HISTORY OF OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATIONS

DATE
1880
1930

PERSON
Alexander Graham Bell
J.L Baird (English Scientist)
C.W. Hansel (a scientist from
USA)
H. Lamm (German scientist)

1951

A.C.S van Heel (Holland)

H.H. Hopkins and N.S. Kapany
(England)

1956
1958

N.S. Kapany
Charles H. Townes (American)
Arthur L. Schawlow (Canadian)

1960

Theodore H. Maiman (scientist of

Hughes Aircraft Company)

1960
1967

1970

Late
1980
s
1988

1988

K.C Kao and G.A. Bockham

(Standard Telecommunications
Company)
Kapron, Keck and Maurer of
Corning Glass Works (Corning,
New York)
Bell Laboratories

NEC Corporation

American National Standards

Institute (ANSI)

Mid
1990
s

OCCURRENCE
Experimented with a device called a photophone
Were granted patents for scanning and
transmitting television images through uncoated
fiber cables
Successfully transmitted images through a single
glass fiber
Experimented with light transmission through
bundles of fibers
Their studies led to the development of flexible
fiberscope used in the medical field
Coined the term fiber optics
Wrote a paper how it was possible to use
stimulated emission for amplifying light waves
(laser) as well as microwaves (maser)
Built the first optical maser
Laser was invented
Proposed a new communications medium using
cladded fiber cables
Developed an optical fiber losses less the
2dB/km
Successfully transmitted 1 billion bps through a
fiber cable for 600 miles without a regenerator
Losses in optical fibers were reduced to as low as
0.16dB/km
Set a new long haul transmission record by
transmitting 10gigabytes per second over 80.1
kilometers of optical fiber
Published Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)
Optical voice and data networks were
commonplace throughout the United States and
much of the world

Photophone a device constructed from mirrors and selenium detectors that transmitted
sound waves over a beam of light
Visual light was a primary means of communicating long before electronic
communications came about

OPTICAL SOURCES
13-12-1 LEDS

Is a pn junction diode, usually made from a semiconductor material such as aluminumgallium-arsenide (AlGaAs) or gallium-arsenide-phosphide (GaAsP)
Emit light by spontaneous emission

Photon
o a quantum of electromagnetic wave energy
o are particles that travel at a speed of light but at rest has no mass
to produce LEDs, semiconductors are formed from materials with atoms having three or
five valence electrons (Group III and Group IV)

13-12-2 Homojunction LEDS (surface emitters)

homojunction structure
o a pn junction from two different mixtures of the same types of atoms
Epitaxially grown LEDs are generally constructed of silicon-doped gallium arsenide
A typical wavelength is 940nm and a typical output power is approximately 2mW
(3dBm) at 100mA of forward current.
The ratio of electricity converted to light

13-12-3 Heterojunction LEDs (edge emitters)

Are made from a p-type semiconductor material of one set of atoms and an n-type
material from another set
Layered such that the concentration effects are enhanced
Light is emitted from the edge of the material
A planar heterojunction LED is similar to the epitaxially grown LED except that the
geometry is designed such that the forward current is concentrated to a very small area of
the active layer
The maximum output power is achieved at an output wavelength of 825 nm.

13-12-4 Burns Etched-Well Surface-Emitting LED

Burrus and Dawson of Bell Laboratories developed the etched well-LED

Emits light in many directions
The etched well helps concentrate the emitted light in a very small area
More efficient than standard surface emitters, and they allow more power to be coupled
into the optical fiber, but they are also more expensive and more difficult to manufacture

13-12-5 Edge-Emitting LED

Developed y RCA
Emit a more directional light pattern than do the surface emitting LEDs
The construction is similar to the planar and Burrus diodes except that the emitting
surface is a stripe rather than a confined circular area
Surface-emitting LEDs are most commonly used than edge-emitters because they emit
more light

13-12-6
ILD

The most often used for fiber optic communications is the semiconductor laser
Similar to the LED
Below a threshold level the ILD is similar to the LED; above the threshold level an ILD
oscillates lasing occurs
Lasing the mirrorlike ends trap the photons in the active region and as they reflect back
and forth, stimulate free electrons to recombine with holes at a higher-than-normal energy
level

ILD
Emit coherent(orderly) light
5mW output power
Can operate higher bit rates than Led
Generate monochromatic light
10x more expensive than Led
have shorter life than LED
More temperature dependent than LEds

