Hochschule Bremen

MScEE 2010

Laboratory of Optoelectronics and Light Wave Technology

LAB REPORT

FIBER OPTIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

SUBMITTED BY,

BALA KRISHNA SANJEEVA (282730) NANDASHAYEE THERAKANAMBI (268680) SANTOSH CHANDRASHEKHAR (268494) MD.SHAHIDUL ALAM (273814)
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Introduction
Fiber-optic communications networks are an essential basis of todays information society. The global data communication and the various internet applications would not have become feasible without optical transmission techniques. The outstanding transmission characteristics of the optical fibers, like low loss and very high bandwidth, and the implementation of optical fiber amplifiers have led to a dramatic increase of the transmission capacity. Fiber-optic communications networks succeeded within the long-distance or wide area networks (WAN), in metropolitan area networks (MAN), in high-speed computer links and in local area networks (LAN) with high data rates. Also within the access area and in the optical sensor technologies optical transmission techniques are increasingly used.

Basics
A fiber-optic transmission system basically consists of a transmitter, a communication channel and a receiver as it is depicted in figure 1. The transmitter comprises the light source (typically a laser diode) and also suitable electronics for data coding and modulation of the signal from the information source. The communication channel is the optical fiber link. It possibly includes further optical components such as amplifiers, filters, couplers, switches and multiplexers. On the receiver side the incoming light is converted into an electrical signal using a photo detector (typically a photo diode or an APD). The signal is then amplified and decoded or demodulated before it passes to the information sink.

Fig1: Fiber optic transmission system

Bit error ratio

The bit error ratio (BER) is the parameter that best describes the overall quality of a communication system. The BER is defined as the ratio of the number of received erroneous bits to the number of transmitted bits per time period.

The BER of a given channel depends on the amount of power launched into a fiber; noise added by the transmission channel; distortion affecting the shape of the pulse; and the quality of the receiver. The receiver in a digital communication system has to perform two decisions: (1) when, i.e. at what time slot to sample the received data and (2) whether the sampled value represents a binary 1 or 0. The decision circuit in a receiver simply compares the sampled value I to a
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reference value ID called the decision threshold. A major 2 obstacle in making the correct decision is noise in the received data. If additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) is the dominant cause of erroneous decisions, then the statistical probability of making an incorrect decision can be calculated. The probability density function (PROB) for I with AWGN is depicted in figure 2 and can be written mathematically as:

where I0,1 is the sampled value for a 0 or 1 bit (the mean value of the density function), I is the sampled value in the receiver at time t, and is the standard deviation ( 2 - variance) of the noise.

If the noise distribution 0 and 1 of the received 0 and 1 bits are equal, the decision threshold ID should be set to the middle: ID= (I1 I0)/2. This assumption leads to an expression for calculating the BER from

Sensitivity
The sensitivity of a receiver is defined as the minimum averaged optical power, which is required to obtain a bit error ratio of less than a predetermined value (e.g. BER<10-9). It is ascertained from the BER diagram. Eye Diagram The eye diagram is generated by writing the output signal of the transmission system continuously on the screen of an oscilloscope. The oscilloscope is triggered with the clock signal and set to infinite persistence, so that the measured waveform remains on the screen and subsequent waveforms are added to the display. The different slopes in the waveform result in a characteristic pattern, which looks like an eye. The eye opening is determined by the shape of the signal and by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

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Mask measurement Fiber-optic communication standards such as SDH or SONET require that the transmitter time-domain response have a particular shape. This shape is specified in terms of a mask, which indicates the region where the waveform should not reside. In the manufacturing of standard compliant equipment, optical transmitter ports must be tested for masks compliance as a final check of proper operation. The mask tests are performed using the eye diagram. Figure 2 shows an eye diagram with an inserted mask according to the SDH standard.

Fig 3: Eye diagram with mask

Extinction ratio
A parameter that essential affects the system performance is the transmitter extinction ratio. The extinction ratio rex is defined as the average optical power P1 in logic 1 bit divided by the average optical power P0 in logic 0 bit:

or

dB value

Extinction ratio measurements are typically performed on an eye diagram using a digitizing oscilloscope. A DC coupled optical-to-electrical reference converter is needed in order to obtain absolute values for the optical power in 0 and 1 levels. The average 1 and 0 power levels should be measured at the most prevalent values over the full eye window as indicated in figure 3. Offset voltages from the receiver and from the oscilloscope have to be considered: (Note: Uelectrical ~ Poptical):

Fig 4: Power levels measured in the eye diagram

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To determine the dark voltage Udark the systems noise and the offset voltage from the receiver/oscilloscope combination is measured when no light is present at its input.

