PHY109 UNIT III: Fiber optics

LECTURE 1

Prof. Reji Thomas DRD-DRC September 7, 2018

 Continues Assessment (CA)
2

 CA1 : UNIT 1 and UNIT 2

 On 12th September 2018.. Next Wednesday
 6 questions each carry 5 marks

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 FIBER OPTICS
3

We can’t live without the INTERNET,

and hence we can’t live without OPTICAL
FIBER and we didn’t even know it

How many km of fiber optic cables are

used in LPU for networking ??

Understand fiber optics and why they are important- We

will learn in this UNIT III
Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 Historical Developments
4

 1870 John Tyndall guided light through water air interface

 1950Hopkins and Kanani realized transmission of images
through optical fiber. It was Kanani coined the name Fiber
Optics
 1960 light transmitted through glass.. But that glass was lossy
 1966 Kao and Hockham proposed information transmission
over fiber
 1970 Corning Glass developed low loss optical fiber
transmission lines
 FIBER OPTICS

“Fiber optics is a technology in which electrical signal is converted to

optical signals and transmitted through fibers and reconverted back into
electrical signals”
1977- Commercial communication system based on Optical fibers
came into existence based on the proposed information
transmission over glass fiber by Charles Kao (2009 Nobel Prize
winner) and George Hockham.

 LASER diode and LED revolutionized the

communication sector, which was dominated by
Microwave and Radio waves as the carrier waves for
sending information..
 Use of light as carrier wave improved the bandwidth
considerably Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 UNIT III: Fiber optics

Syllabus
Fiber optics introduction, optical fiber as a dielectric wave guide,
total internal reflection, acceptance angle, numerical aperture,
relative refractive index, V-number, step index and graded index
fibers, losses associated with optical fibers, application of optical
fibers.

So it is all about basics of Fiber Optics and its application..

Not a big business.. Very simple for us

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

7

Quick QUIZ

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Quick Quiz Response on the 9/06/2018 Lecture

No Question Attempts Right Wrong

1 Which of the following is a unique
property of laser?
2 Which of the following is an example of
optical pumping?
3 The image produced by holography is
4 Hologram contains the information
about
5 Hologram is the result of

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

9

. Which of the following is a unique property of laser?

a) Directional
b) Speed
c) Coherence
d) Wavelength

Ans: C

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

10

Which of the following is an example of optical

pumping?

a) Ruby laser
b) Helium-Neon laser
c) Semiconductor laser
d) Dye laser

Ans: A

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

11

The image produced by holography is

(a)One dimensional
(b)Two dimensional
(c)Three dimensional
(d)None of these

Ans: C

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

12

Hologram contains the information about

(a)Amplitude of the object

(b)Phase of the object
(c)Both amplitude and phase of the object

Ans: C

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

13

Hologram is the result of

(a)interference of object and reference beam

(b)polarization of the object and reference beam
(c)diffraction of the object and reference beam
(d)both (a) and (b)

Ans: A

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Fiber optics

Lecture 1: Fiber optics introduction, optical fibers, Total internal

reflection, acceptance angle, relative refractive index
numerical aperture,
Lecture 2:Classification of fibers, Step index and graded index
fibers, V-number, optical fiber as a dielectric wave
guide and modes of propagation;
Learn fundamentals of optical fiber, the fundamental parameters of optical fibers and
propagation of light through optical fiber, learned about the types of fibers

Lecture 3: Losses associated with optical fibers; Application of

optical fibers;
learn the reason for data loss. Learn about the applications,… endoscopy

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Optical Fiber System

Laser diode/LED Photo diode

OPTICAL FIBER SYSTEM

“Fiber optics is a technology in which electrical signal is

converted to optical signals and transmitted through fibers and
reconverted back into electrical signals”
Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 Optical Fiber

An optical fiber is a thin strand of dielectric material (glass or

plastic) that can carry light from one end to the other,
• Light undergoes total internal reflection (n1>n2)
• Zig-Zag path
n =1 • Launching /acceptance angle
AIR 2 • Small attenuation
n1 n2=1 • Will travel over the bends as well
AIR

Thin strand of dielectric material we call fiber (transmission of

light) where as if it is of metal we call it a wire (transmission of
electrical signal)

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Optical Fiber

Structure: Human hair thickness ~ 100µm

1. Core - Light guiding region

2. Cladding- confine the light to the core
3. Buffer or Sheath - protect the fiber from physical and
environmental damage

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Functions of ‘Cladding’ in Optical fiber

Why cladding is necessary?

i. To maintain the uniformity along the length of the fiber
a) Make the diameter of the core remain constant and ensure same medium around the
core
ii. To protect the outer surface of the core
a) Ensure a scratch and dust free core surface along with immunity for
environmental changes and physical damage (chipping).. Loss reduced
b) Easier to add other protective layers over the fiber
iii. To reduce the cone of the light
a) Ensure higher bit rate of transmission
iv. To confine light to the core
a) Make sure the condition for total internal reflection always met along the length;
maintain the signal strength
b) Allows to pack the fibers in bundles by insulating it from other fibers in close
proximity.

