This topic is mapped with CO4 and CO5 of course

• Dispersion in Optical Fiber

• Intermodal and intramodal dispersion
• Losses in optical Fiber (Attenuation loss)

Dispersion

The dispersion cause that optical pulses to broaden as they travel along a fiber, the overlap
between neighboring pulses, creating errors in the receiver output, resulting in the limitation of
information-carrying capacity of a fiber.

In communication, dispersion is used to describe any process by which any electromagnetic

signal propagating in a physical medium is degraded because the various wave characteristics
(i.e., frequencies) of the signal have different propagation velocities within the physical medium.

Figure 1 Spreading of pulse resulting dispersion [1]

 Types of Dispersion

Dispersion are of two types:

• Intra modal or Chromatic Dispersion

• Intermodal or Modal Dispersion

Intra modal or Chromatic Dispersion

Intramodal or Chromatic dispersion (CD) is caused by the fact that single mode glass fibers
transmit light of different wavelengths at different speeds. The ratio of the speed of light in a
medium to the speed in a vacuum defines the index of refraction or refractive index of the
material.

Material Dispersion

• This is due to intrinsic properties of the material, glass.

• Glass is a dispersive medium. We can recall from our high school physics that glass has
different refractive index for different colors.
• Different colors (wavelengths) have different velocity in glass.
• A type of dispersion that occurs in optical fiber due to the interaction of various wavelengths
with the physical matter in the crystalline structure of the glass.
• The refractive index of the glass varies according to the wavelength of the optical signal.
• Material dispersion is the phenomena whereby materials cause a “bundle” of light to spread
out as it propagates.

Waveguide Dispersion

This is due dispersive nature of the bound medium. In a bound medium like the optical fiber,
the velocity is a function of frequency.

Figure 2 Waveguide dispersion [2]

 • Waveguide dispersion is chromatic dispersion which arises from waveguide effects: the
dispersive phase shifts for a wave in a waveguide differ from those which the wave would
experience in a homogeneous medium.

Intermodal or modal Dispersion

• In a multimode fiber different modes travel at different velocities.

• Pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion (sometimes referred to simply as modal or
mode dispersion) results from the propagation delay differences between modes within a
multimode fiber.
• As the different modes which constitute a pulse in a multimode fiber travel along the channel at
different group velocities, the pulse width at the output is dependent upon the transmission
times of the slowest and fastest modes.

Figure 3. Modal Dispersion [2]

• If a pulse is constituted from different modes then intermodal dispersion occurs.

• Modal dispersion is greatest in multimode step index fibers.
• The more modes the greater the modal dispersion.
• Typical bandwidth of a step index fiber may be as low as 10 MHz over 1 km.
 Attenuation in Optical Fibers

• Attenuation limits the optical power which can reach the receiver, limiting the operating span of
a system.
• Once the power of an optical pulse is reduced to a point where the receiver is unable to detect
the pulse, an error occurs. Attenuation is mainly a result of:
• Light Absorption
• Scattering of light
• Bending losses
• Attenuation is defined as the ratio of optical input power (Pin) to the optical output power (Pout).
• The following equation defines signal attenuation as a unit of length :

Types of Attenuation

Absorption Loss:

Caused by the fiber itself or by impurities in the fiber, such as water and metals.

• Scattering Loss:

Intrinsic loss mechanism caused by the interaction of photons with the glass itself.

• Bending loss:

Loss induced by physical stress on the fiber.

Material Absorption Losses

Material absorption is caused by absorption of photons within the fiber.

– When a material is illuminated, photons can make the valence electrons of an atom transition
to higher energy levels

– Photon is destroyed, and the radiant energy is transformed into electric potential energy. This
energy can then

• Be re-emitted (scattering)
• Frees the electron (photoelectric effects) (not in fibers)
• Dissipated to the rest of the material (transformed into heat)
• In an optical fiber Material Absorption is the optical power that is effectively
• Converted to heat dissipation within the fiber.

Two types of absorption exist:

– Intrinsic Absorption, caused by interaction with one or more of the components of the glass.

– Extrinsic Absorption, caused by impurities within the glass.

1. Intrinsic Absorption is caused by basic fiber material properties. If an optical fiber is

absolutely pure, with no imperfections or impurities, ten all absorption will be intrinsic. Intrinsic
absorption in the ultraviolet region is caused by electronic absorption bands. Intrinsic
Absorption occurs when a light particle (photon) interacts with an electron and excites it to a
higher energy level.
2. Extrinsic Absorption is caused by impurities caused by impurities introduced into the fiber
material. The metal impurities such as iron, nickel and chromium are introduced into the fiber
during fabrication. Extrinsic Absorption is caused by the electronic transition of these metal
ions from one energy level to another energy level.