Q- factor
The direct measurement of low BERs is impractical for analyzing the performance of high-quality systems or components. For example, if a BER of down to 10-15 should be specified with at least 20 errors detected in a system with a data rate of 10 Gbit/s, the measurement time must be longer than 23 days (!). Therefore the systems performance is often analyzed by evaluating a so called Q-factor or Q-parameter. The Q-factor is defined as

where I0 and I1 are the sampled mean values and 0 and 1 are the standard deviations for a 0 or 1 bit. The parameters I0, I1, 0 and 1 are derived from the eye diagram measurement by calculating a histogram of the sampled data as indicated in figure 3. The histogram data is achieved only from a window within the eye opening.

Fig 5: Determination of the Q factor

Optical Power Budget

While designing a system an optical power budget diagram is made to obtain an overview of the optical power levels. This document also is important for maintenance of an installed system.

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Fig 6: Optical Power Budget

The transmitted power, the attenuation budget of the transmission link and the receiver sensitivity are plotted in a diagram as depicted in figure 5. The losses of connectors, splices, couplers or additional optical components have to be considered in the budget diagram.

Experimental Set-up

Fig 7: Experimental Set-up

The block diagram of the system in the lab is shown in figure 6. The clock signal and hence the data rate of the transmitter are set using a signal generator. The bit pattern generator directly drives a laser diode. At the receiver side a part of the optical signal is fed to a communication analyzer. The remaining part passes a variable optical attenuator, is split again and fed to the optoelectronic receiver. The optical power meter is provided for direct reading of the received optical power.

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Short description of used devices and software

Communication Analyzer HP83475A The communication analyzer HP83475A in principle is a 2-channel oscilloscope, which additionally is equipped with a calibrated optical input. Therefore the device displays the measured signal directly in optical watts or dBm. Extinction ratio measurements with the communication analyzer: The extinction ratio measurement is performed at the signal on channel 2 using the reference receiver and the fourth order Bessel-Thomson low-pass filter. The settings of the communication analyzer are adjusted to obtain a stable eye in the middle of the screen. The incoming light is switched off. The dark voltage is measured using the cursors by pressing Cursor/Masks, [Select Cursor], [V1]. The cursor is moved using the rotary knob just below the Cursor/Masks button. Then the incoming signal is connected and 0 and 1 voltage levels using the cursor [V2] are measured. Mask test with the communication analyser: The settings of the communication analyser are adjusted to obtain at least two crossing points and the eye is displayed in the middle of the screen. The standard mask test is selected by pressing: Cursor/Masks [Select Mask], [OC3/STM1], [Done] and [Show Mask Once or Continuous]. It is made sure, that the proper [Source E1] or [E2] is selected. After pressing [Do Test] the analyser will scale and position the mask on the eye diagram and then go into infinite persistence mode while acquiring data points for the specified test time. Once the data has been acquired and tested against the mask, the test result will flash on the lower part of the screen and the specified test action will be performed. Q-factor measurement with a computer software program Q-factor calculation: This program acquires the eye diagram data from the communication analyser and calculates the Q-factor and the bit error ratio (BER). Program description: After starting the program, the eye diagram data is acquired from the communication analyser either from channel 1 or 2 with [Read data from]. The window position for calculating the histogram is set below the eye diagram trace. The window width is entered in % of the whole eye trace. The number of amplitude data fragmentation is given by the steps for histogram. The histogram and hence the standard deviation and the mean value of the histogram data are calculated by pressing [Calculate] and displayed on the right hand side. The Q-factor is computed using equation (4) and the BER using equation (5). By pressing [Scan eye diagram] the window is moved stepwise across the entire eye diagram, for every window step the Q-factor is computed and represented in the lower diagram. After scanning is completed the highest Q-factor is displayed.

