsic losses
The absorption effect is most significant when Fiber is exposed to ionizing radiation in nuclear
reactor, medical therapies, space missions etc.
The radiation damages the internal structure of the Fiber
The damages are proportional to the intensity of ionizing particles
This results in increasing attenuation due to atomic defects and absorbing optical energy
The total dose a material receives is expressed in rad (Si), this is the unit for measuring radiation
absorbed in bulk silicon
1 rad (Si) = 0.01 [Link]
The higher the radiation intensity more the attenuation as shown in Fig 2.2 (a)
Figure 2.2 (a) Ionizing radiation intensity vs fiber attenuation
Extrinsic Absorption
Extrinsic absorption occurs due to electronic transitions between the energy level and because
of charge transitions from one ion to another
A major source of attenuation is from transition of metal impurity ions such as iron, chromium,
cobalt and copper
These losses can be up to 1 to 10 dB/km
The effect of metallic impurities can be reduced by glass refining techniques
Another major extrinsic loss is caused by absorption due to OH (Hydroxil) ions impurities
dissolved in glass
Vibrations occur at wavelengths between 2.7 and 4.2 μm
The absorption peaks occur at 1400, 950 and 750 nm
These are first, second and third overtones respectively
Fig. 2.2 (b) shows absorption spectrum for OH group in silica
Between these absorption peaks there are regions of low attenuation
Figure 2.2 (b) The absorption spectrum for the hydroxyl (OH) group in silica
Intrinsic Absorption
Intrinsic absorption occurs when material is in pure state, no density variation and
inhomogeneities
Thus, intrinsic absorption sets the fundamental lower limit on absorption for any material
Intrinsic absorption results from electronic absorption bands in UV region and from atomic
vibration bands in the near infrared region
The electronic absorption bands are associated with the band gaps of amorphous glass materials
Absorption occurs when a photon interacts with an electron in the valence band and excites it to
a higher energy level
UV absorption decays exponentially with increasing wavelength (λ)
In the IR (infrared) region above 1.2μm the optical waveguide loss is determined by presence of
the OH ions and inherent IR absorption of the constituent materials
The inherent IR absorption is due to interaction between the vibrating band and the
electromagnetic field of optical signal
It results in transfer of energy from field to the band, thereby giving rise to absorption
Attenuation spectra for the intrinsic loss mechanism in pure Ge is shown in Fig. 2.2 (c)
Figure 2.2 (c) Attenuation spectra for intrinsic loss
2.3 Rayleigh Scattering Losses
Scattering losses exists in optical Fibers because of microscopic variations in the material density
and composition
As glass is composed by randomly connected network of molecules and several oxides (e.g.
SiO2, GeO2 and P2O5), these are the major cause of compositional structure fluctuation
These two effects results to variation in refractive index and Rayleigh type scattering of light
Rayleigh scattering of light is due to small localized changes in the refractive index of the core
and cladding material
There are two causes during the manufacturing of Fiber
The first is due to slight fluctuation in mixing of ingredients
The random changes because of this are impossible to eliminate completely
The other cause is slight change in density as the silica cools and solidifies
When light ray strikes such zones, it gets scattered in all directions
The amount of scatter depends on the size of the discontinuity compared with the wavelength
of the light so the shortest wavelength (highest frequency) suffers most scattering
Fig. 2.3 shows graphically the relationship between wavelength and Rayleigh scattering loss
Figure 2.3 Scattering loss
Scattering loss for single component glass is given by,
where, n = Refractive index
kB = Boltzmann’s constant
βT = Isothermal compressibility of material
Tf = Temperature at which density fluctuations are frozen into the glass as it solidifies (fictive
temperature)
Another form of equation is
where, P = Photoelastic coefficient
Scattering loss for multicomponent glasses is given by,
where, 𝛿𝑛2 = Mean square refractive index fluctuation
𝛿𝑣 = Volume of Fiber
Multimode Fibers have higher dopant concentrations and greater compositional fluctuations
The overall losses in this Fibers are more as compared to single mode Fibers
Rayleigh Scattering Coefficient
Rayleigh Scattering Coefficient is related to the transmission loss factor/transmissivity of the
Fiber following the relation:
Where ‘L’ is the Fiber length
Mie Scattering
Linear scattering also occurs at inhomogeneities and these arise from imperfections in the
Fiber’s geometry
