OPTICAL FIBERS

Manufacturing & Cabling

Dr. BC Choudhary
Assistant
11:40 Professor
am, Mar 01, 2017

National Institute of Technical Teachers’Training &

Research (NITTTR), Sector-26, Chandigarh.
Fiber Structure

• An optical fiber is a long cylindrical dielectric waveguide,

usually of circular cross-section, transparent to light over the
operating wavelength.
• A single solid dielectric of two concentric layers. The inner
layer known as Core is of radius ‘a’ and refractive index ‘n1’.
The outer layer called Cladding has refractive index ‘n2’.
n2 < n1  condition necessary for TIR
Light Propagation through Optical Fiber

 Must meet the conditions for Total Internal

Reflection (TIR)
Step Index / Graded Index
 DESIGNER’S PARAMETERS
Numerical Aperture (NA) :
NA = sina = [(n1)2-(n2)2]1/2
0.12-0.15 for SMF, 0.15-0.25 for MMF

Relative Refractive Index Difference ():

 = (n1 –n2)/n ; n- the average refractive index
<0.4% for SMF, >1% for MMF

Normalized Frequency or V-Number:

V = [(2a)/] NA
V  2.405 for SMF;  10 for MMF
 FIBER MATERIALS
Requirements to be satisfied in selecting materials:
• It must be possible to make long, thin, flexible fibers from the
materials.
• Material must be transparent at a particular wavelength in order for
the fiber to guide light efficiently
• Physically compatible materials having slightly different refractive
indices for the core and cladding must be available.

Suitable Materials are either

• Glasses or glass like materials ( Silica or Silicates)
• Monocrystalline Structures (certain Plastics)
• Heavy Metal Fluorides ( Nonsilicates)
 MANUFACTURER’S CONSIDERATIONS

• Refractive Index Profile

• Material Composition and Density fluctuations
• Core-Cladding Interfaces
• Ecentricity
• Diameter
 PREPARATION OF GLASS FIBERS
TWO STAGE PROCESS
• Purification of powdered glass materials (PPB) and Conversion
into rod or Preform
• Drawing and Pulling Techniques; To acquire end products

METHODS: Two major categories

a) Conventional Glass Refining Techniques (Melting Processes)
- Liquid Phase Techniques (MC Glasses only)
b) Vapour Phase Deposition Methods (VPD)- Silica rich Glasses
- Flame Hydrolysis (VAD, OVPO)
- Chemical Vapour Deposition (MCVD, PCVD)
 Purification of Fiber Materials

• Preparation of Ultra pure material powders; Usually Oxides or

Carbonates
– SiO2, GeO2, B2O3 ,Al2O3 and F - Silica glass fibers
– Na2CO3, K2CO3, CaCO3 and BaCO3 – Decomposes to Oxides
- MC Glass fibers

• Very High initial purity essential ( ~ PPB) ; lesser for transition

metal ( Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, V) impurities.

• Involves combined techniques of fine filtration and

coprecipitation, followed by solvent extraction before
recrystallization and final drying in a vacuum to remove any
residual OH ions.
• Purification accounts for large proportion of material cost;
Commercially available.
Melting Processes
• Melting high purity
powder to homogeneous,
bubble free glass melt
• Change in R.I. in molten
state by change in
composition of various
constitutents
• Temp: 900 – 1400 OC

 Silica or Platinum
Crucibles
• Contamination
• Inhomoginities
Glassmaking furnace for the production of high
purity glasses.
 RF Induction Furnace

• Radio Frequency of ~
5MHz
• Heated to 1000 OC
• Form a thin layer of
solidified pure glass
between melt and
crucible – avoid
contamination

High-purity melting using a RF induction furnace.

 Fiber Drawing

• Rod in tube process

• Useful only for Step
Index fibers with
large core and
cladding diameters.
• Bubbles &
particulates at
interfaces
• 5-10 dB/km loss

Optical Fiber from a Preform.

 Double Crucible Approach

• Core and cladding in form of

separate rods fed into two concentric
platinum crucibles
• Temp. between 800 to 1200 OC
• Technique for SI & GI Fibers
• Diffusion of mobile ion across core-
cladding interface witihin molten
glass
• Reasonable graded index profile
• Typical losses between 3 –5 dB/km
• Possibility of continuous production
• Lack of precise control-

Double Crucible Method for Fiber Drawing

 Schematic of Vapour-Phase Deposition Techniques

• For Silica rich

glasses
 High transperency
 Optimuml optical
properities.
 Doping Materials

The variation in the refractive index of silica using

various dopants.
 Outside Vapour-Phase Oxidation (OVPO) Process
- Uses Flame hydrolysis for ‘Soot’ Formation

