RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology

(ISO 9001:2015 Certified)
5 –Km. Stone, Delhi – Meerut Road, Ghaziabad (U.P. – 201003)
Tel: (0120) 2788409, Fax: (0120) 2788350
DEPARTMENT OF ECE

Optical Communication (REC-075)

TOP-20 QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTION

Q1. Explain the detection process in the p–n photodiode. Compare

this device with the p–i–n photodiode.
ANS.The detector is an essential component of an optical fiber communication
system and is one of the crucial elements which dictate the overall system
performance. Its function is to convert the received optical signal into an
electrical signal, which is then amplified before further processing. Therefore
when considering signal attenuation along the link, the system performance is
determined at the detector.
The following criteria define the important performance and compatibility
requirements for detectors which are generally similar to the requirements for
sources.
1. High sensitivity at the operating wavelengths
2. To reproduce the received signal waveform with fidelity, for analogy
transmission the response of the photo detector must be linear with regard
to the optical signal over a wide range.
3. Large electrical response to the received optical signal
4. Short response time to obtain a suitable bandwidth
5. A minimum noise introduced by the detector
6. Stability of performance characteristics
PN / PIN photodiode comparison
Both PN photodiodes and PIN photodiodes can be obtained from many
suppliers. When designing photo detector circuit, it is necessary to choose the
correct type of photo diode dependent upon the performance and characteristics
needed:
PN photodiode:
A PN photodiode does not require a reverse bias and as a result is more suitable
for low light applications as a result of the improved noise performance.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

PIN photodiode:
 Reverse bias required by the PIN photodiode introduces a noise current
which reduces signal to noise ratio
 The reveres bias offers better performance for high dynamic range
applications
 The reverse bias required offers better performance for high bandwidth
applications as the capacitance between the P and N regions as well as charge
storage is small.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q2. Define the quantum efficiency and the responsivity of a photo-

detector. Derive an expression for the responsivity of an intrinsic
photo-detector in terms of the quantum efficiency of the device
and the wavelength of the incident radiation.
ANS.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q3.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q4. Explain what is meant by the long-wavelength cut-off point

for an intrinsic photo-detector, deriving any relevant expressions.
ANS. It is essential when considering the intrinsic absorption process that the
energy of incident photons be greater than or equal to the band gap energy Eg of
the material used to fabricate the photo detector. Therefore, the photon
energy…

Q5. A Photo diode has a responsivity of 0.5 A/W at 850 nm. Find
the efficiency of the detector.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

ANS.

Q6.

ANS.

Q7.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

ANS.

Q8. Explain the detection process in PIN photo diode.

ANS. In order to allow operation at longer wavelengths where the light
penetrates more deeply into the semiconductor material, a wider depletion
region is necessary.
 To achieve this the n-type material is doped so lightly that it can be
considered intrinsic, and to make a low resistance contact a highly doped
n-type (n+) layer is added.
 This creates a p–i–n (or PIN) structure, as may be seen in Figure 8.6
where all the absorption takes place in the depletion region.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

 Figure 8.7 shows the structures of two types of silicon p–i–n photodiode
for operation in the shorter wavelength band below 1.09 μm.
 The front-illuminated photodiode, when operating in the 0.8 to 0.9 μm
band (Figure 8.7(a)), requires a depletion region of between 20 and 50
μm in order to attain high quantum efficiency (typically 85%) together
with fast response (less than 1 ns) and low dark current (1 nA).
 Dark current arises from surface leakage currents as well as generation–
recombination currents in the depletion region in the absence of
illumination.
 The side-illuminated structure (Figur8.7(b)), where light is injected
parallel to the junction plane, exhibits a large absorption width (500 μm)
and hence is particularly sensitive at wavelengths close to the band gap
limit (1.09 μm) where the absorption coefficient is relatively small.

Q9. Explain different types of noise which are occur in optical

communication.
 ANS. Noise is a term generally used to refer to any spurious or undesired
disturbances that mask the received signal in a communication system.
 In optical fiber communication systems we are generally concerned with
noise due to spontaneous fluctuations rather than erratic disturbances
which may be a feature of copper-based systems (due to electromagnetic
interference etc.).

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

 There are three main types of noise due to spontaneous fluctuations in

optical fiber communication systems: thermal noise, dark current noise
and quantum noise.
(1) Thermal noise: This is the spontaneous fluctuation due to thermal
interaction between, say, the free electrons and the vibrating ions in a
conducting medium, and it is especially prevalent in resistors at room
temperature.

