ES 475 - Optical Communication and

Computing
Lecture 4

Dr. Asad Mahmood

Jan 30, 2023
Outline
• Announcements: (Assignment and Quiz # 1)
• Quick Review of Last Lecture
• Chapter 1: Overview of Fiber Optic Communications
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems

• Outline for Today’s Lecture

• Chapter 1: Overview of Fiber Optic Communications
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• Chapter 2: Structures, Waveguiding and Fabrication
• 2.1 - The Nature of Light
• 2.2 - Basic Optical Laws and Definitions
Chapter 1- Overview of Fiber Optic
Communications
Chapter 1 -
Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.1 - Motivations for Lightwave Communications
• 1.2 - Optical Spectral Bands
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.8 - Modeling and Simulation Tools
1.3 - decibel (dB) Units
• A critical consideration when designing and implementing an
optical fiber link is to establish, measure, and/or interrelate
the optical signal levels at each of the elements of a
transmission link. E.g.
– optical output power from a light source
– the power level needed at the receiver to properly detect a signal
– the amount of optical power lost at the constituent elements of the
transmission link
• A standard and convenient method for measuring attenuation
through a link or a device is to reference the output signal level
to the input level
1.3 - decibel (dB) Units
• Used for RELATIVE (Gains, Losses etc.) power levels
• Benefits of using logarithm / dB units
– allows a large ratio to be expressed in a fairly simple manner.
– Power levels differing by many orders of magnitude can be
compared easily when they are in decibel form.
– one merely adds or subtracts the decibel numbers between two
different points.

• Example 1.2
Assume that after traveling • Example 1.3
a certain distance in some
transmission medium, the
power of a signal is
reduced to half, What
should be the gain of the
amplifier in dB to be
introduced here?
1.3 - decibel (dB) Units
• dBm → A unit to represent ABSOLUTE power values in dBs
Chapter 1 -
Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.1 - Motivations for Lightwave Communications
• 1.2 - Optical Spectral Bands
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.8 - Modeling and Simulation Tools
 BW/datarate demands in communication systems
Type & Format Uncompressed Compressed
applications
Voice, digital 4 kHz voice 64 kbps 16-32 kbps
telegraphy
Audio 16-24 kHz 512-748 kbps 32-384 kbps
(MPEG, MP3)
Video conferencing 176 144 or 352  2-35.6 Mbps 64 kbps-1.544
288 frames @ 10- Mbps (H.261
30 frames/s coding)
Data transfer, E- 1-10 Mbps
commerce,Video
entertainment
Full-motion 720480frames @ 249 Mbps 2-6Mbps (MPEG-2)
broadcast video 30 frames/s
HDTV 1920 1080 1.6 Gbps 19-38 Mbps (MPEG-
frames@ 30 frames 2)
/s
1.4.1 - Telecom Signal Multiplexing

• To handle the continuously rising demand for high-bandwidth services

from users ranging from individuals to large businesses and research
organizations, telecommunication companies worldwide are
implementing increasingly sophisticated digital multiplexing techniques
• Digital link consisting of time-division-multiplexing (TDM) of 64 kbps voice
channels (early 1980).

Optical Fiber communications, 3rd ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

1.4.1 - Telecom Signal Multiplexing

Example 1.6

As can be seen from Fig. 1.8, at each multiplexing level some

overhead bits are added for synchronization purposes. What is
the overhead for T1?

Optical Fiber communications, 3rd ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000

1.4.2 SONET/SDH Multiplexing Hierarchy
• For multiplexing in optical networks, SONET (Synchronous Optical
NETwork) is the network standard used in north America & SDH
(Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) is used in other parts of the world. These
define a synchronous frame structure for sending multiplexed digital
traffic over fiber optic trunk lines.

• The basic building block of SONET is called STS-1 (Synchronous Transport

Signal) with 51.84 Mbps data rate. Higher-rate SONET signals are
obtained by byte-interleaving N STS-1 frames, which are scramble &
converted to an Optical Carrier Level N (OC-N) signal.

• The basic building block of SDH is called STM-1 (Synchronous Transport

Module) with 155.52 Mbps data rate. Higher-rate SDH signals are
achieved by synchronously multiplexing N different STM-1 to form STM-N
signal.
1.4.2 - SONET/SDH Multiplexing Hierarchy
Chapter 1 -
Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.1 - Motivations for Lightwave Communications
• 1.2 - Optical Spectral Bands
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.8 - Modeling and Simulation Tools
1.5 - WDM Concepts
• The use of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) offers a
further boost in fiber transmission capacity. The basis of
WDM is to use multiple sources operating at slightly
different wavelengths to transmit several independent
information streams simultaneously over the same fiber.

Each line could be

at a different data-
rate!

