MKET1563

SIGNAL PROPAGATION IN
OPTICAL FIBER
DISPERSION IN FIBERS

Dispersion is a phenomenon related to the variation in velocity of different

frequencies (wavelengths) or different modes. The velocity of different
frequencies can be different due to intrinsic properties of the medium or due
to dispersive nature of the bound structure like the optical fiber.
Dispersion is the primary cause of limitation on the optical signal transmission
bandwidth through an optical fiber
Dispersion is the distortion of the shape of a pulse.
FIBER DISPERSION
 Fiber dispersion results in optical pulse broadening and hence digital signal degradation.

 In communication, dispersion is used to describe any process by which any electromagnetic

signal propagating in a physical medium is degraded because the various wave characteristics
(i.e., frequencies) of the signal have different propagation velocities within the physical
medium.
 Dispersion mechanisms:
i. Modal (or Intermodal) Dispersion
ii. Intramodal / Chromatic Dispersion (CD)
iii. Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
PULSE BROADENING LIMITS FIBER BANDWIDTH
(DATA RATE)
Due to dispersion when the optical pulses
travel along the fiber they broaden. As the
pulses travel on the fiber due to
broadening, slowly they start overlapping
with each other. Consequently, the AC
content of the signal reduces and the DC
content of the signal increases. After
certain distance the pulses barely remain
distinguishable. If the signal propagates
further the pulses lose their identity and
the data is lost.

A measure of information capacity of an optical fiber for digital transmission is usually specified by the
bandwidth distance product, BW x L in [Link]. For multi-mode step index fiber this quantity is about 20
[Link], for graded index fiber is about 2.5 [Link] & for single mode fibers are higher than 10 [Link].
DISPERSION IN FIBERS

The dispersion is a rather weak phenomenon. What that means is the pulses
slowly broaden as they travel along the optical fiber. It is therefore appropriate to
investigate one type of dispersion at a time. That is when we investigate
waveguide dispersion we assume the fiber material to be non dispersive, and
when we investigate material dispersion, we assume the medium to be unbound.
 Both material dispersion and waveguide dispersion are examples of chromatic dispersion because both
are frequency dependent.
 Waveguide dispersion is caused by frequency dependence of the propagation constant β of a specific
mode due to the waveguiding effect.
 The combined effect of material and waveguide dispersions for a particular mode alone is called
intramodal dispersion.
 In multi-mode fibers some modes travel a longer distance to get to the end of the fiber than others
 In view of this, the modes have different delays, which causes a spreading of the output pulse. This is
called Modal dispersion
GROUP VELOCITY & GROUP DELAY
 For transmission system operation the most important & useful type of velocity is the group velocity. This is
the actual velocity which the signal information & energy is traveling down the fiber. It is always less than the
speed of light in the medium. The observable delay experiences by the optical signal waveform & energy,
when traveling a length of l along the fiber is commonly referred to as group delay.
 The group velocity (The speed of the pulse’s energy through the fiber ) is given by:

 Propagation Constant (𝐵𝐵), ω is the angular frequency, l is the length of the optical fiber
 The group delay (The time taken for the pulse to travel a certain distance.) is given by:

 It is important to note that all above quantities depend both on frequency & the propagation mode.
HOW TO CHARACTERIZE DISPERSION?
 Group delay per unit length can be defined as:

 If the spectral width of the optical source is not too wide, then the delay difference per unit wavelength
along the propagation path is approximately:

 For spectral components which are δλ apart, symmetrical around center wavelength, the total delay
difference δτ over a distance L is:
The total delay difference (often referred to as differential group
delay or intermodal delay difference) represents the difference in
arrival times between the fastest and slowest components of a
signal as it travels through an optical fiber. This concept is crucial
because it reflects the dispersion within the fiber, which causes
pulse broadening and signal distortion over distance.
HOW TO CHARACTERIZE DISPERSION?
 is called Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD) parameter, and shows how much a light
pulse broadens as it travels along an optical fiber. Dispersion is often derived from how 𝐵𝐵
changes with wavelength or frequency, leading to group velocity dispersion (GVD), which
causes pulse broadening in fibers. The more common parameter is called Dispersion, and can
be defined as the delay difference per unit length per unit wavelength as follows:

 In the case of optical pulse, if the spectral width of the optical source is characterized by its
rms value of the Gaussian pulse width σλ the pulse spreading over the length of L, σ g can be
well approximated by:

D has a typical unit of [ps/([Link])].

