OPTICAL NETWORKS

Lecture 1: Introduction Part_1

Contents
 Part 1
 Review of optical fiber communications
 Part 2
 Optical fiber network components
 E.g. couplers, circulators, multiplexers, filters,
amplifiers, wavelength converters etc.
 Part 3
 Optical networks
 SDH, WDM networks, Access networks, Packet
switching networks etc.
 High speed optical communications (> 40 Gbps)
References
 Optical Networks, A Practical Perspective, Third
Edition, Rajiv Ramaswami, Kumar N. Sivarajan,
Galen H. Sasaki
 Optical Fiber Communications, Principles and
Practice, Third Edition, John M. Senior
 Fiber-Optics Communication Technology, Djafar
K. Mynabaev and Lowell L. Scheiner
 Fiber Optic Communications, Joseph C. Palais
 Optical Fiber Communications, Fourth Edition,
Gred Keiser
Marks Components

Marks Components Marks

1 Attendance 10
2 Project 30
3 Final Exam 60
Total 100
 Optical Fiber Communications
System
TRANSMITTER FIBRE RECEIVER

+ –
+ –
Optical Fiber Communications
System
 Fiber Optics Communication system consist of three major
elements:
 Transmitter
 Optical Fiber
 Receiver
 Transmitter: the heart of the transmitter is a light source.
The major function of a light source is to convert an
information signal its electrical form into light.
 The light source can be either Light Emitting Diode (LED)
or Laser Diode (LD).
 Transmitters include power-supply connections and
modulation circuitry. All components are packed together.
 Optical Fiber Communications
System
 Optical Fiber: the transmission media in a fiber optic system is
an optical fiber.
 The optical fiber is a transparent flexible filament that guides
light from a transmitter to a receiver.
 Optical fibers are generally fabricated from silica or plastic, and
cover by coating(bare fiber) and bundled together with other
optical fibers to form an optical fiber cable.
 Receiver: the key component of an optical receiver is a
photodetector. The major function of a photodetector is to
convert an optical information signal back into electrical signal
(photocurrent).
 Receivers include power-supply connections and signal
amplification circuitry. All components are packed together.
 Step Index Fiber: The Basic
Structure
 An optical fiber is a thin, transparent,
flexible, strand that consist of a core n2
surrounded by cladding.
n1 50 or 62.5 µm
 To achieve total internal reflection.
n1 > n2 n2 125 µm
 This fiber is called Step-Index (SI)
fiber.
 A third layer of coating is applied
over the cladding to protect the entire
structure.
 Core, Cladding, and Coating form the
Bare Fiber. Core Cladding Buffer coating
 Total Internal Reflection
From snell’s law:
The critical incident angle:
 n2 
 c  sin  
1

 n1 
θc
The critical propagation angle: αc
αc = 90 ─ θc
αc
θc
2 Core n1
 n2 
 c  sin 1
1    Cladding n2
 n1 
Acceptance Angle
 To launch the light in the fiber with αc or less.
na sin θa = n1 sin αc

 θa is acceptance angle
 For air gap na ≈ 1
sin θa = n1 sin αc
 To save light in the fiber light must be launched at no more that 2θa
Numerical Aperture
 Physically there are two components Light source and Optical fiber.
 There no angles.
 Numerical Aperture:
NA = na sin θa

NA   n1  2   n2  2
 Numerical Aperture is the ability of the fiber to gather light from a
source and then the ability to preserve, or save, this light inside the fiber
because of total internal reflection.
 ∆n = n1 – n2
 ∆=(n1 – n2)/n, n=(n1 + n2)/2

NA  n 2
Attenuation
 Attenuation is the decrease in the light power
during light propagation along an optical fiber.
 Causes:
 Bending Losses
 Scattering
 Absorption
Macrobending Loss
 Bending an optical fiber introduces a loss in light power, or
attenuation.
 Manufacturers inform users what bending loss can be induced
at a certain bending radius.
 Microbending Loss
 Macrobending is loss caused by the curvature of the entire fiber
axis. Microbending is loss caused by micro deformations of the
fiber axis.
Scattering
 Even very small differences in the value of the core’s refractive index will
seen by a traveling beam as optical obstacle and the obstacle will change
the directional of the original beam.
 The main source of scattering is Rayleigh scattering .

