PH038-Greenfield.

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3 Fundamentals of Light
In this chapter

Atoms, Electrons, and the Like Properties of Waves 49 52

44

Electromagnetic Spectrum Wave Behavior Refraction Interference 55 57 53

Diffraction and Scattering Short Cuts 59

58

43

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Fundamentals of Light

The idea of using light to represent data isnt particularly new. Over a hundred years
ago, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated that light could carry voice through the air. What is new, however, is the ongoing improvement of the bers and other basic optical components. While scientists in the 60s predicted that bers would be limited to 500 meters, todays optical pythons can reach 1000 times that distance. Those improvements are made possible by an understanding of lights basic properties. Reection and refraction play critical roles in enabling light to travel down a ber, while scattering becomes important on extended lengths of ber. The irony is that, while scientists know how light behaves, they are less clear on what comprises light. Experiments show that light can be explained both as a particle and as an electromagnetic wave, a form of energy caused by the excitation of an atoms electrons. Both explanations will be important to our understanding of optical networking.

ATOMS, ELECTRONS, AND THE LIKE ......................

Until the 19th century, light was conceived as a series of particles emitted by some object and in turn viewed by another object. The particle theory of light, as its called, largely stems from the Newtonian understanding of light that stretched back to the Greeks who dubbed these tiny particles corpuscies. Under the Newtonian understanding proposed in 1666, light was a series of particles emitted by a light source that stimulated sight in the eye. By conceiving light as a series of particles, Newton was able to explain reection and refraction. Even within Newtons lifetime, however, the particle theory was challenged. In 1678, Christian Huygens, a Dutch physicist, argued that reection and refraction could also be explained by understanding light as a wave. Huygens views were rejected at the time by opponents who argued that if the wave theory were true, light should bend around objects and we should be able to see around corners. As well see later, light in fact does bend around cornerswhat we call diffractionthough it isnt easily observable because light waves have short wavelengths. The wave theory of light laid largely dormant for just over a century when in 1801, Thomas Young, a British physicist, physician and Egyptologist (who also helped decipher the Rosetta Stone that led to the understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics), rst demonstrated lights wave properties. Youngs experiment proved that light rays interfere with one another, a phenomena unexplainable under the particle theory as no two particles could inhabit cancel each other out. Additional research during the 19th century, gradually swayed the scientic community towards viewing light as a wave that passed through an invisible substance, called ether, the same substance after which Metcalfe named the popular local area network, Ethernet (see Chapter 2).

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Atoms, Electrons, and the Like

45

Figure 3.1 Classical view of the atom. This theory, that light is a wave, can be easy understood by using the atomic model proposed by Ernest Rutherford (18711937), the laymans view of the atom. With the Rutherford model, the electrons orbit around a nucleus, comprised of protons and electrons, like planets orbiting around the sun. The nucleus exerts a force, the electric force, on the electrons, holding them in their respective states (see Figure 3.1). The closer an electron is to the nucleus, the greater the attraction. The area of, shall we say, reach of the protons is called the force eld (in physics, not Trekkian, terms). Positive charges placed in this eld are repelled by the protons; negatively charged particles, like electrons, are attracted. As energy is introduced, the electrons are excited and begin to vibrate in their place. The electrons vibrations distort the electric eld holding them, forming an electromagnetic wave (see Figure 3.2).

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Fundamentals of Light

Electrons Future Location Electrons Current Location

Figure 3.2 Under the classic view, electromagnetic waves are formed when an electron vibrates, causing a distortion in the electric force eld exerted by a positively charged particle.

Quantum View
With their understanding of wave coupled with their understanding of electricity and magnetism, 19th century scientists were able to explain most known properties of light. Yet some phenomena, notably the photoelectric effect, could not be explained. A new model was to be developed, the quantum model of light, that combined elements of both particles and waves. Under the photoelectric effect, electrons can be released when light strikes a semiconducting material. Using the wave theory of light, the kinetic energy of the released electron should increase with the intensity of the light. Experiments, however, showed that the amount of additional energy was independent of the lights intensity. It was only until the start of the 20th century that this problem was solved. Albert Einstein proposed a theory based on Max Plancks theory of quantization, which assumes energy to be present in a light wave in packages, called photons. Einstein theorized that the energy of these photons is proportional to the frequency of the electromagnetic wave. Using Plancks original quantum theory and Einsteins conception of light as a series of photons, Niels Bohr in 1913 introduced a new model of the atom to replace the Rutherford model. The problem with Rutherfords model is that if energy is produced though an electrons vibrations, then according to this model electrons should