BANDWIDTH CALCULATIONS

 The maximum bit rate (BT) can be estimated from the total dispersion. Can use either
non-overlapping or overlapping estimation. For no overlapping of light pulses down
on an optical fiber link the digital bit rate, BT must be less than the reciprocal of the
broadened (through dispersion) pulse duration.
Non-overlapping case: BT < 1/2τ bits/sec
 Overlapping case: The pulses are assumed to have a Gaussian distribution with
standard deviation or r.m.s width, σ. The bit rate will then be given by:
BT = 0.2/σ bits/sec
Example 1:
A multimode graded index fiber exhibits total pulse broadening of 0.1 us over a distance of 15km.
Estimate:
a) The maximum possible bandwidth on the link assuming no ISI (Ans: 5MHz)
b) The pulse dispersion per-unit length (Ans: 6.67 ns/km)
c) The bandwidth-distance product for the fiber (75 MHz)
MODAL DISPERSION

Modal dispersion is caused by the variation in propagation constant between

different modes; it is also called intermodal dispersion.
Modal dispersion appears only when more than one mode is excited in a
multimode fiber. It exists even when chromatic dispersion disappears.
If only one mode is excited in a fiber, only intramodal chromatic dispersion
has to be considered even when the fiber is a multimode fiber.
MODAL DISPERSION
When numerous waveguide modes are propagating, they all travel with
different velocities with respect to the waveguide axis.
An input waveform distorts during propagation because its energy is
distributed among several modes, each traveling at a different speed.
Parts of the wave arrive at the output before other parts, spreading out the
waveform. This is thus known as multimode (modal) dispersion.
Multimode dispersion does not depend on the source linewidth (even a single
wavelength can be simultaneously carried by multiple modes in a waveguide).
Multimode dispersion would not occur if the waveguide allows only one
mode to propagate - the advantage of single-mode waveguides!
MODAL DISPERSION IN MULTIMODE WAVEGUIDES

The carrier wave can propagate along all these different “zig-zag” ray paths of
different path lengths.
MODAL DISPERSION RESULTS IN PULSE BROADENING

Modal dispersion: different modes arrive at the receiver with different delays
=> pulse broadening
ESTIMATE MODAL DISPERSION PULSE
BROADENING USING PHASE VELOCITY

=> the pulse broadening due to modal dispersion:

THE FORMULAS FOR MODAL DISPERSION FOR THE VARIOUS
TYPE OF FIBERS ACCORDING TO OVERLAPPING AND NON-
OVERLAPPING APPROXIMATIONS:

r r
Example 2:
A 6km optical link consists of multimode step index fiber with a core refractive index of 1.5 and a
relative refractive index difference of 1%. Estimate:
a) The delay difference between the slowest and fastest modes at the fiber output (Ans: 300ns)
b) The rms pulse broadening due to intermodal dispersion on the link (Ans: 86.7 ns)
c) The maximum bit rate that may be obtained without substantial errors on the link assuming
only intermodal dispersion (Ans: 1.7 Mbit/s or 2.3 Mbit/s)
d) The bandwidth-distance product corresponding to (c) (Ans: 13.8 MHz)

Example 3:
Compare the rms pulse broadening per kilometer due to intermodal dispersion for the multimode
step index fiber of Example 2 with the corresponding rms pulse broadening for an optimum near-
parabolic profile graded index fiber with the same core and relative index difference.
(Ans: SI-MMF:14.4 ns/km, GRIN-MMF: 14.4 ps/km)
INTRAMODAL DISPERSION

