FIBER OPTICS

Optical fibers
work on the
principle of
TIR

The value of the

angle of
incidence for
which the angle
of reflection is
o
90 .
Critical angle

The person who

coined the word
fiber optics

N.S. Kappany

A device made by
Alexander Graham
Bell made of mirrors
and selenium
detectors that
transmitted sound
waves over a beam
of light.

photophone

The two persons

who first scanned
and transmitted
television images
through uncoated
fiber cables.

John L. Baird
and C.W.

Fiber optics used in

medical field
developed by A.C.S.
van Heel, H.H.
Hopkins, and N.S.
Kappany

Flexible

The two persons

who proposed the
use of cladded fiber
cables

K.C. Kao and G.A.

Persons who
developed an optical
fiber with losses less
than 2 dB/km.

Kapron, Keck, and

humidity which
makes silicon
dioxide crystals to
interact, causing
bonds to break
down and results in
fracture.
Stress
corrosion

(sometimes called

A coating which is
applied to the
outside of the
cladding to avoid
static fatigue.

special lacquer,
silicone, or acrylate

Materials commonly
used for buffer
jacket in fiber
optics.

Steel, fiberglass,
plastic, flameretardant PVC,

The outermost
covering in a fiber
optic cable.

Polyurethane jacket

characteristics and do
not propagate light as
effectively as glass.
Therefore, plastic fibers
are limited to relatively
short cable runs, such as
within a single building.
But they are easier to
install, can better
withstand stress, are

What does PCS

mean?
Plastic clad silica

Plastic clad silica

(PCS) - slightly
better than silica
clad silica (SCS).
PCS are less
affected by radiation
and is more rugged.

What does SCS

mean?
Silica clad silica

Silica clad silica

(SCS) have the best
propagation
characteristics and
is easier to
terminate than PCS
fibers.

A compound which
prevents the
intrusion of water
in the fiber and
thus prevents
stress corrosion or
static fatigue.
Polyurethane

The process of
moving an
electron from one
energy level to
another.
Adsorption

The process of
decaying from one
energy level to
another energy
level.
Spontaneous decay
or spontaneous

The science of
measuring only
light waves that
are visible to the
human eye.
Photometry

Measures light
throughout the
entire
electromagnetic
spectrum
Radiometry

The power which

is sometimes
called radiant flux
Optical power

Violet
wavelengths are
refracted the most
, whereas red
wavelengths are
refracted the
least.

Step index fibers

uses reflection
while graded
index fibers uses
refraction

Advantage of
single-mode step
index:
Minimum dispersion
Wider bandwidth
and higher

Disadvantage of
single-mode step
index:
Difficulty in coupling
light into or out
Expensive and
difficult to

The advantage and

disadvantage of
multimode step
index is the
opposite of that of

A graphical
representation of
the magnitude of
refractive index
across the fiber.
Index profile

Used to describe
the lightgathering or lightcollecting ability
of an optical
ability of the fiber.
Numerical Aperture

A type of
absorption which
is caused by
valence electrons
in the silica
material from
which fibers are
manufactured.
Ultraviolet

absorption which
is a result of
photons of light
that are absorbed
by atoms of the
glass core
molecules.
Infrared
absorption

A type of
absorption caused
caused by OH ions
in the material
Ion resonance

Chromium, Iron
and copper
molecules also
cause ion
absorption

Loss in light
power due to light
rays that escape
the fiber
Rayleigh scattering

The other term for

wavelength
dispersion
chromatic distortion

Chromatic
distortion occurs
only in fibers with
single mode of
transmission.

Bending which
occurs as a result
of differences in
the thermal
contraction rates
between the core
and the cladding
Microbending
material.

excessive
pressure and
tension and
generally occur
when fibers are
bent during
handling
or
Constant-radius

Is sometimes
called pulse
spreading caused by the
difference in the
propagation times
of light rays that
Modal
dispersion
take
different

can occur only in

multimode fibers. It
can be reduced by
using graded-index
fibers and can be
entirely eliminated
by using singlemode step-index

For multimode
propagation,
dispersion is often
expressed as
bandwidth length
product (BLP) or

The wavelength
equivalent of
bandwidth.
Linewidth

LEDs emit light by

spontaneous

Spontaneous
emission - light is
emitted as a
result of the
recombination of
electrons and
holes.

often called
surface emitters.
Their primary
disadvantage is
the
nondirectionality
of their light
Homojunction

Devices are often called

edge emitters.
Advantages are: increase
in current density
generates a more
brilliant spot, easy to
couple light into a fiber,
smaller capacitance
which allows its use at
higher speed.

Heterojunction

A depletion-layer
photodiode and is
probably the most
common device used
as a light detector in
fiber optic
communication
systems.

PIN diode

process results in
avalanche and thus,
are more sensitive
than PIN diodes and
require less additional
amplification.
Disadvantage is lower
transit time and more
APD
noise.

Responsivity is
expressed in
amperes per watt

Determines the
maximum bit
rate possible
Transit time

The wavelength
values that a
given
photodiode will
respond.
Spectral response

Developed the
first laser using
ruby crystals
with a xenon
flash lamp
Theodore Maiman

Developed the
helium laser
A. Javin

Lasers which use

a mixture of
helium and neon
Gas lasers

Lasers which use

organic dyes
Liquid lasers

a solid,
cylindrical
crystal, such as
ruby, for an
active medium.
The ruby is
excited
a
Solidby
lasers

Commonly called
ILD. The output
light from an ILD
is easily
modulated.
Semiconductor

Causes laser
action (lasing) to
occur.
Population inversion

PROBLEM
A fiber has an index
of refraction of 1.6
for the core and 1.4
for the cladding.
Calculate:
a) the critical angle
o
b) 2 for 1 = 30
o

ANSWERS
o
a) 61
o
b) 34.8
o
c) 70

Calculate the
numerical aperture
and the maximum
angle of acceptance
for the fiber with
index of refraction
of 1.6 for the core
and 1.4 for the

ANSWER
o
0.775 and 50.8

A single-mode fiber
has a numerical
aperture of 0.15.
What is the
maximum core
diameter it could
have for use with IR
with a wavelength

rmax = 0.383 /
N.A.

ANSWER
4.2 m

PROBLEM
Find the energy, in
electron-volts, in
one photon at a
wavelength of 1 m

h = 6.67 x 10 J-s
-19
1 eV = 1.6 x 10 J
-34

ANSWER
1.24 eV