Optical Fiber

PAV I T H RA A C
A S S T. P R O F E S S O R
 BRIEF FLOW OF CHAPTER

1. Introduction
2. What are Optical Fibers?
3. Evolution of optical fiber
4. Structure of optical fiber
5. Workings principle of optical fiber
6. Classification of optical fiber
7. Optical fiber communication system
8. Advantages / Disadvantages of Optical fiber
9. Applications of Optical fiber
10. Conclusion
 EVOLUTION OF OPTICAL FIBER

• 1880 – Alexander Graham Bell

• 1930 – Patents on tubing
• 1950 – Patent for two-layer glass wave-
guide
• 1960 – Laser first used as light source
• 1965 – High loss of light discovered
• 1970s – Refining of manufacturing process
• 1980s – OF technology becomes backbone
of long distance telephone networks in NA.
 WHAT IS OPTICAL FIBER?

• An optical fiber is a hair thin cylindrical fiber of

glass or any transparent dielectric medium.
• The fiber which are used for optical
communication are wave guides made of
transparent dielectrics.
• Its function is to guide visible and infrared light
over long distances.
STRUCTURE OF OPTICAL FIBER
• Core – central tube of very thin size made up of
optically transparent dielectric medium and carries the
light form transmitter to receiver. The core diameter
can vary from about 5um to 100 um.
• Cladding – outer optical material surrounding the core
having reflecting index lower than core. It helps to keep
the light within the core throughout the phenomena of
total internal reflection.
• Buffer Coating – plastic coating that protects
the fiber made of silicon rubber. The typical diameter of
fiber after coating is 250-300 um.
 WORKING PRINCIPLE

Total Internal Reflection

• When a ray of light travels from a denser to a

rarer medium such that the angle of incidence is
greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects
back into the same medium this phenomena is
called total internal reflection.
• In the optical fiber the rays undergo repeated
total number of reflections until it emerges out of
the other end of the fiber, even if the fiber is
bent.
THE ARROW AND THE BENT PENCIL
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION IN OPTICAL
FIBER
 CLASSIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER

• Optical fiber is classified into two categories

based on :-
1) The number of modes, and
2) The refractive index
 On the basis of number of
modes:-
on the basis of number of modes of
propagation the optical fiber are classified into
two types:
(i) Single mode fiber (SMF) and
(ii) Multi-mode fiber (MMF)
• Single-mode fibers – in single mode fiber only
one mode can propagate through the fiber.
This type of fiber has small core
diameter(5um) and high cladding
diameter(70um) and the difference between
the refractive index of core and cladding is very
small. The light is passed through the single
• Multi-mode fiber :-
• Multi mode fiber allows a large number of modes for
the light ray travelling through it.
• The core diameter is (40um) and that of cladding
is(70um)
• The relative refractive index difference is also larger
than single mode fiber.
• There is signal degradation due to multimode
dispersion.
• They are not suitable for long distance communication
due to large dispersion and attenuation of the signal.
REFRACTION AT A
PLANE SURFACE
 Refraction
Refraction is the changing direction of
light when it goes into a material of
different density
 ON THE BASIS OF REFRACTIVE INDEX

• There are two types of optical fiber:-

• (i) Step-index optical fiber
• (ii) Graded-index optical fiber

• Step
 STEP INDEX FIBER

• The refractive index of core is constant

• The refractive index of cladding is also constant
• The light rays propagate through it in the form of
meridiognal rays which cross the fiber axis during every
reflection at the core cladding boundary.
 GRADED INDEX FIBER
• In this type of fiber core has a non uniform refractive
index that gradually decrease from the centre towards
the core cladding interface.
• The cladding has a uniform refractive index.
• The light rays propagate through it in the form of skew
rays or helical rays. They do not cross the fiber axis at
any time.
 HOW OPTICAL FIBER’S ARE
MADE??
• Three Steps are Involved in the manufacturing of
the optical fiber which are given below:-

-Making a Preform Glass Cylinder

-Drawing the Fiber’s from the preform
-Testing the Fibre
 OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Electrical
Information source Optical Optical Optical Electrical
Destination
source source fiber cable detector receive
• Information source- it provides an electrical
signal to a transmitter comprising an electrical
stage.

• Electrical transmitter- It drives an optical

source to give an modulation of the light wave
carrier.

• Optical source- It provides the electrical-optical

conversion .It may be a semiconductor laser or an
LED.
• Optical cable: It serves as transmission medium.

• Optical detector: It is responsible for optical to

electrical conversion of data and hence responsible
for demodulation of the optical carrier. It may be a
photodiodes, phototransistor, and photoconductors.

• Electrical receiver: It is used for electrical

interfacing at the receiver end of the optical link and
to perform the signal processing electrically.

• Destination: It is the final point at which we receive

the information in the form of electrical signal.
 ATTENUATION

• Attenuation is the loss of the optical power.

• Attenuation in optical fiber take place due to
elements like coupler, splices, connector and fiber
itself.
• A fiber lower attenuation will allow more power to
reach a receiver than with a higher attenuation.
• Attenuation may be categorised as –
(i) Intrinsic
(ii) Extrinsic
FACTOR CAUSING ATTENUATION IN FIBER

• Fig. shows the factor affecting the attenuation in

fiber-

Attenuation

Extrinsic
Intrinsic

Macrobending
Absorption Scattering Microbending
 VARIATION OF SPECIFIC
ATTENUATION WITH WAVELENGTH
 ATTENUATION & WAVELENGTH
• The specific attenuation ( power loss
in dB per unit length ) actually
depends on the wavelength of the
radiation travelling along the optic
fibre
• The graph shows minima at 1310nm
and 1550nm, which implies that
these are desirable wavelengths for
optimal transmission
• These are infra red wavelengths
 ADVANTAGE OF OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATION

1) The life of fiber is longer than copper wire

2) Handling and installation costs of optical fiber is very
nominal
3) It is unaffected with electromagnetic interference
4) Attenuation in optical fiber is lower than coaxial
cable or twisted pair.
5) There is no necessity of additional equipment for
protecting against grounding and voltage problems.
6) As it does not radiates energy any antenna or
detector cannot detects it hence provides signal
security
 DISADVANTAGES

1) Highly skilled staff would be required for

maintenance
2) Only point to point working is possible on optical
fiber
3) Precise and costly instruments would be
required
4) Costly if under utilized.
5) Accept unipolar codes only.
6) Jointing of fiber and splicing is also time
consuming.
 APPLICATIONS
• Optical fiber have wider range of application in
almost all field, some are been specified below

• In telecommunication field
• In space applications
• Broadband applications
• Computer applications industrial
applications
• Mining applications
• In medical applications
• In military applications etc.
• Optical fiber have wider range of application in almost all field, i.e. in medical,
electronics, military etc .some are been specified below

• Medical

• Military

• Electronics

IBM microprocessors
 THE ENDOSCOPE

There are two optical

fibres

One for light, to illuminate

the inside of the patient

One for a camera to send

the images back to the
Key hole surgery
THANK YOU