(2) Dark current noise: When there is no optical power incident on the
photo detector a small reverse leakage current still flows from the device
terminals. This dark current contributes to the total system noise and gives
random fluctuations about the average particle flow of the photocurrent. It
therefore manifests itself as shot noise on the photocurrent.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

3. Johnson Noise:

Q10. Explain the working principle of avalanche photo diode.

ANS.
The second major type of optical communications detector is the avalanche
photodiode (APD). This has a more sophisticated structure than the p–i–n
photodiode in order to create an extremely high electric field region
(approximately 3 × 105 V cm−1), as may be seen in Figure 8.15(a).
Therefore, as well as the depletion region where most of the photons are
absorbed and the primary carrier pairs generated, there is a high-field region in
which holes and electrons can acquire sufficient energy to excite new electron–
hole pairs. This process is known as impact ionization and is the phenomenon
that leads to avalanche breakdown in ordinary reverse-biased diodes.
It often requires high reverse bias voltages (50 to 400 V) in order that the new
carriers created by impact ionization can themselves additional carriers by the
same mechanism as shown in Figure 8.15(b). More recently, however, it should
be noted that devices which will operate at much lower bias voltages (15 to 25
V) have become available.
Carrier multiplication factors as great as 104 may be obtained using defect-free
materials to ensure uniformity of carrier multiplication over the entire
photosensitive area. However, other factors affect the achievement of high gain
within the device.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

In this case the response time for the device is limited by three factors. These
are:
 (a) the transit time of the carriers across the absorption region (i.e. the
depletion width);
 (b) the time taken by the carriers to perform the avalanche multiplication
process; and
 (c) the RC time constant incurred by the junction capacitance of the diode
and its load.
APDs have a distinct advantage over photodiodes without internal gain for the
detection of the very low light levels often encountered in optical fiber
communications.
 They generally provide an increase in sensitivity of between 5 and 15 dB
over p–i–n photodiodes while often giving a wider dynamic range as a
result of their gain variation with response time and reverse bias.
Avalanche photodiodes, however, also have several drawbacks which include:
 (a) fabrication difficulties due to their more complex structure and hence
increased cost.
 (b) the random nature of the gain mechanism which gives an additional
noise contribution.
 (c) the high bias voltages required particularly for silicon devices (150 to
400 V) which although lower for germanium and InGaAs APDs (20 to 40
V) are similarly wavelength dependent.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q11. Explain digital link with the help of block diagram.

ANS.

 In the operation of a digital optical fiber link, first a light source launches
a certain amount of optical power into a fiber.
 The optical signal becomes attenuated due to loss mechanisms in the fiber
at connectors.
 The optical power level at the end of a link defines the signal to noise
ratio at the receiver which is used to measure the performance of both
analog and digital communication systems.
 POINT TO POINT LINK:-
 It is the simplest kind of light wave systems.
 It is used to transport information in the form of a digital bit stream from
one place to another.
 The length of the link varies from less than a kilometer to thousands of
kilometer.
 LINK POWER BUDGET:-
 It is used to ensure that enough power will reach the receiver to maintain
reliable performance during the entire system lifetime.
 The receiver sensitivity is the minimum average power required by the
receiver..
 It takes simple form in decibel units with optical powers expressed in
dBm units
 RISE TIME BUDGET:-
 It is used to ensure that the system is able to operate properly at the
intended bit rate.
 If the bandwidth of the individual system components exceeds the bit rate
then the total system may not be able to operate at that bit rate.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q12. Describe the optical receiver operation with the help of

block diagram.
ANS. Digital Signal Transmission
 A typical digital fiber transmission link is shown in Fig. 7-1. The
transmitted signal is a two-level binary data stream consisting of either a
‘0’ or a ‘1’ in a bit period Tb. Optical Receiver Operation
 The simplest technique for sending binary data is amplitude-shift keying,
wherein a voltage level is switched between on or off values.
 The resultant signal wave thus consists of a voltage pulse of amplitude V
when a binary 1 occurs and a zero-voltage-level space when a binary 0
occurs.
 An electric current i(t) can be used to modulate directly an optical source
to produce an optical output power P(t).


 In the optical signal emerging from the transmitter, Digital Signal
Transmission (2) a ‘1’ is represented by a light pulse of duration Tb,
whereas a ‘0’ is the absence of any light.
 The optical signal that gets coupled from the light source to the fiber
becomes attenuated and distorted as it propagates along the fiber
waveguide.
 Upon reaching the receiver, either a PIN or an APD converts the optical
signal back to an electrical format.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

 A decision circuit compares the amplified signal in each time slot with a
threshold level.
 If the received signal level is greater than the threshold level, a ‘1’ is said
to have been received.
 If the voltage is below the threshold level, a ‘0’ is assumed to have been
received.