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

Single Fiber cable (side view)

Multi Fiber cable (cross section)

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Total Internal Reflection

Rarer medium n2 < n1

n2

n1
Denser medium n1 > n2

Eq.1
When a ray of light incident on the interface from a denser
medium, the refracted ray bend away from the normal in the rarer
medium. In that case the angle of incidence and refraction are
related to refractive indices n1 (denser medium) and n2 (rarer
medium) through Snell’s law
Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 Total Internal Reflection

n2
n2

n1
n1
Reflected ray

According to Eq.1, as incident angle (θ1) increases refracted angle (θ2) also increases

 Means refracted ray move more and more away from the normal
 When θ1 becomes θc , (critical angle )refracted ray just glide the interface θ2 =90°

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Total Internal Reflection

In the third case, when incident angle θ1 > θc there is no refracted ray into rarer
medium. The ray is reflected back to denser medium as if it encountered specular
reflection
n2 n2
n2

n1
n1
n1 Reflected ray
Reflected ray
θ1 > θc ; Specular reflection?
To summarize
i. θ1 < θc , Ray of light refract to rarer medium
ii. θ1 = θc. Ray of light grazes the interface of rare-denser medium
iii. θ1 > θc, Ray of light totally reflect back into denser medium

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Total Internal Reflection

The phenomena in which light is totally reflected back to denser medium at the
denser-rarer boundary is known as TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION.

Eq.1

Critical angle can be obtained from Eq.1

θ1 = θc ; θ2 =90°
Eq.1a
Later we use φ for θ

If the rarer medium is air n2=1

or Eq.2

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

Acceptance Angle

Case 1: Refraction at A
Incident ray from launching medium having the refractive index
n0→ refracted into the core having refractive index n1 ,
according to the Snell’s law…
Eq.3

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

Acceptance Angle

Case 2: Refracted ray incident on interface

Refracted ray in the core (n1) now incident on the core-cladding
interface at an angle (φ),

From the triangle ABC

θr= 90 - φ -------- Eq.4

substitute Eq.4 Eq.3

-------- Eq.5

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

Acceptance Angle

Case3: Total internal

reflection at B

When φ=φc total internal reflection occurs at B, that set the

maximum allowable launching angle, θimax , equation 5 changes to

-------- Eq.6

But from Eq.1a -------- Eq.7

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Acceptance Angle

cos2φc+ sin2φc=1 substitute for sin2φc from Eq.7

-------- Eq.8
Or

substituteEq.8
Substitute Eq.8inin Eq.6

For launching from air n0=1

-------- Eq.9

θimax is the acceptance angle of the fiber.

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 Acceptance Cone

We know in 2D, θimax is the acceptance angle- and is with axis of the
fiber

Substitute Eq.8 in
If you consider 3D, instead of angle it is the cone (solid angle), and
hence called acceptance cone.

Larger the θimax easier to launch light into the fiber

Incident at an more than θimax refract through the cladding and lost

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

Relative Refractive Index

The fractional difference between the refractive indices of the core

and the cladding is relative refractive index or the fractional
refractive index difference

-------- Eq.10

 ∆ is always positive because n1>n2.

 Typically value of ∆ is the order of 0.01
 For effective light transmission through the fiber, ∆<<1.

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

Numerical aperture
Light gathering ability of the fiber depends on the numerical
aperture , NA and is defined as the sine of the acceptance angle
θimax

-------- Eq.11

NA is also related to the relative refractive index ∆

How? We will see now!

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Numerical aperture
Numerical aperture can also be expressed in terms of relative refractive , ∆

Multiply and divide with 2n1

Approximating (n1+n2)/2~n1 and eq.10

That is
• Depends only on the refractive indices of the core and
cladding.
• Independent of the dimension of the fiber
Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
 Numerical aperture

• Measure of the light gathering ability of the fiber

• Depends only on the refractive indices of the core and cladding.
• Independent of the dimension of the fiber
• Typical values are in the range 0.13 to 0.50

High NA means fiber accept large amount of light

from the source and propagate it
Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018
33

Quick Quiz

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

34

What is the principle of fiber optical communication?

a) Frequency modulation
b) Population inversion
c) Total internal reflection
d) Doppler Effect

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

35

What is the other name for maximum external incident

angle?

a)Optical angle
b)Total internal reflection angle
c)Refraction angle
d) Wave guide acceptance angle

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

36

A Fiber optic telephone transmission can handle more

than thousands of voice channels. True or false?

(a) True
(b) False

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

 Fiber optics

Lecture 1: Fiber optics introduction, optical fibers, Total internal

reflection, acceptance angle, relative refractive index
numerical aperture,
Lecture 2:Classification of fibers, Step index and graded index
fibers, V-number, optical fiber as a dielectric wave
guide and modes of propagation;
Learn fundamentals of optical fiber, the fundamental parameters of optical fibers and
propagation of light through optical fiber, learned about the types of fibers

Lecture 3: Losses associated with optical fibers; Application of

optical fibers;
learn the reason for data loss. Learn about the applications,… endoscopy

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018

38

Prof. Reji Thomas DRC-DRD September 7, 2018