Fiber Bend Losses

• Bending loss is classified according to the bend radius of curvature :

1. Microbend Loss 2. Macrobend Loss

Microbend Loss are caused by small discontinuities or imperfections in the fiber. Uneven
coating applications and improper cabling procedure increases micro bend loss. External forces
are also a source of micro bends [3].
 Figure 4 represent micro and macrobend in optical fiber [2]

Macrobend Loss

Macrobend Losses are observed when a fiber bend’s radius of curvature is large compared to
the fiber diameter. These bends are a great source of loss when the radius of curvature is less
than several centimetre.

Linear Scattering Losses

• Light scattering is a form of scattering in which light in the form of propagating energy is
scattered.
• Light scattering can be thought of as the deflection of a ray from a straight path, for example by
irregularities in the propagation medium, particles, or in the interface between two media.
• Deviations from the law of reflection due to irregularities on a surface are also usually
considered to be a form of scattering.
• When these irregularities are considered to be random and dense enough that their individual
effects average out, this kind of scattered reflection is commonly referred to as diffuse
reflection.

Figure 5 Light scattering [3]

Advantages of optical fiber communication

1. Cheaper:

• Optical fibres are made from silica (SiO2) which is one of the most abundant materials on the
earth.
• The overall cost of a fibre optic communication is lower than that of an equivalent cable
communication system.

2. Smaller in size, lighter in weight, flexible and strong:

• The cross section of an optical fibre is about a few hundred microns. Hence, the fibres are less
bulky.
• Typically,a RG-19/U coaxial cable weights about 1100kg/km while a PCS fibre cable weights
6kg/km only. Optical fibres are quite flexible and strong.

3. Not hazardous:

• A wire communication link could accidentally short circuit high voltage lines and the sparking
occurring thereby could ignite combustible gases in the area leading to a great damage.
• Such accidents cannot occur with fibre links since fibre links are made of insulating materials.

4. Immune to EMI and RFI:

• In optical fibre, information is carried by photons. Photons are electrically neutral and cannot
be disturbed by high voltage fields, lightening, etc.
• Therefore,fibres are immune to externally caused background noise generated through
electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI).

5. No cross talk:

• The light waves propagating along the optical fibre are completely trapped within the fibre and
cannot leak out.
• Further,light cannot couple into the fibre from sides. In view of these features,possibility of
cross talk is minimized when optical fibre is used. Therefore,transmission is more secure and
private.

6. Wider bandwidth:

• Optical fibres have ability to carry large amounts of information.

• While a telephone cable composed of 900 pairs of wire can handle 10,000 calls, a 1mm optical
fibre can transmit 50,000 calls.

7. Low loss per unit length:

• The transmission loss per unit length of an optical fibre is about 4dB/km.Therefore, longer
cable-runs between repeaters are feasible.
• If copper cables are used, the repeaters are to be spaced at intervals of about 2km. In case of
optical fibres, the interval can be as large as 100km and above.

Disadvantages of optical fiber communication

• Specialist skills needed

• Cost of installation
• Cost of transmission equipment from electrical to optical signals
• Optical fibers cannot carry electrical power

Summary

1. Dispersion losses in optical fiber

2. Attenuation Losses in cables
3. Advantages and disadvantages

Relevant Books for this topic

[1] Laud B.B., Laser and Non -Linear Optics, Edition 1st, (1991), Wiley Eastern Ltd.
https://www.amazon.in/Lasers-Non-Linear-Optics-B-B-
Laud/dp/8122430562/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=laser+and+nonlinear+optics&qid=159294
8185&s=books&sr=1-2

[2] Ghatak A. (2012) Optics, McGraw Hill Education. ISBN: 978-

1259004346.https://www.amazon.in/Optics-Old-Ajoy-Ghatak/dp/1259004341

References

[1] https://www.newport.com/t/fiber-optic-basics

[2] http://constructionmanuals.tpub.com/14026/css/Fiber-Buffers-193.htm

[3] https://images.app.goo.gl/LLWfgV3PjgLc9RbDA

[4] http://www.brainkart.com/article/Losses-in-Optical-Fibers_6897/

[5] https://sites.google.com/site/csapgroupc/home/applications-of-optical-fibre

[6] https://byjus.com/physics/uses-of-optical-fibre/

Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrSx0U4pvvA
Research Paper link

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.642.3055&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page
=644