It may be due to:
1) Irregularities in the refractive index of core cladding
2) Core cladding r.i differences along the Fiber length
3) Diameter fluctuations and the presence of bubbles etc. caused during manufacturing process
It can be reduced by:
1) Removing imperfections due to the glass manufacturing process
2) Careful controlled extrusion and coating of the Fiber
3) Increasing the Fiber guidance by increasing the relative refractive index difference
2.4 Fiber Bend Losses
Losses due to curvature and losses caused by an abrupt change in radius of curvature are
referred to as ‘bending losses’
The sharp bend of a Fiber causes significant radiative losses and there is also possibility of
mechanical failure This is shown in Fig. 2.4
Optical Fibers suffer radiation losses at bends or curves on their paths
This is due to the energy in the Evanescent field at the bend
At the bend the signal exceeds the velocity of light in the cladding and hence causes the light
energy to be radiated from the Fiber
The radiation loss from a bent Fiber depends on
i) Field strength of certain critical distance Xc from Fiber axis where power is lost through radiation
ii) The radius of curvature R
Figure 2.4 Bending loss
Figure 2.4 An illustration of the radiation loss at a fiber bend
Types of Bending losses
Bending losses can be of 2 types:
1) Micro bending
2) Macro bending
Micro bending
Micro bending is a loss due to small bending or distortions
This small micro bending is not visible
The losses due to this are temperature related, tensile related or crush related
The effects of micro bending on multimode Fiber can result in increasing attenuation
(depending on wavelength)
These effects can be minimized during installation and testing. Fig. 2.4.1 illustrates micro
bending
Figure 2.4.1 Micro bending
Macro bending
The macro bending losses are cause by large scale bending of Fiber
Fig. 2.4.2 illustrates macro bending
Figure 2.4.2 Macro bending
The loss can be represented by a radiation attenuation coefficient which has the form:
Where, R is the radius of curvature of the Fiber bend, C1 and C2 are constants which are independent of
R
Large bending losses occurs in multimode Fibers at a critical radius of curvature Rc
Macro bending losses can be reduced by:
Designing Fibers with large relative refractive index difference and
Operating at the shortest wavelength possible
The critical radius of curvature for a single mode Fiber can be estimated as:
Where, 𝜆𝑐 is the cutoff wavelength for the single mode Fiber
Core and Cladding Loss
Since the core and cladding have different indices of refraction hence, they have different
attenuation coefficients
2.5 Signal Distortion in Optical Waveguide
The pulse gets distorted as it travels along the Fiber lengths
Pulse spreading in Fiber is referred as dispersion
Dispersion is caused by difference in the propagation times of light rays that takes different
paths during the propagation
The light pulses travelling down the Fiber encounter dispersion effect because of this the pulse
spreads out in time domain
Dispersion limits the information bandwidth
The distortion effects can be analysed by studying the group velocities in guided modes
Dispersion and attenuation of pulse travelling along the Fiber is shown in Fig. 2.5
Fig. 2.5 shows, after travelling some distance, pulse starts broadening and overlap with the
neighbouring pulses
At certain distance the pulses are not even distinguishable, and error will occur at receiver
This effect is known as Inter symbol interference (ISI)
Therefore, the information capacity is specified by bandwidth distance product (MHz. km)
For step index bandwidth distance product is 20 MHz. Km and for graded index it’s 2.5 MHz. km
Figure 2.5 An illustration using the digital bit pattern 1011 of the broadening of light pulses as they are
transmitted along a fiber: (a) fiber input; (b) fiber output at a distance L1; (c) fiber output at a distance
L2> L1
Group Delay
Consider a Fiber cable carrying optical signal equally with various modes and each mode
contains all the spectral components in the wavelength band
All the spectral components travel independently, and they observe different time delay and
group delay in the direction of propagation
The velocity at which the energy in a pulse travels along the Fiber is known as group velocity
Thus, different frequency components in a signal will travel at different group velocities and so
will arrive at their destination at different times
2.6 Pulse broadening in different Fibers
Multimode step index Fibers exhibit the greatest dispersion of a transmitted light pulse
MMGIF gives considerably improved performance
SMF gives minimum pulse broadening and is capable of the greatest transmission bandwidth
The amount of pulse broadening is dependent on the distance