 The output signal in optical fiber is proportional to the delayed version of the input signal,
and the delay is inversely proportional to the group velocity of the wave. Since the
propagation constant, β (ω) is frequency dependent over band width ∆ω sitting at the center
frequency, ωc at each frequency, we have one propagation constant resulting in a specific
delay time. As the output signal is collectively represented by group velocity & group delay
this phenomenon is called intramodal dispersion or Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD). This
phenomenon arises due to a finite bandwidth of the optical source, dependency of refractive
index on the wavelength and the modal dependency of the group velocity.
 In the case of optical pulse propagation down the fiber, GVD causes pulse broadening,
leading to Inter Symbol Interference (ISI).
CHROMATIC OR INTRAMODAL DISPERSION
 Due to the finite spectral width of the optical source.
 Since the propagation velocity depends on the wavelength, different wavelength will have
different propagation time causing pulse dispersion or pulse broadening to occur.
 Chromatic dispersion can be seen as velocity variation with λ. This maybe caused by dispersive
properties of the material or guidance effects within the fiber structure.
 These are known as material dispersion, (DM) and waveguide dispersion (DW), respectively.
MATERIAL DISPERSION

All excitation sources are inherently non-monochromatic and emit within a

spectrum, ² λ , of wavelengths. Waves in the guide with different free space
wavelengths travel at different group velocities due to the wavelength dependence
of n1. The waves arrive at the end of the fiber at different times and hence result
in a broadened output pulse.
MATERIAL DISPERSION
Pulse broadening due to material dispersion happens because pulses at different wavelengths
having different group velocities are launched into the fiber from the optical source.

It occurs when the phase velocity of a plane wave propagating in the dielectric medium varies
nonlinearly with wavelength, and a material is said to exhibit material dispersion when the second
differential of the refractive index with respect to wavelength is not zero:

d2n/dλ2 ≠ 0
The unit for material dispersion, DM can be read as picosecond of pulse spreading per nanometer
of source spectral width per km of path length. DM is negative for wavelengths below λZD and
becomes positive above that.
MATERIAL DISPERSION
 The material dispersion therefore is proportional to second derivative of the refractive
index with respect to the wavelength.
 Since the second derivative denotes the curvature of the function, the material
dispersion is proportional to the curvature of the refractive index function. If the
refractive index varies linearly with λ , the curvature is zero and therefore the
dispersion is zero.
 At this point it is worthwhile to look at the variation of refractive index of glass as a
function of frequency (refer to Sellmeier equation).
MATERIAL DISPERSION
 For optical fibers, the materials of interest are pure silica and doped silica.
 The parameters of interest are the refractive index n, the group index ng and the group
velocity dispersion (GVD).
 The index of refraction of pure silica in the wavelength range between 200 nm and 4 μm is
given by the following empirically fitted Sellmeier equation:

where λ is in micrometers
 The index of refraction can be changed by adding dopants to silica, thus facilitating the means
to control the index profile of a fiber. Doping with Germania (GeO2) or alumina increases the
index of refraction.
MATERIAL DISPERSION

 The refractive index for glass does not vary

linearly
 The curvature of the function is positive below
1270nm and it is negative above 1270nm
 The curvature of the function is zero at 1270nm
 The material dispersion is zero at 1270nm
MATERIAL DISPERSION

 The refractive index of the material varies as a function of wavelength, n(λ )

 Material-induced dispersion for a plane wave propagation in homogeneous medium of
refractive index, n  the pulse delay:

 The rms pulse broadening due to material dispersion is therefore:

MATERIAL DISPERSION

𝐿𝐿𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 𝑑𝑑 2 𝑛𝑛 𝐿𝐿𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 2 𝑑𝑑 2 𝑛𝑛 1 2 𝑑𝑑 2 𝑛𝑛
𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 𝜆𝜆 2 = 𝜆𝜆 = 𝐿𝐿𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 × 𝜆𝜆 = 𝐿𝐿𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 (𝜆𝜆)
𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝜆𝜆 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝜆𝜆2 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝜆𝜆2

𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 (𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟)

𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 (𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟)
2
𝑑𝑑 2 𝑛𝑛
𝜆𝜆 = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑𝜆𝜆2
𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 (𝜆𝜆) = 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
CHROMATIC DISPERSION
Manufacturers also specify the chromatic dispersion parameter for multimode fiber by:

So is the zero-dispersion slope in ps/([Link]). Typical value is 0.097 ps/([Link]).

𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚 𝜆𝜆 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 − 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 tells us that the pulse spreading decreases as wavelength increases
Example 4:
What is chromatic dispersion for a graded-index multimode fiber if 𝜆𝜆𝑍𝑍𝑍𝑍 = 1343 nm and
𝜆𝜆 = 1300 nm. If we use LED whose 𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 = 50 nm, calculate pulse broadening.
(Ans: 𝐷𝐷(𝜆𝜆) = 4.38 ps/([Link], 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 0.22 ns/km)
Example 5:
An LED source with an rms spectral line width of 25 nm is coupled into an optical fiber that
exhibits material dispersion of 0.02. Compute the material dispersion parameter and rms
pulse broadening for the 870 nm operating wavelength. (Ans: 𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 76.63 ps/[Link], 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚
= 1.92 ns/km)
Example 6:
The source is replaced by a laser diode with a spectral line width of 2 nm while the rest data
remains the same. Compute the rms pulse broadening and compare it to the results of the
Example 5. (Ans: 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 0.153 ns/km)

In Example 5, where the spectral

line width was 25 nm, the rms
pulse broadening σm\sigma_mσm
was calculated as 1.92 ns/km.
Here, with a narrower spectral line
width of 2 nm, the pulse
broadening is significantly reduced
to 0.153 ns/km. This result shows
that using a source with a
narrower spectral line width, like a
laser diode, can greatly reduce the
amount of pulse broadening due to
material dispersion
Example 7:
Calculate pulse spreading due to material dispersion in a singlemode fiber operating at
𝜆𝜆 = 1310 nm if the laser diode’s spectral line width = 1 nm. Compare it to the results
of the Example 4. (Ans: 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 0.002 ns/km)
WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION
Waveguide dispersion occurs because the effective refractive index, neff for any one mode varies
with λ. DW depends on the V parameter of the fiber.

For a single mode fiber having a propagation constant β the fiber exhibits waveguide dispersion
when

d2β/dλ2 ≠ 0
In multimode fibers, where the majority of modes propagate far from cutoff, are almost free
of waveguide dispersion and it is generally negligible compared with material dispersion.
However, with single mode fibers where the effects of the different dispersion mechanisms
are not easy to separate, waveguide dispersion may be significant.
 WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION
 The waveguide dispersion is due to the bound structure of the optical fiber. While analyzing
waveguide dispersion we assume that the material dispersion is absent, that is the refractive
indices of the core and the cladding are independent of wavelength. Defining the normalized
propagation constant b as:

solving for propagation constant:

Using V number:

Delay time due to waveguide dispersion can then be expressed as:

WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION IN A SINGLE-MODE FIBER

Waveguide dispersion depends on

the mode field distribution (MFD)
in the core and the cladding. (i.e.
the fiber V number)

For single mode fibers, waveguide dispersion is in the same order of

material dispersion. The pulse spread can be well approximated as:
WAVEGUIDE DISPERSION
 From the graph variation of DM with λ it maybe observed that material dispersion
tends to zero in the longer wavelength around 1.3µm.
 Also note that the attenuation is low at this wavelength. If we use a light source at
this λ, then we can have small spectral line width, Δλ and therefore optimize system
in terms of attenuation and pulse spreading.