Sequence Generator BCP Model 100 and Sequence Detector BCP Model 200 The sequence generator generates a serial data stream with a pseudo-random bit pattern. The data rate is determined by the frequency of the clock signal. The sequence detector is a self-synchronizing bit pattern regenerator, where a bit-to-bit comparison is performed. An error impulse is generated for every detected bit error and indicated by the LED.
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Universal Counter HP 53131A The universal counter measures the frequency of a signal and has the ability to directly count events or pulses. Other Meas / [TOTALIZE 1]. The counter starts by pressing the knob Run or Stop/Single. The gating time is assigned pressing Gate & ExtArm /[ Gate:Time].

Tasks

A
Pattern and eye diagram measurements
1. Connect the trigger input of the communication analyzer with the SYNC output of the bit sequence detector, so that a bit pattern is displayed on the analyzer. The incoming optical data signal in front of the receiver is present on channel 2 of the communication analyzer. Determine the rise time, the fall time and the bit duration time of a single bit in the pattern of the optical signal using the marker functions of the communication analyzer. The rise time and fall time are usually measured between 10% and 90% of the signals amplitude. The rise time for a bit, trise = 4.0 ns

Fig 8: Rise time of a single bit

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The fall time for a bit, tfall = 3.4 ns

Fig 9: Fall time of a single bit.

The bit period for a single bit, tbit = 6.40 ns

Fig 10: Bit period of a single bit.

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2. Connect the trigger input of the communication analyzer with the CLOCK output of the sequence detector. Compare the bit pattern and the eye diagram representation. By comparing the bit pattern with the eye diagram representation, it can be observed that the eye diagram produces exact representation of the bit period as an eye is formed by overlap of many bits. However, the exact bit pattern cannot be determined from the eye diagram. Adjust the horizontal deflection of the oscilloscope (TIME/DIV and Delay) in such a way that either an adequate bit pattern or at least one eye opening is displayed on the screen. Analyze the eye diagram displayed on channel 2: a) Outline the displayed eye diagram and indicate where would you place the sample point for the decision circuit? Consider that the sample point must be determined in amplitude and in time scale. The sample point will be placed at the centre of the eye pattern.

Fig 11: Eye diagram with mask placement

b) Perform a mask test as described above. Comment your observations! The mask test is performed and it is observed that the pattern which is being transmitted is not present in the area covered by the mask. Thus it can be concluded that the laser used as the transmitter complies with SDH standards.

c) Measure the extinction ratio of the transmitter laser using the cursor functions of the communication analyzer. For measuring the dark voltage, switch of the transmitter laser using the front panel switch. (Do not open any connector!) The voltage at optical zero level, Udark = -937.5V

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Fig 12: Measurement of dark voltage at optical zero level

The voltage of the bit at level 1, U1 = 16.41mV The voltage of the bit at level 0, U0 = 937.5V

Fig 13: Measurement of U1 and U0 voltages

Extinction ratio = 10 * log ((U1 - Udark) / (U0 - Udark)) = 10 * log ((16.41mV + 937.5 V) / (937.5 V + 937.5 V)) Extinction Ratio = 9.662 dB

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MScEE 2010

B
Bit error measurements
3. Which optical power is applied to the photo diode receiver if the attenuator is set to 0? Start a bit error measurement by pressing the knob RUN at the counter (gating time: 1s). Do you observe transmission errors? Change the received optical power using the variable optical attenuator till you observe single bit errors (bit errors are indicated by the LED at the bit error detector). In what kind appear the bit errors? (Single errors? temporal equally distributed?) The optical power when attenuation is set to 0, P0 = -36.37 dBm No transmission errors have been observed. The received optical power is then changed using the variable optical attenuator to get single bit errors. The power at which single bit errors are observed, Perror = -37.68 dBm 4. Adjust the received optical power, to obtain approximately 200 bit errors in a measurement period of 1 s. Then set the counter measurement period to 10 s. Record the measured error numbers for a measurement period of 10 s and 100 s. Repeat each measurement at least three times to obtain an average error value. The measurement has to be started again after any variation of the attenuator by pressing the button RUN or SINGLE at the counter. Calculate the BER from these results and plot the point into the attached bit error diagram. The optical power at which 200 bit errors are obtained in 1 second, P200 = -39.24 dBm

Fig 14: Error pattern for t = 1 second.

Bit error rate = (Number of bit errors per second) / (Data Rate) Data Rate = 155 Mbps
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Bit error rate for 200 bit errors per second, BER200 = 1.29E-06 Measurement Period in seconds 10

Received Power in dBm -39.24

-39.24

100

Bit Error Mean Error Count Count 3076 2732 2628 2492 421097 442580.3333 426424 480220

Bit Error Rate 1.76E-06

2.86E-05

Table 1: Bit Error Rates for 10s and 100s

Fig 15: Error pattern for t = 10 second.