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Atoms, Electrons, and the Like

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Electrons Future Location Electrons Current Location

Figure 3.3 An electrons orbit appears the same as an electron vibrating in place, which under the classic view should lead to an electromagnetic wave. be emitting energy all the time. Do you see why? When you map an electrons orbit onto a two-dimension plane the electron appears to be constantly vibrating, because in fact it is! (see Figure 3.3). This means, then, that according to the conservation of energy, the electron would slow down each time energy was emitted. After enough time, the electron would be unable to hold its position, eventually crashing into the nucleus, destroying the atom. Matter would exist for a fraction of a second and this book would never have been written. Bohr postulated that classical radiation theory doesnt hold for atomic-sized systems. He thought that that electrons were contained at certain energy levels around the nucleus. The term energy levels is used for many reasons, one of which is that although electrons might appear to move, they dont actually orbit around the nucleus (see Figure 3.4). Whereas classical physics allowed for nearly any orbit, the quantum view says that only special energy levels are possible. Electrons are pushed to higher energy levels through particles of light, called photons, sharing the same frequency. When the electron drops from a higher energy level to a lower one, it emits a photon equal to the energy difference between the two states. When enough photons are emitted of the right frequency, visible light is produced. The quantum understanding of light view might sound much like the original particle view and, in fact, there is a strong similarity to the quantum model. Whats important here though is that Einsteins theories contain aspects of both the wave and particle theories. The photoelectric effect then results from the energy transfer of a single photon to an electron in the metal. Yet this photons energy is determined by the frequency of the electromagnetic wave.

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Fundamentals of Light

Higher Energy

Lower Energy

Figure 3.4 Under Bohrs model, electrons are shown as inhabiting different energy states; the farther they are from the nucleus, the more energy they contain. So is light a particle or wave? Its both, or perhaps more accurately, light exhibits qualities of both particles and waves depending on the situation. Much of optical networking can be explained with the wave theory of light. Well resort to the particle theory where necessary.

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Properties of Waves

49

PROPERTIES OF WAVES..........................................
As a type of electromagnetic radiation, light falls into the category of transverse waves. With transverse waves, components oscillate perpendicular to the motion of the wave. Anybody who has spent time at the beach, for example, knows all about transverse waves and their perpendicular motion. Water waves are a good analogy for what happens with electromagnetic waves. As a water wave rolls toward the shore, swimmers bob up with its crest and down with its trough. This is what we mean by perpendicular motion. Not all waves are transverse. With longitudinal waves, the components of the wave oscillate or vibrate in parallel to the waves direction. As an example, think of a coil spring. Pulling it out and pushing it back causes its components to compress. Like ocean waves, electromagnetic waves move together in a series. Imagine yourself hovering above the ocean, looking down at the wave. What you might see looks a like a series of ridges in the water (see Figure 3.5). The lighter areas are where waves peak and the darker areas where they fall. This series of waves is called a wave train. The direction of the wave train is indicated by drawing a ray across the waves peaks.

Figure 3.5 The direction of the wave train is indicated by the three rays.

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Fundamentals of Light

Look at a wave train in prole and you get a sine wave with certain distinct properties of height, length, frequency, and speed. The height or amplitude of the wave is measured from the waves peak, or crest, to the axis around which the wave moves. The amplitude is also a measure of the brightness of the pulse. The distance between the successive troughs of the waves is the wavelength. The ability of DWDM systems to use signals of different wavelengths to carry different transmissions has enabled providers to dramatically increase the capacity of their bers (see Figure 3.6).

Wavelength

Amplitude Direction of Travel

Figure 3.6 Viewed in prole, an electromagnetic wave has a sinusoidal form. The number of times a wave oscillates each second, or its frequency, is measured in hertz (Hz) after Heinrich Hertz, the physicist who discovered radio, not the car rental company. A hertz refers to a complete cyclestarting where the wave begins its rise and fall. The number of times a cycle crosses a particular point in space, which is the inverse of frequency, is called the period. If two waves arrive at their crests and troughs at the same time, they are said to be in phaseor, to put it another way, waves that are in phase appear symmetrical. Similarly, if two points on a wave are separated by whole measurements of time or of wavelength, they are also said to be in phase (see Figure 3.7). Another important property of light is its speed. The speed of a wave can be calculated by multiplying frequency and wavelength. Since all electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, which in a vacuum is 299,792,458 meters per second or around 300,000 kilometers per second, only frequency or wavelength needs to be known. The constant speed of light yields an inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength.