LED
emit incoherent (disorderly) light
0.5mW output power

LIGHT DETECTORS
13-13-1 PIN Diodes

A depletion-layer photodiode
Most common device used as a light detector in fiber optics communications system
a PIN photodiode operates just the opposite of a LED
Photoelectric Effect to cause current to flow in the photodiode, light of sufficient
energy must be absorbed to give valence electrons enough energy to jump the energy gap
Energy gap for silicon is 1.12eV

13-13-12

A pipn structure
More sensitive than LED and require less additional amplification
The disadvantages are long transit times and additional internally generated noise due to
the avalanche multiplication factor

13-13-3 Characteristics of Light Detectors

1. Responsitivity
a. a measure of conversion efficiency of a photodetector
b. Ratio of the output current of a photodiode to the input optical power
c. Has a unit amperes per watt
2. Dark Current
a. Leakage current that flows through a photodiode with no light input
b. Caused by thermally generated carriers
3. Transit Time
a. The time it takes a light-induced carrier to travel across the depletion region of a
semiconductor
b. Determines the maximum bit rate possible for a particular diode
4. Spectral Response
a. The range of wavelength values that a photodiode will respond
5. Light Sensitivity
a. The minimum optical power a light detector can receive and still produce a usable
electrical output signal
13-14 LASERS

Means light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

Deals with concentration of light into a very small, powerful beam
Theodore H. Maiman

Directed a beam of light into ruby crystals with a xenon

flashlamp and measured emitted radiation from the ruby

19
60
19
60
19
62

Uranium lasers were developed

Javin (Bell Laboratories)

Developed the helium laser

General Electric, IBM,

and Lincoln
Laboratories.

Semiconductor layers (injection laser diodes) were

manufactured

13-14-1 Laser Types

1. Gas lasers
a. Mixture of helium and neon enclosed in a glass tube
b. Output is monochromatic
c. A flow of coherent light waves is emitted through the output coupler when an
electric current is discharged into the gas
2. Liquid Lasers
a. Use organic dyes enclosed in a glass tube for an active medium
b. Dye is circulated into the tube with a pump
c. A powerful pulse of light excites the organic dye
3. Solid Laser
a. Use a solid, cylindrical, crystal, such as ruby for a medium
b. The ruby is excited by a tungsten lamp tied to an ac power supply
c. Output from the laser is a continuous wave
4. Semiconductor lasers
a. Commonly called ILDs
b. Made from semiconductor p-n junctions
c. The excitation mechanism is a dc power supply that controls the amount of current
to the active medium
d. Output light is easily modulated
13-14-2 Laser Characteristics
They use:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

active material to convert energy into laser light

a pumping source to provide power or energy
optics to direct the beam through the active material to be amplified
optics to direct the beam into a narrow powerful cone of divergence
a feedback mechanism to provide continuous operation
an output coupler to transmit power out of the laser

13-15 OPTICAL FIBER SYSTEM LINK BUDGET

1. Cable losses
a. Depend on cable length, material and material purity
b. dB/km
2. Connector Losses
3. Source-to-cable interface loss
4. Cable-to-light interface loss
5. Splicing loss
6. Cable bends
ANTENNAS AND WAVEGUIDES
15-1 INTRODUCTION

Antenna a metallic conductor system capable of radiating and capturing

electromagnetic energy
Waveguide a special type of transmission line that consists of a conducting metallic
tube through which high frequency electromagnetic energy is propagated
Radiowaves are electrical energy that has escaped into free space in the form of
transverse electromagnetic waves
Wavefront the plane parallel to the mutually perpendicular lines of the electric and
magnetic fields

15-2 BASIC ANTENNA OPERATION

Size of antenna is inversely proportional to the frequency

The radiation efficiency of an open transmission line is extremely low
Radiation efficiency ratio of the radiated to the reflected energy
To radiate more energy simply spread the conductors farther apart (dipole two poles)
Quarter wave antenna/vertical monopole/Marconi antenna the conductors are
spread out in a straight line to a total length of one-quarter wavelength
Hertz antenna half wave dipole

15-2-1 ANTENNA EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

15-3 ANTENNA RECIPROCITY

An antenna is a passive reciprocal device passive that it cannot actually amplify a

signal
An antenna is a reciprocal device in that the transmit and receive characteristics and
performance are identical
Diplexer device used to direct the transmit and receive signals and provide the
necessary isolation
an active antenna does not exist; it is a combination of a passive antenna and a low
noise amplifier
active antennas are nonreciprocal (they can either receive or transmit but not both

15-4 ANTENNA COORDINATE SYSTEM AND RADIATION PATTERNS

15-4-1 ANTENNA COORDINATE SYSTEM

The x-y plane is called the equatorial plane and any plane at right angles to it is defined as
the meridian plane