αc

Core n1
Cladding n2
Scattering vs. Wavelength

Rayleigh
Absorption
 Intrinsic absorption is due to absorption silica material to
photon at different wavelength.
Absorption
 Extrinsic Absorption is due to imperfection introduced during
the fabrication process.
 Absorption is mainly due to OH- particles which are
introduced during optical fiber fabrication.
Total Attenuation
Transmission Windows
 Three low loss transmission windows exist, 850nm, 1300nm
and 1550nm.
 Earliest systems worked at 850nm, new systems work at
1550nm
Calculation of Total Attenuation

 Fiber loss is the ratio power at the output to power launched into the fiber.
Loss = Pout / Pin
 The loss in dB:
Loss(dB) = -10log10(Pout / Pin)
 Attenuation per unit of fiber length:
A(dB/km) = loss(dB)/fiber length (km)
 The quantity, A(dB/km) is called attenuation, and it’s the number given
optical fiber data sheets.
Dispersion
 Intermodal Dispersion
 Chromatic Dispersion
 Material Dispersion
 Waveguide Dispersion
 Polarization Mode Dispersion
 Modes
 The different beams travelling inside a fiber are called modes.
 We distinguish between modes by their propagating angles and we
use the word order to designate the specific mode.
 The smaller the propagating angle the smaller the order of the mode.
 The mode travelling along the fiber central axis is the zero-order
mode (the fundamental mode).
 The mode travelling at the critical propagating angle is the highest
order mode.
 Many modes can exist within a fiber, and so a fiber having many
modes is called Multimode (MM) fiber.
Modes – contd.
Different
Modes
 The number of modes
 The larger the core diameter, the larger the number of modes.
 The greater the numerical aperture(NA), the greater the number of
modes.
 The shorter the wavelength, the more modes a fiber can
accommodate.
 The number of modes is determined by the normalized frequency V
(the V number).
 V is given by:

d d
V  n1  2   n 2  2  NA
 
The number of modes – contd.
 The number modes, for a large V number (>20) is:
 For a step-index fiber:

NV 2 2
 For graded-index fiber:

NV 2 4
 Intermodal Dispersion
 A pulse launched into the fiber breaks up into different modes.
 Different modes travel different distances, and reach the receiver at
different times.
 The receiver sees a long pulse, the rising edge from the fundamental mode
and the falling edge from the critical mode.
 This causes pulse spreading.
Intermodal Dispersion – contd.

 Intermodal dispersion causes pulse spreading.

 Consequently, the effect of pulse broadening becomes significant.
 The pulse of each symbol will spread in time and overlap to the adjacent
symbols. This overlap causes intersymbol interference.
Intermodal Dispersion – contd.

 A zero order mode travelling along the central axis:

t0=L/v
 The highest-order mode travelling at the critical propagation angle:
tc=L/vcosαc
 The pulse widening stemming from intermodal dispersion:
Ln1  n1  n2 
t SI  t c  t0   
c  n2 
 With approximation:
L
t SI  t c  t 0   NA 2
2cn2
 Intermodal dispersion limit the data rate for optical communication systems.
 Solutions to Intermodal dispersion

 Graded-Index (GI) Multimode Fiber:

 Design the core with different refractive indexes so that the beam
traveling the farthest distance does so at the highest velocity and the
beam traveling the shortest distance propagates at the lowest velocity.

L N1  2
tGI 
8c
 Where N1 is the group
refractive index.

n2 n1
Solutions to Intermodal dispersion-contd.

