Numerical Aperture Determination for Fiber and

Attenuation Measurement in Fiber

Lab 2 Report

Maged Abdou 115589

Fahmy Nasser
Lab Supervisor Eng. Mohamed ElNaggar
March 2015

Abstract
The main aim for this lab is to determine the numerical aperture
and attenuation loss for the optical fiber system we have in our
lab and through a laser experiment we will carry out in our time

Table of contents
1.
1.1.
1.2.

Introduction

2.
2.1.
2.2.

Procedure

3.
3.1.
3.2.

Outcome

4.

References

Numerical Aperture
Attenuation

Numerical Aperture Measurement

Attenuation Measurement

Results for Numerical Aperture

Results for Attenuation Measurement
3.2.1. One Khz at 1 Meter
3.2.2. Ten Khz at 1 Meter
3.2.3. One Khz at 3 Meter
3.2.4. Ten Khz at 3 Meter
3.3. Discussion

List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Numerical Aperture of a Thin Lens
Figure 2.1 Attenuation vs Distance
Figure 3.1 Laser at 6cm
Figure 3.2 Laser at 8cm
Figure 3.3 Laser at 4cm
Figure 3.4 Laser at 20cm
Figure 1.5 Laser used 680nm

List of Tables
Table 1 One Khz at 1 Meter
Table 2 Ten Khz at 1 Meter
Table 3 One Khz at 3 Meter
Table 4 Ten Khz at 3 Meter

List of Equations
Equation 1 NA any type of Fiber
Equation 2 Attenuation Equation in Fiber Optics

(1) Introduction
1.1.

Numerical Aperture

In optics, the numerical aperture (NA) of an optical system is a

dimensionless number that characterizes the range of angles over which the
system can accept or emit light. By incorporating index of refraction in its
definition, NA has the property that it is constant for a beam as it goes
from one material to another, provided there is no optical power at the
interface [1]. See Figure 1 for a visual definition of numerical aperture in
thin lens.

Figure 1 .1 Numerical aperture of a thin lens

In the following equation, ncore is the refractive index along the central axis
of the fiber. Note that when this definition is used, the connection between
the NA and the acceptance angle of the fiber becomes only an
approximation.

Equation 1 NA of any type of fiber

1.2

Attenuation:

Attenuation in fiber optics, also known as transmission loss, is the

reduction in intensity of the light beam (or signal) with respect to
distance travelled through a transmission medium. Attenuation
coefficients in fiber optics usually use units of dB/km through the
medium due to the relatively high quality of transparency of modern
optical transmission media. Attenuation is an important factor limiting
the transmission of a digital signal across large distances [2]
Attenuation in fiber optics can be quantified using the following equation

Equation 2 Attenuation Equation in Fiber Optics

(2) Procedure

2.1

Numerical Aperture Measurement:

We will be setting up the apparatus at 4 different measurements to

measure our results. We will be measuring at 0.4 cm, 0.6 cm, 0.8
cm and 20 cm and then calculating the average for it which will
give us the numerical aperture for the material.

2.2

Attenuation Measurement:

In the attenuation measurement, we took two measurements at 1

Khz and 10 Khz with different lengths of the fiber optic wire
which was 1meter and 3 meter. We also adjusted our voltage at 0.6

Figure 2 Attenuation vs Distance

v, 0.8v, 1.0v and 1.2v

The above figure shows an example of how attenuation can be
effected by the distance.

(3) Outcome

3.1

Results for Numerical Aperture

Figure 3.2 Laser at 8cm

Figure 3.1 Laser at 6cm

Figure 2.3 Laser at 4cm

Figure 3.5 Laser used 680nm

Figure 3.4 Laser at 20cm

Distance
Vertical
(cm)
radius (Vr cm)

Horizontal Radius
(Hr -cm)

Radius (R)
(Calculated cm)

0.3

0.3

0.15

0.4

0.4

0.2

0.4

0.4

0.2

20

0.6

0.6

0.3

The refractive index of the core if the refractive index of the cladding for
given fiber is 1.502
=

+
4

=Answer shown in right column of graph

Rav =

R1 + R2 + R3 + R4
4

Rav = 0.2125 cm

+ + +
= .

