WHAT IS LIGHT?

HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND IT?

AN ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

Speed in vacuum: c = 3.00 108 m/s

c f
Light is electromagnetic wave.
 Polarization
It arises from the direction of the E-field vector with
respect tothe direction of the light propagation.

(a) Random vibrations of unpolarized light.

(b) Linearly polarized light in a vertical direction.
(c) Linearly polarized light in a horizontal direction.
(d) Linearly polarized light in a direction making an angle
 Diffraction
Diffraction is the phenomenon of bending of light rays at
small aperture
A wave is incident on
a barrier from the left.
The barrier has a slit.
Every point on the
incident wave front
can be considered as a
new source of wave
 Reflection and Refraction
The degree of refraction or
bending depends on the
relative refractive indices of
the two mediums according to
Snells Law
sin 1 n2

sin 2 n1

where n1 and n2 are the refractive indices of the two media

1 is angle of incidence and 2 is the angle of refraction.
 Total Internal Reflection
by Snells law

n1 sin 1 n2 sin 2
The critical angle (c )
is given by
n2
sin c
n1
If the angle of incidence is greater
than critical angle , then the light
is reflected back into the same
medium. This is called total
(a) Refraction. (b) Critical angle.
internal reflection (TIR)
(c) Total internal reflection
BASIC STRUCTURE OF OPTICAL FIBRE:
The basic structure of an optical fiber is shown in Figure.
The 'core' is an innermost layer. The light rays travel through the core
layer.
This core layer is covered by the 'cladding layer'.
The last layer is the 'protective or jacket layer'. It provides strength
to the optical fiber.

Core Cladding

Coating
Principle of Light Propagation in Fiber:
Principle of Light Propagation in Fiber:
Principle of Light Propagation in Fiber:
Principle of Light Propagation in Fiber:
Principle of Light Propagation in Fiber:
Ray Optics presentation:

Skew rays are not

confined to a single plane,
but they tend to follow a
helical path along the fiber.
Meridional rays are
confined to the meridional
planes of the fiber. These
planes contain the axis of
symmetry of the fiber
called the core axis.

Axial rays
TYPES OF FIBER
 Fiber Classifications
An optical fiber is a dielectric waveguide that
operates at optical frequencies.
According to the type of the material used,
optical fibers are classified into glass, plastic or
hybrid fibers.
Depending upon the refractive index variation,
they are classified as step-index or graded
index fibers.
As per the operating modes/classes, they are
classified as single mode and multimode fibers.
Set of guided electromagnetic waves called
the 'modes' of the waveguide.
 Types of Optical Fibers
According to the
number of modes
Single mode fibers
and
Multimode fibers.
According to
refractive index
profile
Multimode step-index
fibers
Multimode graded-
index fibers
The refractive index profiles and light propagation Single-mode step-
in (a) multimode step-index, (b) multimode graded-
index, and (c) single -mode step-index fibers
index fibers
 Multimode Step-Index Fibers
large core size
(typically, 50 m or 100 m)
large NA make it easier to couple
light from a cheap LED into the
fiber
The information carrying
capabilities are limited due to the
n1 , r a (core) modal dispersion effect.
n( r ) Used in short-haul, limited
n2 , r a (cladding)
bandwidth, low-cost applications.
 Multimode vs. single mode fiber
Multimode Fibers
They have a limit in terms of maximum
bit rate of the order of 1 Gbit/1 km, due
to multimode dispersion.
Single-Mode Fibers
They are not affected by multimode
dispersion, and their bandwidth limit is
extremely higher.

They have a relatively large core, hence: They have a small core size, hence:
1. Splicing is easier. 1. Splicing is more difficult.
2. Connectors are less expensive. 2. Connectors are more expensive.

They are intrinsically more resilient to They are thus used in all applications
mechanical and environmental stress where the distance to be covered is
They are thus mostly used in LAN significantly higher than 1 km.
applications.
 V-number or NORMALIZED FREQUENCY
V-number is a unit-less quantity; it is also called
normalized frequency.
The number of guided modes through a single-mode or
multimode fiber depends upon the relative refractive index
difference and the core radius of the fiber given by:
From this expression, it is clear that normalized
frequency depends only on the fiber characteristics
and the wavelength of light being propagated.
Normalized frequency determines the number of
modes propagated along the waveguide.
To achieve single mode transmission in an idealized
step index fiber, V-number must be less than 2.405.
The wavelength at which the fiber becomes single
mode is known as the cut-off wavelength, denoted
by c. Value of cut-off wavelength is given by:
 Multimode Graded-Index Fibers
The refractive index n1
decreases as a function of
the radial distance r.
The profile parameter
determines the shape of
the cores profile
r 12 The number of modes in multimode graded -
n (1 2 ) , r a (core) index fiber is
1 V
n( r ) a 2

1 Mg
n n (1 2 ) 2
, r a (cladding) 2 2
2 1

Refractive index profiles for different values of alpha ().