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Properties of Waves

51

Waves in Phase

Waves out of Phase

Points in Phase

Points out of Phase

Figure 3.7 Phase in waves and points.

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Fundamentals of Light

Actually, referring to an electromagnetic wave as a sinusoidal wave is a simplication. Electromagnetic waves are called as such because they consist of electrical and magnetic elds moving orthogonally, or at right angles, and in phase with one another. Since the two elds normally do not interfere with one another, only the electrical component is shown.

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM .............................

By understanding frequency and wavelength, we can understand where on the electromagnetic spectrum optical communications occur. The spectrum represents the range of electromagnetic phenomena. At one end sit gamma rays (around 1 ZHz), the kind of radiation released in a nuclear blast, and at the other end are radio transmissions (1 KHz to 1 GHz). Optical transmission happens just above visible light and below the ultraviolet band. Theres some overlap in these regions, as the divisions in the spectrum are entirely manmade (see Figure 3.8).
Wavelength (Meters) Frequency (Hz)

106 100 Radio 10 Microwave Infrared Visible Light 10 6 10 9 10 12 Optical Transmissions Ultraviolet X-Rays 1014 1017 107 108 1011

1 10 3

1020 Gamma Rays

Figure 3.8 The electromagnetic spectrum.

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Wave Behavior

53

Mulimode Transmission (850900)

O Band (12601310)

C Band (15301565)

Attenuation (db/km)

700

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

1400

1500

1600

U Band (16251675)
1700

E Band (13601460)

S Band (14601530)

Wavelengths (Nanometers)
Figure 3.9 The transmission bands. To promote interoperability between optical equipment, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the standards body responsible for global telecommunications standards, dened six bands for long-distance optical communications. A seventh band is used for short-haul transmissions (Figure 3.9).

WAVE BEHAVIOR ...................................................

When waves move through a medium, they exhibit certain key characteristicskey because they have implications for the optical system. These characteristics cover reection, refraction, interference, and diffraction. Start with the most commonly known characteristic, reection. When waves hit a surface, they bounce back. No surprise there. Look into a mirror and you can see reection at work. In fact, nearly all objects reect some light. The color that we see is light reected off an object. When light strikes a surface, it bounces off at a particular angle. This angle, the angle of reection, is equal to the angle at which the ray of light struck the object as

L Band (5651625)

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Fundamentals of Light

In

cid

en

tR

ay
a1 a2

e efl

cte

a dR

Silica

Air Normal

Figure 3.10 The angle of incidence (a1) equals the angle of reection (a2). measured from the normalan imaginary perpendicular line crossing the point of intersection between the ray and the surface (see Figure 3.10).

..........................................................................................................................................

NORMALITYWHO NEEDS IT, ANYWAY?

At rst glance, the normalthe imaginary perpendicular line used as a reference for calculating reection and refractionseems extraneous. Why not just measure the angle from the surface of the object being struck? The problem becomes what to do when light strikes a substance thats not at, such as a curved sheet of glass. Then theres no common reference surface to work from. Hence the need for normality.

Reection is of two types. In specular reection, parallel light rays strike a surface and reect off in parallel. As well see, specular reection is important in understanding how waves propagate down a ber. Diffuse reection occurs when parallel rays are reected off a rough surface at different angles, causing distortion. When bers are crimped and microbends in the ber are introduced, diffuse reection becomes a major problem.

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Refraction

55

REFRACTION ..........................................................
Not all substances reect light, though. Some allow portions of the light to pass through them, albeit with a bit of distortion. Put a rod into water and notice how it appears to bend. The phenomenon, refraction, occurs because of the change in speed as waves pass from one substance, in this case air, to another substance, in this case water. Refraction is a very handy property when it comes to optics. In fact, it holds the answer to how a normally transparent substance, like glass, can contain an optical signal. To understand this more fully requires understanding the refractive index (normally referred to as n and in this book as RI). The refractive index is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a material. Since light always travels slower in material than in a vacuum, the RI for a substance is always greater than 1.0. RI varies depending on wavelength. Generally, the shorter the wave, the higher the RI, the slower the wave travels through the substance, and the more the wave will bend in the substance. When an RI value is cited for a substance, it is commonly done at a default wavelength, 589 nm, the wavelength of yellow sodium light (see Table 3.1). Table 3.1
Substance

Refractive Indices for Common Substances*

RI Substance RI

Air Cladding Glass, crown Diamond

1.0003 1.49 1.52 2.42

Carbon Dioxide Fused Quartz Water Ice

1.0005 1.46 1.33 1.31

* Values are for light operating at 589 nm as reported in Serway/Beichner, Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, 5th ed., p. 1017.

