EE 130 / 230 Spring 2014

Mid-Term Exam #1

NAME

You are allowed to use a calculator, the textbook, previous homework, and class notes.
Please write answers in spaces provided. Do not write in the spaces below, they are for
the grading of the exam. Thank you for following these directions.

1) 20
2) 20
3) 30
4) 30
5)* 20

Total * 100+20=120

Required for EE 230 students

1. The Arecibo radio telescope has a circular primary mirror diameter of 300 m. What is
the smallest size feature that the telescope can resolve on a nearby asteroid located
5 109m from Earth using 3 cm radio waves? Give your answer in kilometers.

sin ( ) = 1.22

D is the telescope diameter

sin ( )
s L = L 1.22

6.1 10 5 m = 6100km
D

2. Cold air is denser than warm air and, therefore, has a greater refractive index. In a hot
day, air close to the asphalt road has a smaller refractive index than the air at our eye
level. Consider the common mirage associated with an inhomogeneous distribution of
air situated above a warm roadway. Envision the bending of the rays as if it were
instead a problem in total internal reflection. If an observer, at whose head the air
index is na=l.00029, sees an apparent wet spot at 88.7 down the road, find the
index of the air layer (out to five decimal places) immediately above the road.

na=1.00029

wet%spot%

ROAD%

air%layer%immediately%above%the%road%%
nR=???

sin ( i ) =

nr
= 1.000033
na

3. Consider a semiconductor Fabry-Perot optical cavity of length 50 micron. The index

of refraction of the semiconductor is 4.5. Calculate the free spectral range, finesse,
and the spectral width of each mode.
Free Spectral Range f =

c
= 0.66 THz
2nL

n 1
R=
= %40
n + 1
2

Finesse F =

R1 2
= 5.585
1 R

Spectral width of each mode f =

f
= 0.118 THz
F

4. Consider an optimal graded index fiber with a core diameter of 30 m and a refractive
index of 1.4740 at the center of the core and a cladding refractive index of 1.4530. (a)
Find the number of modes at 1550 nm operation. (b) What is its NA at the fiber axis,
and its effective NA? (c) Suppose that the fiber is coupled to a laser diode emitter at
1550 nm and a spectral linewidth (FWHM) of 2 nm. The material dispersion
coefficient at this wavelength is about -7 ps km-1 nm-1. Calculate the total dispersion
(both intermodal and material dispersions are included) and estimate the bit rate
distance product of the fiber.
(a)

V=

12
2 a 2
n1 n22 ) = 15.075
(

V2
M !
+ 2 2
M!

since =2 when optimal

V2
= 56
4

(b) r = 0 n = n1 1 2 ( r a )

12

2
NA ( 0 ) = n ( 0 ) n22

12

Effective NA = 1

12

= n22 n22

12

2 n22 n22

= n1
= 0.24793

= 0.1753

(c)
m
= Dm m = L Dm = 14 ps for L = 1 km
L

intermode
n1
=
2 intermode = L Dm = 2.8789 ps for L = 1 km
L
20 3c

BL =

0.25
0.25
=
where m = 0.495 m
2
2
total
m + intermode

5. Consider light of free-space wavelength 1300 nm traveling in pure silica medium

(n=1.447).
(a) What is the Brewster angle (the polarization angle p) and the critical angle (c)
for total internal reflection when the light wave traveling in this silica medium is
incident on a silica/air interface. What happens at the polarization angle?
(b) What is the reflection coefficient and reflectance at normal incidence when the
light beam traveling in the silica medium is incident on a silica/air interface?
(c) What is the reflection coefficient and reflectance at normal incidence when a light
beam traveling in air is incident on an air/silica interface?

(a) P = arctan ( n2 n1 ) = 34.65

c = arcsin ( n2 n1 ) = 43.72

(b) r = r! =

n1 n2
= 0.183 R= 0.0335
n1 + n2

(c) r = r! =

n1 n2
= 0.183 R= 0.0335
n1 + n2