Figure 2.6 Schematic diagram showing a multimode step index fiber, multimode graded index fiber and
single-mode step index fiber, and illustrating the pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion in each
fiber type
Dispersion in optical Fibers can be of 2 types:
1) Intramodal dispersion/chromatic
2) Intermodal dispersion
Intramodal dispersion may be Material dispersion, Waveguide dispersion
Modal Dispersion
Several modes can propagate down the Fiber, each of these modes will have their own
individual propagation times
The net effect is spreading of pulse, this form of dispersion is called modal dispersion
Modal dispersion takes place in multimode Fibers
It is moderately present in graded index Fibers and almost eliminated in single mode step index
Fiber
How to avoid ISI
For no overlapping of the light pulses down on an optical Fiber link, the digital bit rate BT must
be less than the reciprocal of the broadened pulse duration (2τ)
The maximum bit rate is given by:
The maximum bandwidth is one half the maximum data rate and is given by:
2.7 Chromatic/Material dispersion
Pulse broadening due to material dispersion results from the different group velocities of
various spectral components launched into the Fiber from the optical source
It occurs when the phase velocity of the plane wave, propagating in the dielectric medium varies
nonlinearly with wavelength
The material is said to exhibit material dispersion when the second differential of the r.i (n)
w.r.t wavelength (λ) is not zero
𝑑2 𝑛
i.e, ≠0
𝑑𝜆2
Hence the group delay is given by:
where n1 is the r.i of the core material
The pulse delay τm due to material dispersion in a Fiber of length L is given by:
For a source with r.m.s spectral width σλ and a mean wavelength λ, the r.m.s pulse broadening
due to material dispersion σm may be obtained from the expansion of equation, in a Taylor
series
where σm is given by:
As the first term in the equation dominates, especially for sources operating over 0.8 to 0.9μm
wavelength range, then
Hence the pulse spread may be evaluated by considering the dependence of τm on wavelength λ
i.e., Differentiating w.r.t λ, we get
Therefore, substituting the expression obtained in σm,, the r.m.s pulse broadening due to
material dispersion is given by:
Hence the material dispersion parameter M can be defined as:
It is often expressed in units of psnm-1km-1
Figure 2.7 shows the variation of the material dispersion parameter M with wavelength λ for
pure silica
Figure 2.7 The material dispersion parameter for silica as a function of wavelength
It may be observed that the material dispersion tends to zero in the longer wavelength region
around 1.3µm (for pure silica)
This provides an additional incentive at longer wavelength where the material dispersion may
be minimized
The use of injection laser rather than LED as the optical source can reduce the pulse broadening
due to material dispersion
Material dispersion – Total broadening of a light pulse due to intramodal dispersion in a
multimode Fiber
2.8 Intermodal dispersion
Using the ray theory model, the fastest and slowest modes propagating in the step index Fiber
may be represented by the axial ray and the extreme meridional ray respectively
For axial ray,
where n1 is the refractive index of the core and c is the velocity of light in a vacuum
The extreme meridional ray exhibits the maximum delay time Tmax where
Figure 2.8 The paths taken by the axial and an extreme meridional ray in a perfect multimode step index
fiber
Consider the axial ray and the extreme meridional ray propagating through the Fiber with core
refractive index n1 and the cladding index n2, where n1>n2
The paths taken by these 2 rays in a perfectly structured step index Fiber are shown in Fig 2.8
The delay difference between these 2 rays when travelling in the Fiber core allows estimation of
the pulse broadening resulting from intermodal dispersion within the Fiber
As both the rays are travelling at the same velocity, within the constant r.i Fiber core, then the
delay difference is directly related to their respective path lengths within the Fiber
Hence the time taken for the axial ray to travel along the Fiber of length L gives the minimum
delay time (Tmin) and the extreme meridional ray exhibits the maximum delay time (Tmax)
Using the Snell’s law of refraction, at the core-cladding interface,
where n2 is the refractive index of the cladding and n1 refractive index of the core
Furthermore, substituting into eqn for cosθ term,
The delay difference 𝛿𝑇𝑠 between the extreme meridional ray and the axial ray may be obtained
by subtracting eqn from eqn
i.e.,
Where Δ is the relative refractive index difference, however when Δ << 1, the relative refractive
index difference can be approximated as:
Hence rearranging eqn, we get