The key here is the density of the substances. When a wave travels into a denser material, its speed and wavelength decrease, causing it to bend toward the normal. As the wave travels into a medium where its speed increases, its wavelength also increases, and the wave is bent away from the normal (see Table 3.2). Taken together, the RI for two materials can be used to compute the angle of refraction, the amount the waves bend as they enter the new substance. This formula is called Snells law, after the Dutch mathematician Willebrod van Roijen Snell (15801626).

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Table 3.2

Principle of Refraction
Travels to

Travels from

High RI High RI Low RI Wavelength decreases; light waves bend away from the normal

Low RI Wavelength increases; light waves bent toward the normal

So how do you gure out how much light will bend when it travels through a substance? To nd out use Snells law, which states: RI1* sin A = RI2* sin B
Dr. Geek on Snells Law

where: RI1 = refractive Index for the original substance

A = angle at which the light strikes the new substance measured from the normal
RI2= refractive Index for the new substance

B = angle the light will take in the new substance measured from the normal
Theres an interesting phenomenon with Snells law. As the angle of incidence increases, the angle of refraction also increases. At some point the angle of refraction is so great that refraction doesnt occur any more, and the incident ray is reected back into the original substance. This angle is the critical angle, and the phenomenon is total internal reection (see Figure 3.11). At some point, when light shines from a substance with a higher RI to one of a lower RI, the light remains in the originating substance. This angle is called the critical angle. Determine that angle through a formula derived from Snells law:
Dr. Geek on the Critical Angle

critical angle = arcsin (RI1/RI2) where RI1 is that of the substance the light is traveling through and RI2 is that of the new substance the light is entering.

Total internal reection is the magic that lets light effectively travel down a ber. As long as the signal strikes the bers walls at an angle greater than the critical angle

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Interference

57

Normal

fl Re

ec

R ted

ay
Silica; RI = 1.5

Refr acte d Ra y

Air; RI = 1

Figure 3.11 When light travels from a substance with a higher RI (silica) to one of a lower RI (air), the ray is refracted and bent toward the normal. However, at a certain angle, called the critical angle, the light is reected back into the originating substance (silica). This phenomenon is called total internal reection. (as measured from the normal) the light remains inside the core. Given that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reection, the signal will continue to strike the ber wall at a sufcient angle to travel down the ber.

INTERFERENCE.......................................................
When two waves collide, they can either amplify the signal creating a brighter pulse or interfere with one another. When they are in phase they amplify the signal in a phenomenon called constructive interference.When the signals that are out of phase collide, destructive interference occurs and the signal is weakened (see Figure 3.12).

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Fundamentals of Light

Constructive Interference

Destructive Interference
Figure 3.12 Interference can amplify or diminish a signal.

DIFFRACTION AND SCATTERING............................

It might make sense that waves travel in straight lines, but different conditions can cause them to change. One change occurs when light encounters another substance and is diffracted. The principle is straightforward enough to understand, and it plays a major role in how light travels down single-mode bers, where the aperture is very small.

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Short Cuts

59

Diffraction occurs when a wave strikes an item shorter than its wavelength at which point the wave bends. The closer the aperture is to the wavelength, the greater the diffraction effect (see Figure 3.13).
If light runs into other molecules, an effect called scattering can occur. Part of the light is deected or scattered in different directions. How much of the light is scattered, and in which directions, depends on the type of scattering involved. Well learn more about scattering when we study nonlinear effects of light propagating down a ber.

Figure 3.13 Diffraction through a narrow aperture.

SHORT CUTS...........................................................
Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that consists of particles (called photons) or waves. Photons are emitted when electrons fall from a state of higher energy to one of lower energy. Waves are caused by the electrons vibrations. There are two types of waves, transverse and longitudinal. Components of a transverse wave move perpendicular to the waves motion; those of a longitudinal wave move parallel to the waves motion. Light is a transverse wave consisting of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and speed. The wavelengths of the kinds of light used in optical transmission range from around 850 to 1600 nm. Light waves have a number of characteristics. Those critical to optical networking are reection, refraction, diffraction, and interference.

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The refractive index (RI) is a measure comparing the speed of light in in a vacuum compared to the speed of light in a substance, such as glass. The higher the RI, the slower the signal travels through the substance. When light passes from a substance of a lower to one of a higher RI, it bends. Snells law says that at some point the light will strike the substance with the higher RI at so great an angle that it will bounce off, as if reected from a mirror. This phenomenon is called total internal reection.