Q13. Draw and explain Eye Diagram.

ANS.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q14. Explain Quantum limit in Detail.

ANS. For an ideal photo-detector having unity quantum efficiency and
producing no dark current, it is possible to find the minimum received optical
power required for a specific BER performance in a digital system.
 This minimum received power level is known as the
 Quantum limit.
 Assume that an optical pulse of energy E falls on the photo-detector in a
time interval t.
 This can be interpreted by the receiver as a ‘0’ pulse if no electron-hole
pairs are generated with the pulse present.

Q15. Explain Probability of error function with suitable diagram.

ANS.

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q16. What do you mean by power penalty?

ANS. Some sources of power penalty are-
• Modal Noise
• Dispersive Pulse Broadening
• Mode-Partition Noise
• Frequency Chirping
• Reflection Feedback and Noise
Q17. Write down short notes on Homodyne and Heterodyne
detections.
ANS. Homodyne Detection

Heterodyne Detection

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

Q18. Describe bit error rate in optical communication system.

ANS. In digital transmission, the number of bit errors is the number of
received bits of a data stream over a communication channel that has been
altered due to noise, interference, distortion or bit synchronization errors. Bit
error ratio is a unitless performance measure, often expressed as a percentage.
Bit Error Rate, BER is used as an important parameter in characterising the
performance of data channels.
When transmitting data from one point to another, either over a radio/ wireless
link or a wired telecommunications link, the key parameter is how many errors
will appear in the data that appears at the remote end.
As such Bit Error Rate, BER is applicable to everything from fibre optic links,
to ADSL, Wi-Fi, cellular communications, IoT links and many more.

Q19. Explain error sources in optical receiver.

ANS.
 Errors in the detection mechanism can arise from various noises and
disturbances associates with the signal detection system.
 The two most common samples of the spontaneous fluctuations are shot
noise and thermal noise.
 Shot noise arises in electronic devices because of the discrete nature of
current flow in the device.
 Thermal noise arises from the random motion of electrons in a conductor.
 The random arrival rate of signal photons produces a quantum (or shot)
noise at the photo detector. This noise depends on the signal level.
 This noise is of particular importance for PIN Error Sources (2) receivers
that have large optical input levels and for APD receivers.
 When using an APD, an additional shot noise arises from the statistical
nature of the multiplication process. This noise level increases with
increasing avalanche gain M.
 Thermal noises arising from the detector load resistor and from the
amplifier electronics tend to dominate in applications with low SNR
when a PIN photodiode is used.
 When an APD is used in low-optical-signal level applications, the
optimum avalanche gain is determined by a design tradeoff between the
thermal noise and the gain-dependent quantum noise.
 The primary photocurrent generated by the photodiode is a time-varying
Poisson process.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)

 If the detector is illuminated by an optical signal P(t), then the average

number of electron-hole Error Sources (5) P(t), then the average number
of electron-hole pairs generated in a time τ is

 where η is the detector quantum efficiency, hν is the photon energy, and

E is the energy received in a time interval .
 The actual number of electron-hole pairs n that are generated fluctuates
from the average according to the Poisson distribution

 where P r ( n) is the probability that n electrons are emitted in an interval

τ.
 For a detector with a mean avalanche gain M and an ionization rate ratio
k, the excess noise factor F ( M) for electron injection is

 where the factor x ranges between 0 and 1.0 depending on the photo-
diode material.
 A further error source is attributed to inter symbol interference (ISI),
which results from pulse spreading in the optical fiber.
 The fraction of energy remaining in the appropriate time slot is
designated by γ, so that 1-γ is the fraction of energy that has spread into
adjacent time slots.

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 RAKESH KUMAR (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, RKGIT GZB)


 Pulse spreading in an optical signal that leads to ISI.
Q20. Describe bit error rate and Q-factor measurement in optical
receiver.
ANS.
 In a digital receiver the amplified and filtered signal emerging from the
equalizer is compared with a threshold level once per time slot to
determine whether or not a pulse is present at the photo detector in that
time slot.

 where B=1/ Tb(bit rate). Ne ,Nt : Number of errors, pulses.

 To compute the BER at the receiver, we have to know the probability
distribution of the signal at the equalizer output.

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