Also substituting for Δ, gives:
where NA is the numerical aperture for the Fiber
For a multimode graded index Fiber, the delay difference is given by:
2.9 Total broadening of a light pulse
Consider the perfect step index Fiber, the intermodal dispersion on an optical Fiber link is the
r.m.s pulse broadening, resulting from the dispersion mechanism along the Fiber
When the optical input to the Fiber is a pulse pi(t) of unit area, as illustrated in Fig 2.9
Where pi(t) has a constant amplitude of 1/δTs over the range -δTs/2 ≤ pi(t) ≤ δTs/2
The r.m.s pulse broadening at the Fiber output due to intermodal dispersion for the multimode
step index Fiber σs
i.e, standard deviation may be given in terms of the variance σ𝑆2 as
Where M1 is the first temporal moment = mean value of the pulse and M2 is the second
temporal moment = mean square value of the pulse
Hence
and
The mean value M1 for the unit input pulse is zero, and assuming this is maintained for the output
pulse, then from Eqns:
Integrating over the limits of the input pulse and substituting for pi(t) in Eqn over this range
gives:
Hence substituting for δTs gives:
Figure 2.9 An illustration of a light input to the multimode step index fiber consisting of an ideal pulse or
rectangular function with unit area
Intermodal dispersion in the multimode Fibers are minimized with the use of graded index
Fibers
For a graded index Fiber,
Figure 2.9 (a) A multimode graded index fiber: (a) parabolic refractive index profile; (b) meridional ray
paths within the fiber core
Optical Fiber Connectors
Introduction
Optical fiber links, in common with any line communication system, have a requirement for both
jointing and termination of the transmission medium
In any Fiber optic communication system, in order to increase Fiber length there is need to join
the length of Fiber
The interconnection of Fiber causes some loss of optical power
Different techniques are used to interconnect Fibers
A permanent joint of cable is referred to as splice and a temporary joint can be done with the
connector
Fiber–fiber connection in further detail it is necessary to indicate the two major categories of
fiber joint currently in both use and development. These are as follows:
1. Fiber splices - These are semi-permanent or permanent joints which find major use in most optical
fiber telecommunication systems (analogous to electrical soldered joints)
2. Demountable fiber connectors or simple connectors - These are removable joints which allow easy,
fast, manual coupling and uncoupling of fibers (analogous to electrical plugs and sockets)
Fiber–fiber joints are designed ideally to couple all the light propagating in one fiber into the
adjoining fiber
2.10 Fiber to Fiber joints
The number of inter- mediate fiber connections or joints is dependent upon the link length
A significant factor in any Fiber optic system is the requirement to interconnect Fibers in 2 ways:
1. Low loss manner
2. Reduced distortion
These interconnections occur at the optical source, at the photo detector, at intermediate
points within the cable where two Fibers are joined and
At intermediate points on a link where two cables are connected
The technique selected for joining the Fiber depends on whether a permanent bond or an easily
demountable connection is desired
A permanent bond is generally referred as a Splice, where a demountable joint is known as a
Connector
Every joining technique is subject to certain conditions which can cause various amounts of
optical power loss at the joints
These losses depend on the parameters such as the input power distribution to the joint, the
length of the Fiber between the optical source and the joint
The geometrical and the waveguide characteristics of the two Fiber ends at the joint, and the
Fiber end face qualities
2.11 Mechanical Misalignment
It is a major problem when joining two Fibers, due to their microscopic size
Radiation losses results from mechanical misalignments because the radiation cone of the
emitting Fiber does not match the acceptance cone of receiving Fiber
The magnitude of radiation loss depends on the degree of misalignment
The three fundamental types of mechanical misalignments between the Fibers are shown in Fig
1. Lateral or axial: Axial/lateral displacement results when the axes of the two Fibers are
separated by a distance ‘d’
2. Longitudinal or end separation: Longitudinal separation occurs when the Fibers have the same
axes but have a gap ‘s’ between their end faces
3. Angular displacement: Angular misalignment results when the two axes form an angle ‘θ’ so
that the Fiber end faces are no longer parallel
Figure 2.11 Mechanical misalignment in fibers
2.12 Axial misalignment
To illustrate the effects of axial misalignment, let us consider the simple case of two identical
