Optical Communication

(BEC-352)

UNIT-I (Optical Fiber)

Lecture-6
by
Dr. Pooja Lohia
Electronics & Communication Department
Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur
 OPTICAL COMMUNICATION (BEC-352)

SYLLABUS
Classification of Optical Fiber

➢ Optical fiber is classified into two categories based on-

A. The number of modes-
i) Single Mode Fiber (SMF) and
ii) Multi-mode Fiber (MMF)
B. The refractive index-
i) Step Index Optical Fiber
ii) Graded-index Optical Fiber
Optical Modes

➢ The light ray propagates along a waveguide as guided

Electromagnetic waves or guides modes

➢ It is a patter of E and H field distribution along the fiber along

the fiber repeated at equal intervals.

➢ The number of paths for light propagation within the optical

fiber is known as optical modes.

 Classification based on Number of Modes
(i) Single Mode Fiber
• In single mode fiber only on mode can propagate through the fiber.
• It has small core diameter (5µm and high cladding diameter (70 µm).
• Difference between the refractive index of the core and cladding is very
small.
• There is neither dispersion nor degradation therefore it is suitable for
long distance communication.
• The light is passed through the single mode fiber through laser diode.
 Structure of Optical Waveguide
➢ Multi mode Fiber
• It allows a large number of modes for light ray travelling
through it.
• The core diameter is 40 µm and that of cladding is 70 µm.
• The relative refractive index difference is also larger than
the single mode fiber.
• There is signal degradation due to multimode dispersion.
• It is not suitable for long distance communication due to
large dispersion and attenuation of signal.
 Classification based on Refractive Index
➢ There are two types of optical fibers based on refractive index-
i) Step Index Optical Fiber
ii) Graded-Index Optical Fiber
Classification based on Refractive Index

(i) Step-indexed Fiber

• In step-indexed optical fiber, the refractive index of core and cladding
are constant.
• The light ray propagate through it in the form of meridional rays
which cross the fiber axis during every reflection at the core cladding
boundary.
Classification based on Refractive Index

(ii) Graded-indexed Fiber

• In this type of fiber, core has a non-uniform refractive index that
gradually decrease from the center towards the core cladding interface.
• The cladding has a uniform refractive index.
• The light rays propagate through it in the form of helical rays. They
never cross the fiber axis.
 Step Index Fibers

❑ The optical fiber considered in the preceding sections with a core of constant
refractive index 𝒏𝟏 and a cladding of a slightly lower refractive index 𝒏𝟐 is
known as step index fiber.
❑ This is because the refractive index profile for this type of fiber makes a step
change at the core-cladding interface, as indicated in Fig.4, which illustrates
two major types of step index fiber.
❑ The refractive index profile may be defined as:
𝒏 𝒓 = {𝒏𝟏 r<a (core) (1)
𝒏𝟐 r≥a (cladding)
 Step Index Fiber
in both cases.

Fig.4 The refractive index profile and ray transmission in step indexed fibers: (a) multimode
step index fiber; (b) single mode step index fiber
 Step Index Fiber

❑ The single-mode step index fiber has the distinct advantage of low
intermodal dispersion (broadening of transmitted light pulses), as only
one mode is transmitted, whereas with multi-mode step index fiber
considerable dispersion may occur due to the differing group velocities of
the propagating modes.
❑ This in turn restricts the maximum bandwidth attainable with multi mode step
index fibers, especially when compared with single-mode fibers.
 Step Index Fiber

❑ However, for lower bandwidth applications multimode fibers have several

advantages over single-mode fibers. These are-
a) The use of spatially incoherent optical sources (e.g. most light-emitting diodes)
which cannot be efficiently coupled to single-mode fibers;
b) Larger numerical apertures, as well as core diameters, facilitating easier
coupling to optical sources;
c) Lower tolerance requirements on fiber connectors.
 Step Index Fiber

❑ The number of guided modes is dependent upon

• the physical parameters (1.e. relative refractive index difference, core radius)
of the fiber and
• the wavelengths of the transmitted light which are included in the normalized
frequency V for the fiber.
❑ There is a cut off value of normalized frequency 𝑉𝐶 for guided modes below
which they cannot exist.
❑ However the mode propagation does not entirely cease below cutoff.
 Step Index Fiber

❑ Modes may propagate as unguided or leaky modes which can travel

considerable distances along the fiber.
❑ The total number of guided modes or mode volume 𝑀𝑠 for a step index fiber is
related to the V value for the fiber by the approximate expression:
𝑽𝟐
𝑴𝒔 ≈ (2)
𝟐

which allows an estimate of the number of guided modes propagating in a

particular multimode step index fiber.
 Step Index Fiber
❑ In an ideal multimode step index fiber with properties (i.e. relative index
difference, core diameter) which are independent of distance, there is no mode
coupling, and the optical power launched into a particular mode remains in that
mode and travels independently of the power launched into the other guided
modes.
❑ Also, the majority of these guided modes operate far from cutoff, and are well
confined to the fiber core.
❑ Thus most of the optical power is carried in the core region and not in the
cladding.
 Graded Index Fiber
❑ Graded index fiber do not have a constant refractive index in the core but a
decreasing core index n(r) with radial distance from a maximum value of 𝑛1 at
the axis to a constant value 𝑛2 beyond the core radius a in the cladding.
❑ The index variation may be represented as:

𝒓 𝜶 𝟏
𝒏𝟏 (𝟏 − 𝟐∆ )𝟐 𝒓<𝒂 (𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆)
𝐧 𝐫 =൞ 𝒂 (1)
𝟏
𝒏𝟏 (𝟏 − 𝟐∆)𝟐 = 𝒏𝟐 𝒓≥𝒂 (𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈)

Where ∆ is the relative refractive index difference and 𝛼 is the profile parameter
 Graded Index Fiber
which gives the characteristic refractive index profile of the fiber core.
➢ Eq.1 represents the refractive index profile of the fiber core as a variation of 𝛼
(as shown in Fig.1)
i. When 𝛼 = ∞ , the step index profile
ii. When 𝛼 = 2, a parabolic profile
iii. When 𝛼 = 1, a triangular profile

Fig. 1 Possible fiber refractive index profiles for

different values of 𝛼
 Graded Index Fiber

❑ The graded index profiles which at present produce the best results for
multimode optical propagation have a near parabolic refractive index profile
core with 𝛼 ≈ 2.
❑ Fibers with such core index profiles are well established and consequently
when the term ‘graded index’ is used without qualification it usually refers to a
fiber with this profile.
❑ A multimode graded index fiber with a parabolic index profile core is
illustrated in Fig.2.
 Graded Index Fiber
❑ The meridional rays shown appear to follow curved paths through the fiber
core.

Fig.2 The refractive index profile and ray transmission in a multimode graded index fiber
 Graded Index Fiber
❑ Using the concepts of geometric optics, the gradual decrease in refractive index
from the center of the core creates many refractions of the rays as they are
effectively incident on a large number or high to low index interfaces.
❑ This mechanism is illustrated in Fig.3

Fig.3 An expanded ray diagram showing refraction at the various high to low index interfaces within a graded index
fiber, giving an overall curved ray path
 Cutoff Wavelength
❑ The single-mode operation only occurs above a theoretical cutoff wavelength
𝜆𝑐 given by-
𝟏
𝟐𝝅𝒂𝒏𝟏
𝝀𝒄 = (𝟐∆) 𝟐 (2)
𝑽𝒄

where 𝑽𝒄 is the cutoff frequency.

• Hence 𝝀𝒄 is the wavelength above which a particular fiber becomes single-
moded.
• Since the normalized frequency in terms of numerical aperture and refractive
index is given by-(ref. P.No. 40, Optical Fiber Communication by John M.
Senior)
 Cutoff Wavelength
𝟐𝝅
𝑽= 𝒂 𝑵𝑨
𝝀

𝟏
𝟐𝝅
𝑽= 𝒂𝒏𝟏 (𝟐𝚫)𝟐 (3)
𝝀

➢ where, 𝒂 is the radius of the fiber core; 𝚫 is the relative refractive index
difference; 𝝀 is the operating wavelength and 𝒏𝟏 is the refractive index of the
fiber core
➢ Dividing eq.2 by eq.3 for the same fiber we obtain inverse relationship:
𝝀𝒄 𝑽
= (4)
𝝀 𝑽𝒄
 Mode Field Diameter (MFD) and Spot Size
❑ Many properties of fundamental mode is defined by the radial extent of its
electromagnetic field including losses at launching and jointing, microbend
losses, waveguide dispersion and the width of the radiation pattern.
❑ Therefore, the MFD is an important parameter for characterizing single-
mode fiber properties which takes into account the wavelength-dependent
field penetration into the fiber cladding.
❑ For step index and graded (near parabolic profile) single-mode fibers operating
near the cutoff wavelength 𝜆𝑐 , the field is approximated by a Gaussian
distribution.
 Mode Field Diameter (MFD) and Spot Size
❑ The MFD is generally taken as distance between the opposite 1Τ𝑒 = 0.37
field amplitude points and the power 1Τ𝑒 2 = 0.135 points in relation to the
corresponding values on the fiber axis.

Fig.4 Field amplitude distribution E(r)

of the fundamental mode in a single-
mode fiber illustrating the mode-field
diameter (MFD) and spot size 𝜔0
 Mode Field Diameter (MFD) and Spot Size

❑ Another parameter which is directly related to the MFD of a single-mode fiber

is the spot size (or mode field radius) 𝝎𝟎 .
❑ Hence MFD= 𝟐𝝎𝟎 , where 𝝎𝟎 is the nominal half width of the input
excitation.
❑ The MFD can therefore be regaded as single-mode along of the fiber core
diameter in multimode fibers.
❑ For many refractive index profiles and at typical operating wavelengths the
MFD is slightly larger than the single mode fiber core diameter.