Optical Fiber Basics-Part 2

Prof. Manoj Kumar

Dept. of Electronics and Communication Engineering

DAVIET Jalandhar

24.01.2006

Lecture 3

Single-Mode Step Index Fiber

The Core diameter is 8 to 9mm All the multiple-mode or multimode effects are eliminated However, pulse spreading remains Bandwidth range 100GHz-Km

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Typical Core and Cladding Diameters (mm)

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Multiple OFC

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Standard Optical Core Size

The standard telecommunications core sizes in use today are: 8.3 m (single-mode), 50-62.5 m (multimode)

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How a light ray enters an optical fiber

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Numerical Aperture (NA)

The numerical aperture (NA) is a measurement of the ability of an optical fiber to capture light. The NA is also used to define the acceptance cone of an optical fiber. OR Numerical aperture

(NA) determines the light accepting ability of a fiber

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Light Guidance in Optical Fiber

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Low-order and high-order modes

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PROPERTIES OF OPTICAL FIBER TRANSMISSION

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Fiber Loss & Dispersion

Fiber Loss - 0.35 dB/Km at 1.3mm - 0.2 dB/Km at 1.5mm - Minimum Reduction Expected in future is 0.01dB/Km Fiber Dispersion -Material dispersion - Waveguide Dispersion - Multimode group Delay Dispersion
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What is Group Velocity ?

Group Velocity (Vg) is Considered as the velocity of energy propagating in the direction of the axis of the guide fiber. In order to convey intelligence; Modulation is done. When is done, there are group velocities those must be propagating along the fiber. The waves of different frequencies in the group will be transmitted with slightly different velocities. Vg = dw/db.
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Cause of Fiber Dispersion

Types of Dispersion
Multimode Dispersion Material Dispersion Waveguide Dispersion

Multimode group delay/dispersion is the variation in group velocity among the propagation modes at a single frequency - Material Dispersion is due to variation in the refractive index of the core material as a function of wavelength. - Waveguide dispersion depends upon the fiber design. The propagation constant which is the function of the ratio of fiber dimension (i.e. core radius) to the wavelength.

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Dispersion Curves

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Dispersion in Optical Fibers

There are two main types of dispersion that cause pulse spreading in a fiber: - Chromatic dispersion - Inter-modal dispersion Dispersion is typically measured as a time spread per distance traveled (s/km) Single-mode fiber has only one mode, so inter-modal dispersion is not an issue In multimode fiber, inter-modal dispersion is the dominant cause of dispersion, but chromatic dispersion can be important at 850 nm
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Chromatic Dispersion
The speed of light is dependent on the refractive index c = c0/ n where c0 is the speed of light in a vacuum The index of refraction, n, varies with the light transmission wavelength All light sources (LEDs and LDs) have some coloration, or variation, in wavelength output The low wavelength portion of the pulse travels slower than the high wavelength one creating pulse spreading
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Chromatic Dispersion (continued)

Chromatic dispersion is measured in units of time divided by distance and Tx source spectral width (ps/nm-km) It is zero near 1310 nm in silica optical fibers It is zero near 1550 nm in Dispersion Shifted optical fibers Even at the dispersion zero, there is some pulse spreading due to the spectral width of the light source

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Pulse Spreading due to Dispersion

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Pulse Spreading
T Pulse from zero-order mode T

Pulses from other modes

T Pulse from highest-order mode T

Resulting pulse

time
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Calculation of Pulse Spread

y/2
C

y/2
C

x y cosC

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Dispersion Management: Problem Chromatic Dispersion (CD)

Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2

The optical pulse tend to spread as it propagates down the fiber generating Inter-Symbol-Interference (ISI) and therefore limiting either the bit rate or the maximum achievable distance at a specific bit rate Physics behind the effect
The refractive index has a wavelength dependent factor, so the different frequency-components of the optical pulses are traveling at different speeds
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Pulse Spreading due to Dispersion

z=0 z=L

Dispersion

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Dispersion Curves

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Dispersion Management: Problem Fiber Dispersion Characteristic

Normal Single Mode Fiber (SMF) >95% of Deployed Plant
Dispersion Coefficient ps/nm-km

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0 1310 nm 1550nm

Dispersion Shifted Fiber (DSF)

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Dispersion Management: Problem

Increasing the Bit Rate
Higher Bit Rates experience higher signal degradation due to Chromatic Dispersion:
1)
Time Slot

2.5Gb/s

Dispersion

OA

10Gb/s

Dispersion 16 Times Greater

OA

Dispersion Scales as (Bit Rate)2

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Dispersion Management: Solution Direct vs. External Modulation

Direct Modulation
Iin Electrical Signal in Optical Signal out Mod. Unmodulated Optical Optical Signal External Signal Modulator DC Iin

External Modulation
Electrical Signal in

Laser diodes bias current is modulated with signal input to produce modulated optical output Approach is straightforward and low cost, but is susceptible to chirp (spectral broadening) thus exposing the signal to 24.01.2006 higher dispersion

The laser diodes bias current is stable Approach yields low chirp and better dispersion performance, but it is a more expensive approach
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Dispersion Management: Limitation Chromatic Dispersion

CD places a limit on the maximum distance a signal can be transmitted without electrical regeneration:
For directly modulated (high chirp laser) LD = 1/ B Dl (1) D dispersion coefficient (ps/km-nm): 17ps/nm*km @1.55m l source line width or optical bandwidth (nm): 0.5nm B bit rate (1/T where T is the bit period): 2.5Gb/s LD ~ 47 km (*) -For externally modulated (very low chirp laser f ~ 1.2B ) LD ~ 1000 km @ 2.5Gb/s (*) -LD ~ 61 km @ 10Gb/s (*)
@1.55m and 17ps/nm*km

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Dispersive properties
Anomalous dispersion: b2 < 0 or D > 0 short wavelength components (blue) travel faster than long wavelength components (red) Normal dispersion: b2 > 0 or D < 0 long wavelength components (red) travel faster than short wavelength components (blue)

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Dispersion Management: Solution Dispersion Compensation

Note: f = c/l
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Chromatic Dispersion in Optical Fiber

A high-speed pulse contains a spectrum of l components

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Explaining Material Dispersion

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Chromatic Dispersion Definitions

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Dispersion Management: Solution Dispersion Compensation (Cont.)

Dispersion Compensating Fiber:
By joining fibers with CD of opposite signs and suitable lengths an average dispersion close to zero can be obtained; the compensating fiber can be several kilometers and the reel can be inserted at any point in the link, at the receiver or at the transmitter

Note: Although the Total Dispersion Is Close to Zero, This Technique Can Also Be Employed to Manage FWM and CPM Since at Every Point We Have Dispersion Which Translates in Decoupling the Different Channels Limiting the Mutual Interaction
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Why Require Dispersion Compensation ?

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Dispersion Compensating Fiber (DCF) Application

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Thanks

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