step-index Fibers of radii ‘a’
Figure 2.12 Axial misalignment
Suppose that their axes are offset by a separation ‘d’ at the common junction, as is shown in Fig
2.12
Assume there is a uniform modal power distribution in the emitting Fiber
Since the numerical aperture is constant across the end faces of the two Fibers, the optical
power coupled from one Fiber to another is simply proportional to the common area Acomm of
the two Fiber cores
i.e.,
For the step-index Fiber, the coupling efficiency is simply the ratio of the common-core area of
the core end-face area,
2.13 Graded index Fiber
The calculation of power coupled from one graded-index Fiber into another identical one is
more complex, since the numerical aperture varies across the Fiber end face
Because of this the total power coupled into the receiving Fiber at the given point in the
common-core area is limited by the numerical aperture of the transmitting or receiving Fiber,
depending on which is smaller at that point
If the end face of a graded index Fiber is uniformly illuminated, the optical power accepted by
the core will be that power which falls within the numerical aperture of the Fiber
The optical power density p(r) at a point r on the Fiber end is proportional to the square of the
local numerical aperture NA(r) at that point
The total power P in the Fiber is related to the parameter p(0) which is the power density at the
core axis and is given by
Considering a parabolic profile (α=2.0), the power density at a point r changes to
Substituting for p(r) in P, the relationship between the axial power density p(0) and the total
power P in the emitting Fiber is obtained
Hence,
Figure 2.13 Core overlap region for two identical parabolic graded-index fibers with an axial separation
x1 and x2 are arbitrary points of symmetry in areas A1 and A2
To calculate the power transmitted across the butt joint of the two parabolic graded-index
Fibers with an axial offset d, as shown in Fig 2.13
The overlap region must be considered separately for the areas A1 and A2
In area A1 the numerical aperture is limited by that of the emitting Fiber, whereas in area A2 the
numerical aperture of the receiving Fiber is smaller than that of the emitting Fiber
The vertical dashed line separating the two areas is the locus of points where the numerical
apertures are equal
To determine the power coupled into the receiving Fiber, the power density given by p(r) is
integrated separately over areas A1 and A2
Since the numerical aperture of the emitting Fiber is smaller than that of the receiving Fiber in
area A1, all the power emitted in this region will be accepted by the receiving Fiber
The received power P1 in area A1 is thus
Where the limits of integration are from the figure shown, are
Figure 2.13 (a) Area and limits of integration for the common-core area of two parabolic graded-index
fibers
and
Carrying out the integration yields,
Where p(0) is given by
In area A2, the emitting Fiber has a larger numerical aperture than the receiving Fiber
This means that the receiving Fiber will accept only that fraction of the emitted optical power
that falls within its own numerical aperture
This power can be found easily from symmetry considerations
The numerical aperture of the receiving Fiber at a point x2 in area A2 is the same as the
numerical aperture of the emitting Fiber at the symmetrical point x1 in area A1
Thus, the optical power accepted by the receiving Fiber at any point x2 in area A2 is equal to that
emitted from the symmetrical point x1 in area A1
The total power P2 coupled across area A2 is thus equal to the power P1 coupled across area A1
Combining these results, we have that the total power PT accepted by the receiving Fiber is
When the axial misalignment d is small compared with the core radius a, Equation can be
approximated as
This is accurate to within 1 percent for d/a<0.4
The coupling loss for the offsets given for PT is
If the Fibers are longitudinally separated by a gap ‘s’, then for a step index Fiber, the loss
occurring in this case is
where θC is the critical acceptance angle of the Fiber
When the axes of two joined Fiber are angularly misaligned at the joint, for two step index
Fibers that have an angular misalignment θ, the optical power loss at the joint is given by
Where
Fiber Splicing
A Fiber splice is a permanent or semi-permanent joint between the two Fibers
These are typically used to create long optical links or in situations where frequent connection
and disconnection are not needed
In making and evaluating such splices one must consider the geometrical differences in the two
Fibers, Fiber misalignments at the joint and the mechanical strength of the splice
2.14 Splicing Techniques
Fiber splicing techniques includes
1. Fusion splicing technique
2. V-grooved mechanical splice
