Lecture 3: Fibre Optics

Lecture aims to explain:

1. Fibre applications in telecommunications

2. Principle of operation

3. Single- and multi-mode fibres

4. Light losses in fibres

Fibre is a transparent cylinder made of a

dielectric. Most common material used in
fibres is fused silica (amorphous SiO2)
Nobel Prize for Fibre Optics

Nobel Prize for Physics 2009

Sir Charles K. Kao for
"groundbreaking achievements
concerning the transmission of light in
fibers for optical communication

Work was mainly done at Standard

Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) in
Harlow, England in 1960s, with ground-
breaking predictions for use of glass
fibres for telecommunications in 1966
 Applications in
telecommunications
Information encoded using light
Light has very high frequency: f = c /
About 103-104 more information can
be transmitted than by microwave
Very short light pulses can be used
to transmit bits of information
Information can be encoded using
wavelength (or colour)
Multiplexing: use of single pathway
to transmit simultaneously several
signals which nonetheless retain
their individuality
10 Hz 15
1970, Corning Glass Works, first fibre
22 April 1977, first live telephone traffic
through fiber optics 6 Mbit/s at 0.8 m.
The second generation: early 1980s, 1.3 m.
By 1987 rates of up to 1.7 Gb/s, repeater
spacing up to 50 km. The first transatlantic
telephone cable with optical fibre in 1988.
Third- and fourth-generation in 1990s and
2000s: at 1.55 m, losses only about 0.2
dB/km. Bit rate of 10 Tb/s was reached by
2001. Repeaters at 100 km and more.
 Advantages of fibres
1. Low-loss transmission

2. High information carrying capacity

3. Small size and weight

4. Immunity to electro-magnetic interference

(bringing unparalleled signal security), no
cross-talk between parallel fibres, can be
installed in dense areas

5. Abundant availability of the required raw

material (sand)
Other major applications:
Medical applications (endoscopes etc)
Industrial application (e.g. as probes)
Principle of operation
Total internal reflection in fibres
nc Fibre: transparent cylinder of
refractive index nf imbedded in a
no material of refractive index nc
p
nf i plane containing the optical axis then
If we consider a ray travelling in the

it will remain constrained as long as:

nc
cos p
nf
Role of cladding: Cladding provides medium with
lower n and protects from frustrated total internal
reflection e.g. from fibre touching, dust or moisture
on the surface
Single and multi-mode
fibres
Fibre modes
y
k
p
d z
nf

For the wave to propagate in the fibre, electromagnetic

wave theory requires waves to interfere constructively

Allowed angles of propagation

inside the fibre:

sin p = p
2dn f
The lowest order mode is p=0 and is along the
fibre axis. The highest order is near c.
 Different types of multi-mode fibres

Typical sizes 50m

Step-index fibres: abrupt change

in material refractive index

Disadvantage: Dispersion

Graded-index fibres: a gradual

decrease of the refractive index
towards the cladding. Often by a
parabola law

Advantage: serpentine modes travel similar time

to the central mode, since it is slower (larger n)

http://www.fiber-optics.info/articles/types_of_optical_fiber
Single mode fibre
If for the mode with p=1 1 is greater than the critical angle for
the total internal reflection c then it cannot propagate, only the
p=0 mode will. This is the case for a single mode fibre

The condition for single mode propagation

d<
2 n 2f nc2

To generalise a fibre will carry modes

0,1,2p-1 (that is, p modes) if
d < p / 2 n 2f nc2
Light losses in fibres
Attenuation in silica fibres
Ultraviolet range: electronic absorption
Infrared range: lattice vibrations (phonons)

Transparent regions at 1.3 and 1.55 m

Losses due to Rayleigh scattering ~1/4 and

water-related absorption (max at 1.38m).
Additional losses due to imperfections and
sharp bends

Minimum loss (attenuation) ~0.1dB/km at

1.55 micron (1550nm): 100km before re-
amplification (10 times attenuation)

dB = 10 log10 (Pout Pin )

EXAMPLE 3.1: Single mode fibre
Calculate the diameter of a single mode fibre with nf=1.62 and nc=1.52
operating at =1.55m

EXAMPLE 3.2: Multi-mode fibre

A glass fibre with nf = 1.52 and nc = 1.50 and a diameter d = 1.8 micron
operates with light of wavelength 1.3 micron.
(i) What is the highest order mode that can propagate?
(ii)What is the highest order of the mode for wavelength in the visible red
region?
(iii) What is the external angle of acceptance corresponding to the modes
with the highest numbers in (i) and (ii)

EXAMPLE 3.3: Fibre design

Design a fibre enabling propagation of only two lowest modes at the
wavelength of 1.55 micron using glass with low dispersion and nf = 1.45
for the fibre core.