15-4-2 RADIATION PATTERN

Is a polar diagram or graph representing field strengths or power densities at various

angular positions relative to an antenna
Absolute radiation pattern radiation patterns plotted in terms of electric field
strength or power density
Relative radiation pattern plotting filed strength or power density with respect to the
value of the reference point
Maximum radiation is in the direction of 90 degrees from the reference
Major lobe/front lobe/primary beam propagates and receives the most energy
Minor lobe/Secondary beam
Side lobes lobes adjacent to the front lobes
Back lobes lobes in the opposite direction of the front lobe
Front-to-back ratio ratio of the front lobe power to the back lobe
Front-to-side ratio ratio of the front lobe to the side lobe

Line of shoot/point of shoot the line bisecting the major lobe or pointing from the
center of the antenna in the direction of the maximum radiation
Generally, relative field strength and power density are plotted in decibels (dB), where dB
= 20log(E/Emax) or 10log(P/Pmax)
An omnidirectional antenna radiates energy equally in all directions; therefore the
radiation pattern is simply a circle(Sphere)
Radiation patterns are usually two dimensional; however, radiation from an actual
antenna is three dimensional
Isotropic radiators do not exist and they are only used for analytical descriptions and
comparisons

15-4-3 NEAR AND FAR FIELDS

Near field/induction field refers to the field pattern that is close to the antenna;
returns to the antenna; defined as the area within the distance D^2/lambda from the
antenna. (lambda wavelength, D is the antenna diameter in the same units)
Far field/radiation field refers to the field pattern that is at a great distance; radiates
outward and never returns to the antenna; usually more important

15-4-4 RADIATION RESISTANCE AND ANTENNA EFFICIENCY

Radiation Resistance is an ac antenna resistance and is equal to the ratio of the power
radiated by the antenna to the square of the current at its feedpoint.

Rr=

Prad
i

(Rr=ohms, Prad=watts, i=ampere)

it is a resistance that, if it replaced the antenna, would dissipate exactly the same amount
of power that the antenna radiates
loop radiation resistance when referenced to a current maximum point
antenna efficiency ratio of the power radiated by the antenna to the sum of the power
radiated and power dissipated (Pin)

Prad
x 100
Pin

15-5ANTENNA GAIN

Directive gain ratio of the power density radiated in a particular direction to the power
density radiated to the same point by the reference antenna

Directivity maximum directive gain D= Pref

Power gain the same as the directive gain except that the total power fed to the

antenna is used

Ap=D

15-5-1 EFFECTIVE ISOTROPIC RADIATED POWER/EFFECTIVE RADIATED POWER

EIRP=PradDt (watts)

Equivalent transmit power

Equivalent power that an isotropic antenna would have to radiate to achieve the same
power density in the chosen direction at a given point as another antenna

15-6 CAPTURED POWER DENSITY, ANTENNA CAPTURED AREA AND CAPTURED POWER
15-6-1 CAPTURED POWER DENSITY

The power density in space

What is more important is the actual power that a receive antenna produces at its output
terminals which depends on how much power is captured by the receive antenna and the
antennas efficiency

15-6-2 ANTENNA CAPTURE ARE AND CAPTURED POWER

Capture area of an antenna is an effective area

Capture power - the antenna available at an antennas output terminal ; directly
proportional to the received power density and the effective capture are of the receive
antenna

15-7 ANTENNA POLARIZATION

Orientation of the electric field radiated from it

May be linearly, elliptically or circularly polarized

15-8 ANTENNA BEAM WIDTH

Angular separation between the two half power points on the major lobe of an antennas
plane radiation pattern
Sometimes called -3dB beamwidth or half-power beamwidth

15-9 ANTENNA BANDWIDTH

Frequency range over which antenna operation is satisfactory

Normally taken as the difference between the half-power frequencies
Refers to variations in antennas input impedance

15-10 ANTENNA INPUT IMPEDANCE

Antenna input terminal/feedpoint the point on the antenna where the transmission
line is connected
Antenna input impedance ac load presented by the feedpoint on the transmission line

15-11 BASIC ANTENNA

15-11-1 ELEMENTARY DOUBLET

Simplest type of antenna

An electrically short dipole
Referred to as short dipole, elementary dipole and Hertzian dipole
Electrically short short compared with one half wavelength

15-12 HALF WAVE DIPOLE

Generally referred to as Hertz Antenna after Heinrich Hertz

Heinrich Hertz first to demonstrate the existence of electromagnetic waves
a Hertz antenna is a resonant antenna, it is a multiple of quarter wavelengths long and
open circuited at the far end