 Single Mode Step-Index Fibers

a) matched clad fiber (b) depressed clad fiber

Single mode fiber supports only one mode of propagation in
contrast to a multimode fiber.
The relative refractive index difference, is less than 0.4%.
NA ranges from 0.14-0.5.
2 a where a is the core radius and
V n1 2
is the cut-off wavelength
The total number of modes is
V2
Ms
2
FIBER FABRICATION
FIBER FABRICATION STEPS:

Thefiber fabrication process is a two-step process

which involves:

1. Making the preform

2. Drawing process

Preform is a rod of glass made by vapor deposition

process. It consists of both the core and cladding
materials.

Thepreform is drawn into fibers using the fiber

drawing process.
Fabrication Steps
Producing a pure glass.
Converting it into the required glass
composition for the core-cladding
structure, that is, the preform.
Preform is a rod of glass made by
deposition process.
The preform has the same structure
as the final optical fiber.
The fiber is drawn from preform at
the correct diameter (125 m)
maintaining the same refractive
index profile.
 Preform Generation Techniques
The soot (layer of SiO2 particles is called soot) for the core material is
made by mixing three gases: SiCl4, GeCl4 and O2 through flame
hydrolysis or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

SiCl4 2 H 2O SiO 2 4 HCl

GeCl4 2H 2 O GeO 2 4 HCl
SiO 2 O2 SiO2 2 Cl2
GeCl4 +O2 GeO2 2 Cl2
The doping level is controlled by changing the amount of GeCl4 gas
added to the mixture.
Manufacturers deposit the soot on the surface of a glass substrate
(mandrel) or inside a hollow tube by one of the following methods:
Modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD)
Plasma enhanced MCVD(PMCVD)
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)
Chemicals are mixed in
vapour phase and react
inside a rotating glass tube
Fine particles of solid
germano or phosphoro
silicate glass deposit on
the inside of the tube.
A travelling burner
moving along the tube
stimulates a chemical
reaction and also fuses the
particles into glass on the
inner wall of the tube.
Next the tube is heated to
2000 C and collapses into
a preform
The preform is then put
into a furnace and is
drawn into fibre.
Outside Vapor-Phase Oxidation (OVPO):
( External CVD)
Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition
(MCVD) : (Internal CVD)
The process shown in figure is widely adopted
to produce very low-loss graded-index
fibers.
The glass vapor particles, arising from the
reaction of the constituent metal halide
gases and oxygen, flow through the inside
of a revolving silica tube.
As the SiO2 particles are deposited, they are
sintered to a clear glass layer by an
Oxyhydrogen torch which travels back and
forth along the tube.
When the desired thickness of glass has
been deposited, the vapor flow is shut off
and the tube is heated strongly to cause it
to collapse into a solid rod preform.
 The fiber that is subsequently drawn from
this preform rod will have a core that consists
of the vapor-deposited material and a
cladding that consists of the original silica
tube.
 Plasma enhanced MCVD (PMCVD)
It is nearly identical to MCVD.
The main difference is the stimulation of oxide
formation by isothermal plasma in a
microwave cavity (3-5 MHz) at low pressure,
which surrounds the silica tube.
Volatile reactants supplied to the tube react within
the microwave cavity. By controlling the
microwave cavity, the reaction zone is moved
backward and forward.
With this technique, very thin-layer deposition is
possible. Hence in a single preform we can have
up to 2,000 layers, and a good graded-index
profile can be obtained.
Fiber Drawing and Coating
The preform obtained by any
one method is placed
vertically on a drawing tower.
The lower end of the preform
is heated to melting, and the
fiber is drawn by stretching.
The thickness of fiber is
controlled by the drawing
rate.
As the material leaves the
preform, a mechanical feeder
ensures a continuous flow of
material.
Any lag or overpressure
would cause inconsistencies
in the flow and therefore in
the diameter of the fiber.
FIBER CABLES
 Fiber Cables
There are two basic types of fiber-optic cable
The difference is whether the fiber is free to move inside
a tube with a diameter much larger than the fiber or is
inside a relatively tight-fitting jacket
They are referred to as loose-tube and tight-
buffer cables.
Both methods of construction have advantages
Loose-tube cablesall the stress of cable pulling is taken
up by the cables strength members and the fiber is free
to expand and contract with temperature
Tight-buffer cables are cheaper and generally easier to
use
Tight Buffered Fiber Cable Module:
Loose Buffered Fiber Cable Module:
 Fiber Optic Cable Construction

(a) Tight buffered fiber optic cable. (b) Loose-tube fiber optic cable. (c) Ribbon fiber optic cable
 Specialty Optical Fibers

Three types of PMFs: (a) Panda style, (b) Photonic crystal fibers: (a) Solid core
Elliptical -clad and (c) Bow-tie structure and (b) hollow core
structure

Different PCF structures: (a) Honeycomb, (b) Bragg hollow core, (c) Hexagonal
lattice solid- core, (d) Large hollow core hexagonal