Numerical Aperture:(NA)=

= 0.0224 cm

nCladding= 1.502
=

_ + _

So, ncore= from calculations 2.25 , a correct answer would be

around 1.5027

Calculate the V-number

V number =

= 9831 using 680nm as mentioned in the

laser

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Calculate the number of modes

Number of Modes (M) =

= 48327593

3.2

Results for Attenuation Measurement

3.2.1 One Khz at 1 Meter

The following table will represent the results for 1Khz at 1 meter.

Vin (Volts)

Vout (milli-volts)

Attenuation dB(20
Log (Vout/Vin)

0.6

400

3.52

0.8

500

4.10

1.0

580

4.70

1.2

660

5.20

Average N.A

4.38

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3.2.2 Ten Khz at 1 Meter

The following table will represent the results for 10 Khz at 1 meter.
Vin (Volts)

Vout (millivolts)

Attenuation
dB(20 Log
(Vout/Vin

0.6

460

2.31

0.8

580

2.80

1.0

680

3.35

1.2

780

3.74

Average N.A

3.05

3.2.3 Ten Khz at 3 Meter

The following table will represent the results for 10 Khz at 3 meter.

Vin (Volts)

Vout (milli-volts)

Attenuation dB(20
Log (Vout/Vin

0.6

280

6.62

0.8

350

7.20

1.0

405

7.85

12

1.2

440
Average N.A

8.71
7.6

3.2.4 One Khz at 3 Meter

The following table will represent the results for 1 Khz at 3 meter.
Vin (Volts)

Vout (milli-volts)

Attenuation dB(20
Log (Vout/Vin)

0.6

224

8.55

0.8

290

8.80

1.0

330

9.63

1.2

376

10.1

Average N.A

9.27

13

3.3

Discussion

The results of the measurement is presented in the above tables and

equations. The attenuation vs wavelength relation proven in our experiment by
using two different frequencies at 1khz with a longer wavelength that the 3khz.
We established the relation that the higher the frequency, the lower the
attenuation as presented in our results and the above graph thus shorter the
wavelength, thus we have an inverse proportional relationship. The average
attenuation loss at end of each graph proves it.

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I would re-write the lab by changing the second part of the experiment to fit our
lab equipment. I would ask the students to take more measurements for the laser
diameter and have a bigger range of average to help increase the accuracy of
our results. I would change the laser used into a more modern and standard one
from an approved company to make the sources of my results more reliable.
I would highly recommend to increase the number of readings and to get a
higher quality of laser and to carry out the experiment in a very dark room to be
able to get the spot lights as accurate as possible regarding the numerical
aperture. For the attenuation measurement I would recommend increasing the
distance to more than 1 meter and 3 meter and to also use a wider range of Vout
and to wait for few moments before recording the results from the meter to have
a stable one.
To an extend, we fairly accomplished what we ought for regarding the
attenuation, however I met measure problems in measuring the spot vertical
distance and horizontal distance as there was a great rate of inaccuracy due to
poor equipments. I would use an argon or helium laser instead of a simple
diode laser as the spot will be clearer and more focused instead of scattered
making it very hard to record the measurements.
The fiber attenuation can simply be decreased by reducing the distance from the
source to the destination and also increasing frequency.
For the most part the results for the numerical aperture laser experiment is
wrong due to improper equipment, laser consistency, laser quality and due to a
high factor of human error and limited number of readings.
References

1. Cargille, John J. (1985). "Immersion oil and the microscope" (2nd ed.).
2. Greivenkamp, John E. (2004). Field Guide to Geometrical Optics. SPIE
Field Guides vol. FG01. SPIE. ISBN 0-8194-5294-7. p. 29.

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