 The waveguiding structure of the fiber may also create a dispersion known as
intramodal dispersion.
 This results from the variation in group velocity with wavelength for a particular
mode.
 Pulses of same mode but different wavelengths need to travel at different angle
therefore have different velocities.
Example 8:
Calculate pulse spreading caused by material and waveguide dispersion at the 1550 nm
operating wavelength if 𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 = 1 nm and L = 1 km. At the wavelength of 1550 nm, typical values
of material dispersion and waveguide dispersion for standard single-mode fibers are around
𝐷𝐷𝑚𝑚=20 ps/(nm⋅km) and Dwg​ =5ps/(nm⋅km) respectively (Ans: 𝜎𝜎𝑚𝑚 = 20ps, 𝜎𝜎𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 = 5 ps)
Example 9:
Calculate chromatic dispersion in a singlemode fiber at 1550 nm operating wavelength with
𝜎𝜎𝜆𝜆 = 1 nm and L = 1 km. Compare the pulse spreading computed for material dispersion in
Example 8. (Ans: 𝐷𝐷 𝜆𝜆 = 15 ps/[Link], 𝜎𝜎𝑐𝑐 = 15 ps)
OVERALL FIBER DISPERSION
 The overall dispersion in fibers comprise both intramodal and intermodal terms.
 The total rms broadening ST is given by:

where SC is the intramodal or chromatic broadening and Sn is the intermodal

broadening caused by delay differences between the modes (i.e. Ss for multimode
step index fiber and Sg for multimode graded index fiber.

 The intramodal term Sc consist of pulse broadening due to both material and
waveguide dispersion. However, since waveguide dispersion is generally
negligible compared with material dispersion in multimode fibers, then
TOTAL CHROMATIC DISPERSION (DT)
The total chromatic dispersion can be obtained by adding DM and DW
DT = DM + DW
Normally DM > DW.
Waveguide dispersion can normally be neglected except for systems operating in the region 1200
nm - 1600 nm.
The main effect of DW is to shift λZD by an amount 30 nm - 40 nm so that the total dispersion is
zero near 1.31 µm.

It also reduces the total dispersion from its material value DM in the wavelength range 1.31 µm -
1.6 µm.
POLARIZATION MODE DISPERSION (PMD)
• Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) is a type of dispersion
that occurs in optical fibers due to differences in the
propagation speeds of different polarization modes. In an
ideal single-mode fiber, light should travel in a
single mode with two orthogonal polarizations
(horizontal and vertical). However, in practical fibers,
slight imperfections in the fiber geometry, stress, or
environmental changes cause these two polarization
modes to travel at slightly different speeds. This
difference in speed leads to pulse broadening and
is known as Polarization Mode Dispersion.
• Suppose that the core refractive index has different values
along two orthogonal directions corresponding to electric
field oscillation direction (polarizations). We can take x and
y axes along these directions. An input light will travel
along the fiber with Ex and Ey polarizations having
different group velocities and hence arrive at the output at
different times
POLARIZATION MODE DISPERSION (PMD)
The effects of fiber-birefringence on the polarization states of an optical are
another source of pulse broadening. Polarization mode dispersion (PMD)
is due to slightly different velocity for each polarization mode because of
the lack of perfectly symmetric & anisotropicity of the fiber.

• Cause: PMD is primarily caused by asymmetries and birefringence in the

optical fiber, which result from factors like fiber manufacturing
irregularities, external stress, and bending. It is due to the fact that the
core of the fiber is not perfectly round.
• In an ideal circularly symmetric fiber the light gets polarized and it
travels along two polarization planes which have the same speed.
• When the core of the fiber is not round, the light traveling along the two
planes may travel at different speeds.
• This difference in speed will cause the pulse to break.
• Impact on High-Speed Transmission: PMD is particularly problematic in
high-speed optical communication systems because it can limit the data
rate and increase the bit error rate. As transmission speeds increase,
even small delays between the polarization modes become significant.
Relation to Chromatic and Modal
Dispersion
Chromatic Dispersion:
Chromatic dispersion arises because different wavelengths (colors) of light
travel at different speeds within the fiber. While chromatic dispersion is
dependent on the wavelength, PMD is independent of wavelength. However,
both chromatic dispersion and PMD result in pulse spreading, which can lead
to intersymbol interference (ISI) and affect system performance.