3. Elastic tube splicing
Fusion splicing
Fusion splicers are made by thermally bonding together, prepared Fiber ends as depicted in the
Fig 2.14 (a)
Figure 2.14 (a) Fusion splicing
In this method, the Fiber ends are first pre-aligned and butted together
This is done either in a grooved Fiber holder or under a microscope with micromanipulators
The butt joint is then heated with an electric arc or a laser pulse so that the Fiber ends are
momentarily melted and hence bonded together
This technique can produce very low splice losses less than 0.06dB
Disadvantages
1. Surface damage due to handling
2. Surface defect growth created during heating and
3. Residual stresses induced near the joint as a result of changes in chemical composition arising
from the material melting can produce a weak splice
V-grooved Mechanical Splice
In the v-groove splicing technique, the prepared Fiber ends are first butted together in a v-
shaped groove as shown in Fig 2.14 (b)
Figure 2.14 (b) V-groove optical fiber splicing technique
They are then bonded together with an adhesive or are held in place by means of a cover plate
The v-shaped channel can be either a grooved silicon, plastic, ceramic or metal substrate
The splice loss in this method depends strongly on the Fiber size and eccentricity
Elastic tube splicing
The elastic tube splicing is shown cross section ally in Fig 2.14 (c)
It is a unique device that automatically performs lateral, longitudinal and angular alignment
It splices multimode Fibers to give losses in the same range as commercial fusion splicer's, but
much less equipment and skill are needed
Figure 2.14 (c) Schematic of an elastic-tube splice
The splice mechanism is basically a tube made of an elastic material
The central hole diameter is slightly smaller than that of the Fiber to be spliced and is tapered
on each end for easy Fiber insertion
When a Fiber is inserted, it expands the hole diameter so that the elastic material exerts a
symmetrical force on the Fiber
This symmetry feature follows an accurate and automatic alignment of the axes of the two
Fibers to be joined
2.15 Splicing single mode Fibers
As in case of multimode Fibers, in single mode Fibers the lateral or axial offset misalignment
presents the most serious loss
The loss depends on the shape of the propagating modes
For Gaussian shaped beams, the loss between the identical Fibers is
where the spot size ‘W’ is the mode filed radius and ‘d’ is the lateral displacement
For angular misalignment in single mode Fibers, the loss at the wavelength λ is
where n2 is the refractive index of the cladding, θ is the angular misalignment in radians and W is the
mode field radius
For a gap ‘s’ with a material of index n3, and letting the gap loss for identical single mode Fiber
splices is
2.16 Optical Fiber connectors
Some of the principal requirements of a good connector design are as follows
1. Low coupling losses: The connector assembly must maintain stringent alignment
tolerances to assure low mating losses
• These low losses must not change significantly during operation or after numerous
connects and disconnects
2. Interchangeability: Connectors of the same type must be compatible from one manufacturer to
another
3. Ease of assembly: A service technician should readily be able to install the connection in a field
environment i.e., in a location other than the connector factory
4. Low environmental sensitivity: Conditions such as temperature, dust, moisture should have a
small effect on connector loss variations
5. Low cost and reliable construction: The connector must have a precision suitable to the
application, but its cost must not be a major factor in the Fiber system
6. Ease of connection: Generally, one should be able to mate and demate the connector simply by
hands
2.17 Connector types
Connectors are available in designs that screw on, bayonet-mount and push-pull configurations
The 3 different types of optical connectors are:
1. Straight sleeve connector
2. Tapered sleeve connector
3. Expanded beam connector
Straight sleeve connector
These connectors are popular butt joint alignment designs used in multimode and step index
Fibers
In the straight sleeve connector, the length of the sleeve and a guide ring on the ferrules
determine the end separation of the Fibers
Figure 2.17 (a) Examples of two popular alignment schemes used in fiber optic connectors: (a) straight
sleeve (b) tapered sleeve
The biconical connector uses a tapered sleeve to accept and guide tapered ferrules
The sleeve length and the guide rings maintain a given Fiber end separation
Expanded beam connector
It employs lenses on the ends of the Fibers
These lenses either collimate the light emerging from the transmitting Fiber or focus the
expanded beam onto the core of the receiving Fiber