• High OH
impurity content
 50 to 200 PPM
• Cracks during
mandral removal

OVPO Process: (a) Soot deposition, (b) Preform Sintering

(c) Fiber Drawing
VAD Process
The VAD Process
• End-on deposition
• Typical OH content between
50-200 PPM
• Reduced by applying chlorine
as drying agent
• Typical Temp. 1500 OC
• Losses as low as 2 dB/km

Difficulties:
• Cracks while removing mandral
• Depression in RL profile near
centre due to collapsed hole.
 MCVD Techniques
• Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD)
 An inside vapour phase oxidation (IVPO) method
 vaporized raw materials are deposited into a pre-made silica tube

• Deposition within an
enclosed reactor-very
clean environment
• Fiber formation 1400-
1600 OC, drawing at
2000 - 2200 OC
• Reduced OH impurity
• Minimum losses of only
0.2 dB/km at 1550 nm
 PCVD Technique
• Plasma Activated Chemical Vapour Deposition
 A variation on the MCVD technique to use plasma to supply
energy for the vapour-phase oxidation of halides.
 Film deposition at around 1000 OC

 Provide controlled and high uniformity of layers

Different types of Commonly used OFs:
• Multimode step index fibers
• Multimode Graded index fibers
• Single mode fibers
• Plastic clad fibers
• All Plastic fibers
Multimode Step Index Fibers

Typical structure for a glass multimode step index fiber.

Structure
Core Diameter : 50 to 400 m
Cladding Diameter : 125 to 500 m
Buffer Jacket : 250 to 1000 m
Numerical Aperture : 0.16 to 0.5

• Fabricated from either from multicomponent glasses or doped silica.

• Have reasonably large core diameters and large NAs to facilitate efficient
coupling to incoherent sources such as LEDs.
• Performance characteristics depends on the materials used and the methods of
preparations
• Doped silica fibers exhibit the best performance

Attenuation : 2.6 to 50 dB/km at 850 nm,

• Limited by absorption or scattering.
• Wide variation in attenuation is due
to differences between two
preparation methods

Bandwidth : 6 to 50 MHz km.

Applications: Best suited for

• short-haul,
• Limited bandwidth and
• Relatively low cost applications.
Attenuation Spectra for MMSIF:
(a) Multicomponent glass fibers
(b) doped silica fibers.
 Multimode Graded Index Fibers

Typical structure for a glass multimode graded index fiber.

Structure
Core diameter
Cladding diameter
Buffer jacket diameter
Numerical aperture
: 30 to 100 m
: 100 to 150 m
: 250 to 1000 m
: 0.2 to 0.3.

• Fabricated using MC glasses or Doped Silica

• Manufactured from materials with higher purity
• Better performance due to index grading and lower attenuation
Performance Characteristics
Attenuation:
• 2 to 10 dB km-1 at a wavelength of 850nm with generally a scattering
limit.
• Average losses of around 0.4 and 0.25 dB km-1 can be obtained at
wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 m respectively.

Bandwidth: 300 MHz km to 3 GHz km.

Applications:
• Best suited for medium-haul, medium to high bandwidth applications
using incoherent and coherent multimode sources (i.e. LEDs and injection
lasers respectively).
Single-Mode Fibers

Typical structure for a silica single-mode step index fiber.

Structure
Core diameter : 5 to 10 m, typical around 8.5 m
Cladding diameter : generally 125 m
Buffer jacket diameter : 250 to 1000 m
Numerical aperture : 0.08 to 0.15, usually around 0.10.
Single-Mode Fibers

• Have either Step index or Graded index Profile

• GI Profiles
 Provides dispersion modified SMF
 Produce polarization maintaining fibers (PMF)
 Expensive; Not utilized within OFC systems

• Commercially available SMFs are usually SI profile

• High quality fibers; Generally fabricated from doped silica

(SCS)
Performance Characteristics

Attenuation:
- 2 to 5 dB km-1 with a scattering limit at 850 nm.
- 0.35 and 0.21 dB km-1 at 1310 and 1550 nm

Bandwidth:
- Greater than 500 MHz km. of 0.85 m.
- More than 10 GHz km at a wavelength of 1.3 m.

Applications:
Ideally suited for high bandwidth very long haul
applications using single-mode injection laser sources.
Plastic Clad (PCS) Fibers
- MMF; either SI or GI profile

Typical structure for a plastic-clad silica multimode step index fiber.

Structure Step Index Graded Index

Core diameter : 100 to 500 m 50 to 100 m

Cladding diameter : 300 to 800 m 125 to 150 m

Buffer jacket diameter: 500 to 1000 m 250 to 1000 m

Numerical aperture : 0.2 to 0.5 0.2 to 0.3.

Performance Characteristics

Attenuation: Step index 5 to 50 dB km-1

Graded index 4 to 15 dB km-1

PCS fibers exhibit lower radiation –induced losses than SCS.

• Have improved performance in certain enviornments

Generally cheaper than the corresponding glass fibers

• Have more limited performance characteristics
All-Plastic Fibers (PCP)

Typical structure for an all plastic fiber.