Why not use

the same
wavelength for
all the users?
Optical Fiber communications, 3rd ed.,G.Keiser,McGrawHill, 2000
Chapter 1 -
Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.1 - Motivations for Lightwave Communications
• 1.2 - Optical Spectral Bands
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.8 - Modeling and Simulation Tools
1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• Similar to electrical communication systems, the basic
function of an optical fiber link is to transport a
signal/information from communication equipment (e.g., a
computer, telephone, or video device) at one location to
corresponding equipment at another location with a high
degree of reliability and accuracy.
 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• Transmitters:
• LEDs, Laser Diodes
• light output can be modulated rapidly by simply varying the input current
at the desired transmission rate, thereby producing an optical signal.
• Channel:
• After an optical signal is launched into a fiber, it will become progressively
attenuated and distorted with increasing distance because of scattering,
absorption, and dispersion mechanisms in the glass material.
• Receivers:
• At the destination of an optical fiber transmission line, there is a receiving
device that interprets the information contained in the optical signal.
• Inside the receiver is a photodiode that detects the weakened and
distorted optical signal emerging from the end of an optical fiber and
converts it to an electrical signal
• Figure of Merit = Bit Error Rate and/or SNR
1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• Included in any optical fiber link are various passive optical
devices that assist in controlling and guiding the light signals.
Among these are
• Optical filters
• Optical splitters
• Optical multiplexers
• Optical Couplers
• In addition, modern sophisticated optical fiber networks contain
a wide range of active optical components. These include
• light signal modulators
• tunable (wavelength-selectable) optical filters,
• reconfigurable elements for adding and dropping
wavelengths at intermediate nodes
• variable optical attenuators
• optical switches
1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• Optical signal becomes greatly weakened due to power loss
along the fiber. Therefore, when setting up an optical link,
engineers formulate a power budget and add amplifiers or
repeaters when the path loss exceeds the available power
margin.
• For an incoming optical signal, a repeater performs
• photon-to-electron conversion
• Electrical amplification
• retiming
• pulse shaping
• electron-to-photon conversion.
• This process can be problematic for high-speed multi-
wavelength systems → Solution ?
 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems

Installation of
Optical Fibers
1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
Installation of
Optical Fibers

• Installation Guidelines
• Although each method has its own special handling
procedures, they all need to adhere to a common set of
precautions. These include
• avoiding sharp bends of the cable
• minimizing stresses on the installed cable
• periodically allowing extra cable slack along the cable
route for unexpected repairs
• avoiding excessive pulling or hard yanks on the cable
1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
Installation of
Optical Fibers
Chapter 1 -
Overview of Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.1 - Motivations for Lightwave Communications
• 1.2 - Optical Spectral Bands
• 1.3 - Decibel Units
• 1.4 - Network Information Rates
• 1.5 - WDM Concepts
• 1.6 - Key Elements of Optical Fiber Systems
• 1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communications
• 1.8 - Modeling and Simulation Tools
1.7 - Standards for Optical Fiber Communication

• Why needed?
1. Primary standards refer to measuring and characterizing
fundamental physical parameters such as attenuation,
bandwidth, operational characteristics of fibers, and optical
power levels and spectral widths.
2. Component testing standards define tests for fiber-optic
component performance and establish equipment-calibration
procedures.
• Several different organizations are involved in formulating e.g. the
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), International
Telecommunication Union (ITU-T), etc.
3. System standards refer to measurement methods for links and
networks.
• The major organizations are the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI), the Institute for Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE), the ITU-T, and Telcordia Technologies.
1.8 – Simulation and Modelling Tools

• Computer-based simulation and modeling tools that integrate

component, link, and network functions can make the design
process of complex optical links and networks more efficient, less
expensive, and faster

• Important points to consider, however, are the approximations

and modeling assumptions made in the software design.
• Since most telecommunication systems are designed with several decibels
of safety margin, approximations for calculating operating behavior that
are reasonably accurate are not only acceptable but in general necessary
to allow tractable computation times

• Graphical User Interface based simulation tools

 Chapter 2
(Optical Fibers: Structures,
Waveguiding, and Fabrication)
Dr. Asad Mahmood
Chapter 2 –
Optical Fibers: Structures, Waveguiding, and Fabrication
Chapter Contents:
• 2.1 - The Nature of Light
• 2.2 - Basic Optical Laws and Definitions
• 2.3 - Optical Fiber Modes and Configurations
• 2.4 - Mode Theory for Circular Waveguides
• 2.5 - Single-Mode Fibers
• 2.6 - Graded-Index Fiber Structure
• 2.7 - Fiber Materials
• 2.8 - Photonic Crystal Fibers
• 2.9 - Fiber Fabrication
• 2.10 - Mechanical Properties of Fibers
• 2.11 - Fiber Optic Cables
• 2.12 - Cable Installation Methods
2.1 – The nature of light
• The concepts concerning the nature of light have undergone several variations
during the history of physics.
• 17th Century → light consisted of a stream of minute particles could penetrate
transparent materials but were reflected from opaque materials
• Could explain large-scale phenomena e.g. reflection, diffractions etc.
• Could not explain small-scale phenomena like interference, diffraction etc.
• 1815 (Fresnel) → Described the diffraction behavior by considering light as having a
wave-like behavior
• 1864 (Maxwell) → Described light as an Electromagnetic phenomenon
• Also later → light waves are transverse i.e. the wave motion is perpendicular to the
direction in which the wave travels
• EM wave depiction → the electromagnetic waves radiated by a small optical source
can be represented by a train of spherical wave fronts with the source at the center
• Wave-front = locus of all points in the wave train that have the same phase (e.g.
maxima/minima of the sine wave)