Figure 2.17 (b) Schematic representation of an expanded-beam fiber optic connector
The Fiber to lens distance is equal to the focal length of the lens
Advantages
1. Since the beam is collimated, separation of the Fiber ends may take place within the connector
Thus the connector is less dependent on lateral alignments
2. Optical processing elements, such as beam splitters and switches, can easily be inserted into the
expanded beam between the Fiber ends
2.18 Fiber couplers
An optical Fiber coupler is a device that distributes light from a main Fiber into one or more
branch Fibers
The latter case is more normal and such devices are known as multiport Fiber couplers
More recently, interest has grown in these devices to divide or combine optical signals for
application within optical Fiber information distribution systems including data buses, local area
networks, computer networks and telecommunication access networks
Optical Fiber couplers are often passive devices in which the power transfer takes place either:
(a). Through the Fiber core cross section by butt jointing the Fibers or by using some form of imaging
optics between the Fibers (core interaction-type) or
(b). Through the Fiber surface and normal to its axis by converting the guided core modes to both
cladding and refracted modes which then enable the power sharing mechanism (surface interaction
type)
• The mechanisms associated with these two broad categories are illustrated in Figure 2.18 (a)
and Figure 2.18 (b)
Figure 2.18 (a) Classification of optical fiber couplers: (a) core interaction type; (b) surface
interaction type
Figure 2.18 (b) Optical fiber coupler types and functions: (a) three-port couplers; (b) four-port coupler;
(c) star coupler; (d) wavelength division multiplexing and demultiplexing couplers
Multiport optical Fiber couplers can be subdivided into the following three main groups:
1. 3 & 4 port couplers: These are used for signal splitting, distribution and combining
2. Star couplers: used for distributing a single input signal to multiple outputs
3. Wavelength division multiplexer: It permits several different peak wavelength optical signals to
be transmitted in parallel on a single Fiber
WDM couplers either combine different wavelength optical signal into the Fiber (i.e., multiplex)
or separate the different wavelength optical signal output from the Fiber (i.e., demultiplex)
2.19 Star couplers
Star couplers distribute an optical signal from a single input Fiber to multiple output Fibers
The two principle manufacturing techniques for producing multimode Fiber star couplers are:
(i). Mixed rod type
(ii). Fused biconical tapered method (FBT)
1. Mixed rod type: In this type, a thin platelet of glass is used, which mixes the light from one
Fiber, dividing it among the outgoing Fibers
This method can be used to produce a transmissive star coupler, or a reflective star coupler as
shown in Figure 2.19 (a) and 2.19 (b)
Figure 2.19 (a) Fiber star couplers using the mixer-rod technique: (a) transmissive star coupler; (b)
reflective star coupler
Figure 2.19 (b) Fiber fused biconical taper 8x8 port star coupler
2. Fiber biconical tapered methods (FBT): Perhaps the most common method for manufacturing
couplers is the fused biconical taper (FBT) technique
The basic structure and principle of operation of which is illustrated in Figure 2.19 (c)
In this method the Fibers are generally twisted together and then spot fused under tension such
that the fused section is elongated to form a biconical taper structure
A three-port coupler is formed by removing one of the input Fibers
Optical power launched into the input Fiber propagates in the form of guided core modes
The higher order modes, however, leave the Fiber core because of its reduced size in the
tapered-down region and are therefore guided as cladding modes
Figure 2.19 (c) Structure and principle of operation for the fiber fused biconical taper coupler
These modes transfer back to guided core modes in the tapered-up region of the output Fiber
with an approximately even distribution between the two Fibers
The various loss parameters associated with four port couplers may be written down with
reference to Figure 2.19 (c)
Hence, the excess loss which is defined as the ratio of power input to power output is given by:
The insertion loss, however, is generally defined as the loss obtained for a port to port optical
path
Therefore, considering Figure 2.19 (c):
The crosstalk which provides a measure of the directional isolation achieved by the device is the
ratio of the back scattered power received at the second input port to the input power which
may be written as:
Finally, the splitting or coupling ratio indicates the percentage division of optical power between
the output ports. Again, referring to Figure 2.19 (c):