Structure
Core diameter : 200 to 600 m
Cladding diameter : 450 to 1000 m
Numerical aperture : 0.5 to 0.6.
All-Plastic Fibers
• Exclusively of MMF SI type with large core and cladding
diameters.
• Reduced requirement for buffer jacket, protection and
strengthening
• Cheap and Easy to handle
• Limited use in communication applications
• Large NA:- Easy coupling to light sources
• Fabricated with Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and
Fluorinated polymer cladding
Performance characteristics

Attenuation : 50 to 1000 dB km-1 at 650 nm

Bandwidth : Not usually specified as transmission is

generally limited to tens of meters.

Applications : only be used for very short haul (i.e. ‘in-

house’) low cost links.

 Fiber coupling and termination are relatively easy and do

not require sophisticated techniques.
 Optical Fiber Cables
• To be an alternatives to electrical transmission lines
 Can be safely installed and maintained in all the environments where
metallic conductors are normally placed
 Mechanical Properties are of prime importance

• Bare glass fibers; brittle, have small cross-sectional area

 Very susceptible to damage when employed normal transmission line
handling techniques
 Necessary to cover the fibers to improve their tensile strength and to protect
them against external influences.

 Achieved by surrounding the fiber with series of protective layers

– Coating & Cabling
 OPTICAL FIBER CABLE DESIGN
• Fiber Protection: Protect against fiber damage and breakage
both during installation and throughout the life of the fiber
• Stablity of Fiber Transmission Characteristics: Must be
designed so that the T.C. of the fiber are maintained after the
cabling process and cable installation.
 Strain on the fiber in the cable do not exceed 0.2%.

• Cable Strength: High mechanical properties ( tension,

compression, bending, squeezing and vibrations) – need for
strength members and thick outer sheath.

• Identification and Jointing of fibers within the cable :

Cables with large number of fibers; fibers to be arranged in
suitable geometry
 Geometric Effects
Micro bending
Deformation of fiber axis (axial
distortion) during cabling causes light
to couple out of the fiber.
Macro bending
Loss due to excessive bending.
Fiber Bending radius = 3 mm (apprx)
Major Three Considerations:
1.Fiber Buffering
Secondary or buffer coating (jacket) to provide protection against
external mechanical and environmental influences.

• Hard plastic ( Nylon, Hytrel, Tefzel)

Techniques for buffering of optical fibers: (a) tight buffer jacket; (b)
loose buffer jacket; (c) filled loose buffer jacket.
2. Cable Structural and Strength Members:
Serve as core foundation around which buffered fibers may be wrapped, or
into which they may be slotted.

 Structural member may also be a strength member if it

consists of suitable material (metallic or nonmetallic).
• Solid or Stranded Steel wire or
• Kevlar yarns ( DuPont Ltd.)

• High Young’s modulus

• Strength to Weight ratio FOUR times that of steel
3. Cable sheath and Water barrier
A substantial outer sheath to reduce abrasion and to provide cable
with extra protection against external mechanical effects such as
crushing.

• Sheath materials (Polyethylene , polyurethane) – limited

protection against penetration of water into cable.
• Additional water barrier ( Aluminium foil/ polyethylene
laminated film/ Mylar).
Structural and strength members in optical fiber cables: (a) central steel
wire structural and strength member; (b) Northern Telecom unit core cable with central
steel strength member and extruded plastic structural member.
Single Fiber Cable Designs : (a) Tight buffer jacket (b) Loose buffer jacket
Dual fiber cables; (a) Indoor cable; (b) Flat cable.
Multifiber Cables for outside plant application:

(a) Loose tube cable;

(b) Layered cable construction.

Multifiber cables: (a) slotted core cable; (b) ITT seven
fiber external strength member cable.
Ribbon fiber cables: (a) AT&T ribbon cable;
(b) slotted core ribbon cable.
The AT&T LightpackTM cable; (a) Cross section showing steel
reinforced sheath; (b) Cable layers and the colour-coded fiber bundles.
Variety of Fiber Cables
 Plastic Cable

Cable Assemblies Mode Conditioning Patchcord

(SMFs for use with Laser transmitters)
 Ribbon Fanout Assemblies

Drop Cable Assemblies

Flexible Patchcord
OVERHEAD CABLES

A tightly buffered cable designed to be hung overhead

• Tightly buffered cables for aerial use.

• Each primary coating is given a further secondary coating
of high quality acrylate.
UNDERWATER CABLES
• Cables designed for transoceanic use

A tightly buffered cable designed for under water application:

(a) For deep water sections (b) More heavily armoured cable for
inshore use.
 THANK YOU
FOR
YOUR PATIENCE

Dr. BC Choudhary
Email: bakhshish@yahoo.com
Mobile: 9417521382