 Singlemode Fiber:
 The cause of intermodal dispersion is the existence of many modes
that deliver the light.
 By limiting the modes to a single mode (a single light beam traveling
along the central axis ) then the problem can be completely eliminated.
 This is accomplished by reducing the core diameter and the relative
refractive index.
 The condition for singlemode is:

V ≤ 2.405
More on singlemode fiber next lecture. 8-12 m

100-120m n1
n2
 Chromatic Dispersion
 Dispersion describes the dependence of the refractive index, n, of the
medium on the wavelength, λ, of light traveling through the medium so
that n=n(λ).
 All light sources (LED and LD) cannot radiate light at a single wavelength.
 Light beams are composed of several wavelength even within a single
mode (e.g. zero-order mode).
 Since v=c/n and n=n(λ), then different wavelength will travel at different
velocities and arrive at the receiver at different times. This results in the
spreading of the output light pulse – material dispersion.
 Waveguide dispersion and Polarization mode dispersion are not a great
limiting factor to the data rate compared to intermodal dispersion and
material dispersion in MM fibers.
 In MM fiber chromatic dispersion = material dispersion.
Chromatic Dispersion – contd.
Chromatic Dispersion calculation

 Pulse spreading by chromatic dispersion:

∆tmaterial = D(λ)L∆λ
 Where D(λ) is the chromatic dispersion parameter measured ps/nm.km, L
is fiber length and ∆λ is spectral width of the light source.

 d 2n
Dchrom  Dmat  
 Manufactures use the equation: c d2

S0  40 
Dchrom       3 
4   
 Where S0 is the zero-dispersion slope in ps/(nm2.km), λ0 is zero-
dispersion wavelength and λ is the operating wavelength.
Chromatic Dispersion calculation – contd.
Chromatic Dispersion calculation – contd.

Dispersion slope

λ0
Total pulse spreading due to dispersion

 Total pulse spreading for both types of dispersion is calculated

by using the formula:

ttotal  t mod
2
al  t 2
chrom
 Singlemode Fibers
 Singlemode means a fiber that supports only one mode propagating along the
fiber centerline.
 Singlemode fibers solve the intermodal dispersion problem.

N  V 2 2 ( for SI ) N  V 2 4 ( for GI )
d
with V  n1  2   n 2  2

 Singlemode operations require that V=2.405
 This is achieved by decreasing the core or increasing the wavelength or
make n1 and n2 close as possible.
 Wavelength is more 1300 nm
 Core diameter is less than 10 µm
 ∆ is less than 0.4%. 8-12 m
n1
100-120m
n2
 Gaussian Beam
 A beam of light does not have a strict cross-
section boundaries.
 The beam is most intense in the center, with
the intensity decreasing gradually as from
the center outward.
 The beam can be modeled as a Gaussian
I(0)
curve with:
( 2 r 2 w02 )
I ( r )  I ( 0) e

 Where I(r) is the current intensity at radius

r, I(0) is the maximum intensity at r=0, and
w0 is mode field radius.

w0 w0
Mode Field Diameter
 If we plug r = w0 into the formula:
I ( r )  I (0) e 2  0.135 I (0)

 The Mode Field Diameter (MFD) is the cross-sectional

dimension 2w0, where the beam’s intensity drops to 1/e2=0.135
of it’s peak value.
I(0)

w0 w0
I(0)/e2
Attenuation
 Bending Losses
 Scattering

 Absorptions
Dispersion
 Singlemode fibers carries only one mode and therefore doesn’t
experience intermodal dispersion.
 Chromatic Dispersion
 Material Dispersion