5. The BER is to be measured as a function of the received optical power. Vary the received optical power in steps of 0.5dB using the attenuator in such way, that the BER cover a range from 10E-04 to 10E-09. Directly plot the measured values into the attached bit error diagram. The gating time should be set to 100 seconds for bit error ratios of less than 10E07, otherwise to 20 seconds. Received Power in dBm -37 -37.5 -38 -38.5 -39 -39.5 -40 -40.5 Measurement Period in seconds 100 100 100 20 20 20 20 20 Bit Error Count 3 60 692 1349 13813 102062 440723 1639680

Bit Error Rate 1.94E-10 3.87E-09 4.46E-08 4.35E-07 4.46E-06 3.29E-05 1.42E-04 5.29E-04

Table 2 : Bit error rates for various received powers

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C
Q-factor measurements
6. Connect the receiver output to channel 1 of the communication analyzer and adjust the settings to obtain an appropriate eye diagram. Use the computer program Q-factor calculationand read the eye diagram from the communication analyzer. Determine the Qfactor and the BER of this signal as a function of the received power. Set the optical power according to those used in the BER measurements. Plot the BER into the bit error diagram as well. Bit Error Rate Received Power in calculated from Q dBm Q Factor Factor -37 5.71 5.72E-09 -37.5 5.54 1.55E-08 -38 5.15 1.34E-07 -38.5 4.57 2.59E-06 -39 4.37 6.60E-06 -39.5 3.79 8.16E-05 -40 3.49 2.57E-04 -40.5 2.98 1.56E-03
Table 3: Q Factor and Bit error rates for various received powers

Fig 16: Bit Error diagram

In the above bit error diagram, Q4 plots obtained for Question 4 Q5 plots obtained for Question 5 Q6 plots obtained for Question 6
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7. Analyze your measurements concerning the BER. What is the systems sensitivity for a BER= 1*10-9? From the BER diagram, System Sensitivity for BER of 1*10-9, Pmin = -37.25dBm. 8. The attenuation and the length of the transmission link are to be analyzed using the printout of the OTDR measurement inserted in this document. Calculate the maximum fiber length for this system using the values derived above? The transmitter emits an optical power of -2 dBm at 1310 nm. A system margin of 3dB should be taken into account and the required bit error ratio should be BER < 10-9. Evaluate an optical power budget diagram for this system. Transmitted optical power, Ptrans = -2 dBm Wavelength, = 1310 nm. System Margin, Pmargin = 3 dB Required Bit error ratio, BER = 10-9 Estimated received optical power, Preceived = -37.25 dBm Attenuation obtained from OTDR diagram , = 0.33 dB/km L: Maximum Length of the Optical fiber We know that the transmitted power is sum of the attenuated power and the power received at the receiver

Fig 17: Optical Power Budget

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As the system margin has to be considered, from the Power Budget diagram, it can be observed that the received power has to be greater than the estimated received power. Ptrans = Preceived + Pmargin + *L *L = Ptrans (Preceived + Pmargin) = -2 (-37.25 + 3) *L = 32.25 Therefore L = 32.25 / The maximum length of the optical fiber, L = 97.72 km. From the above obtained value, we can observe that the length of the optical fiber for which effective transmission of data with a receiver sensitivity of 10-9 is approximately 100 km. However, from the OTDR measurement it can be seen that the fiber end is approximated to be 34 km. The transmission of light is subjected to attenuation due to losses like coupling loss and splicing loss. Thus the total cumulative loss is estimated to be 12.753 dB, thereby the attenuation will be approximately -0.4 dB/km.

Fig 18: Optical Power Budget

Conclusion:
1) The rise and fall time for each bit in the transmission system was analysed. 2) The eye diagram for the transmission system was analysed and verified whether the laser diode being used confirms to the SDH standards. 3) The Extinction Ratio for the laser diode was determined. 4) The Bit Error rate for different transmitted powers by adjusting the attenuation using the Variable Optical Attenuator and for different measurement periods. 5) Q factor was measured and the BER was calculated using the Q factor. 6) System sensitivity was determined and Optical Power budget was evaluated.

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