 Waveguide Dispersion

 Polarization Mode Dispersion

 Material Dispersion
 Material dispersion is caused by wavelength dependence of the
silica’s refractive index.
 Light (LD & LED)radiate light of a finite spectral width.
 Since v=c/n and n=n(λ), then different wavelength will travel at
different velocities and arrive at the receiver at different times. This
results in the spreading of the output light pulse.
Waveguide Dispersion
 Waveguide dispersion is caused by the fact that light is guided by a
structure (optical fiber).
 The source of dispersion is not present in an open media.
 Waveguide dispersion is present MM fibers but is negligible compared by
other sources if dispersion, but this not the case in SM fibers.
 In SM fibers light travels most in the core and partially in the cladding,
both portions propagate at different velocities due to the difference in the
refractive index.
 The pulse will spread simply because light is confined within a structure
having different refractive index.
 Waveguide dispersion depends on MFD, and MFD depends on
wavelength (the larger wavelength the larger the MFD the larger
waveguide dispersion).
Waveguide Dispersion – contd.
 The portion of light in the cladding travel faster the portion
within the core since n1 is larger than n2 .
 The cladding portion will arrive at negative time compared to
the core portion.
 The pulse spreading due to waveguide dispersion is given by:
∆twg /L = Dwg (λ)∆λ
 Where Dwg(λ) is the waveguide dispersion parameter.
Waveguide Dispersion – contd.

0 time

0 time

0 time
 Chromatic Dispersion
 The chromatic dispersion parameter is the sum of material and waveguide
dispersion:
D (λ) = Dmat (λ) + Dwg (λ)

 If the material dispersion is postive and waveguide dispersion is negative,

they cancel each other.
 That lead to zero chromatic dispersion at around 1310 nm.
∆tchrom /L = D(λ)∆λ
 Manufactures use:
S0  40 
D      3 
4   
 Or the simplified equation near zero-dispersion wavelength:
D    S 0 (  0 )
 Conventional, Dispersion-Shifted and
Dispersion-Flattened Fibers
 We saw that the zero dispersion region is around 1310 nm.
 But the spectral attenuation curve is minimum around 1550 nm.
 Minimum attenuation point cannot be changed.
 Shift the zero-dispersion point to 1550 nm, material dispersion
depend on the silica and cannot be changed.
 Waveguide dispersion depend of Mode field distribution in the core
and cladding, and it’s determined by the profile of the core’s
refractive index.
 Conventional fiber: the SM fiber is called conventional if it’s zero-
dispersion wavelength is around 1300 nm
 The index profile is either matched or depressed.
Conventional Fibers

Minimum Zero
Attenuation Dispersion
 Matched & Depressed profiles

2a 2a

Δ = 0.25%
Δ = 0.37%

Δ = 0.12%

Matched Indexed Profile Depressed Indexed Profile

Dispersion-Shifted Fibers
 To shift the minimum dispersion to 1550 nm
manufactures fabricate fibers with sophisticated index
profiles, to increase the waveguide dispersion, so that
the material and waveguide dispersion cancel each
other at 1550 nm.
Dispersion-Flattened Fibers
 Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology uses
many wavelength simultaneously.
 It needs fiber with zero-dispersion property, not at a single
wavelength but distributed along region of wavelength.
 Thus the needed for dispersion-flattened fibers arose.
Conventional, Dispersion-Shifted
and Dispersion-Flattened Fibers
Conventional, Dispersion-Shifted and
Dispersion-Flattened Fibers
 Polarization Mode Dispersion
 If refractive index along the x-axis nx and the y-axis ny are the same the pulse
will travel undisturbed.
 But if there is a difference between nx and ny, then different part of the pulse
will travel at different velocities, which causes pulse spreading, this is called
polarization mode dispersion (PMD).
 This asymmetry in the fiber’s refractive index is caused by fabrication,
during fiber cabling and splicing.
 Pulse spreading caused by PMD is given by:

t PMD  DPMD L
 Where DPMD is the coefficient of PMD measured in ps
and/ L(km).
km
 DPMD does not depend on wavelength.
Polarization Mode Dispersion

 The difference in the refractive index between the x and y axis

is called fiber Birefringence:
B = n x - ny

 PMD is relatively small compared to chromatic dispersion, but

when operating at the zero-dispersion wavelength, it gains
significant importance as a limiting dispersion factor.
Polarization Mode Dispersion