Modal Dispersion:
Modal dispersion primarily occurs in multimode fibers, where different modes
(paths) travel at different speeds due to varying path lengths. In single-
mode fibers, modal dispersion is not present, but PMD can still occur
because of differences in polarization rather than modes. In this sense, PMD
can be thought of as a type of "polarization-related mode dispersion" in
single-mode fibers.
POLARIZATION MODE DISPERSION (PMD)

Birefringence (B): dependence of refractive index on wave polarization. Can cause polarization-mode
dispersion (PMD) or birefringence dispersion. Only serious at very high bit rate (above 10 Gb/s).

To reduce this, the fiber must have ideal symmetric cross-sectional properties, i.e. the refractive indices
along the x-axis (nx) and y-axis (ny) must be equal.

B= nx - ny

Pulse broadening or pulse dispersion reduces bandwidth (BW) and data capacity of a fiber
communication link.

Reduce dispersion by operating at zero dispersion wavelength or choosing a very coherent

light source (i.e. with small Δλ).
OPTIMUM SINGLE MODE FIBER
• Fact 1) Minimum distortion at wavelength about 1300 nm for single mode silica fiber.
• Fact 2) Minimum attenuation is at 1550 nm for single mode silica fiber.
• Strategy: shifting the zero-dispersion to longer wavelength for minimum attenuation and
dispersion by Modifying waveguide dispersion by changing from a simple step-index core
profile to more complicated profiles. There are four major categories to do that:
• 1- 1300 nm optimized single mode step-fibers: matched cladding (mode diameter 9.6 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇 ) and
depressed-cladding (mode diameter about 9 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇)
• 2- Dispersion shifted fibers.
• 3- Dispersion-flattened fibers.
• 4- Large-effective area (LEA) fibers (less nonlinearities for fiber optical amplifier applications,
effective cross section areas are typically greater than 100 𝜇𝜇m2).
OPTIMUM SINGLE MODE FIBER
If the dispersion curve could be made to have zero dispersion at this λ we can have an
optimum system. Achieved by dispersion shifted fiber by modifying the fiber so that DM and DW
cancel each other at the lowest attenuation (i.e. at λ= 1550 nm)

Dispersion shifted fiber

The waveguide dispersion is exploited to interact with the material dispersion to shift the zero
dispersion wavelength to a value which will have the lowest attenuation. That is, the zero
dispersion wavelength is shifted from 1.276 µm to 1.55 µm. This is made possible due to the
fact that DW depends on the fiber parameters and can be modified to interact with DM
Dispersion flattened fiber

The fiber is modified to achieve low dispersion window over the low loss wavelength region
between 1.3 µm and 1.6 µm.
Depressed cladding fiber

The fiber is made so that the core is surrounded by a thin inner cladding whose index is low
and an outer cladding whose index is slightly higher
 MKET1563
SIGNAL PROPAGATION IN
OPTICAL FIBER
(PART II)
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 One of the most promising concepts for high capacity communication systems is wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM).
 Each communication channel is allocated to a different frequency and multiplexed onto a single
fiber. At the destination wavelengths are spatially separated to different receiver locations.
 In this configuration the high carrier bandwidth is utilized to a greater extent to transmit
multiple optical signals through a single optical fiber.
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 Since early 1990, WDM has revolutionized the entire communication industry by substantially
increasing distance between repeaters, (flexible wavelength management) and dramatic
increase of link capacity.
 The ultimate goal of an optical fiber link is to optimize the data transmission capabilities and to
allow for future expansions that economical and lack major operating disruptions. Increase of
data transmission rate can be achieved in two ways: TDM and DWDM
 TDM: Overall link capacity can be increased by increasing the data rate of a single wavelength
transmitted through a single fiber. Ex. In early 1990s, optical fiber link designed to operate with
a max capacity of 1.25Gb/s to be upgraded to 2.5Gb/s, all terminal equipment must be
replaced that capable of handling new transmission rate of 2.5Gb/s.
 WDM: multiple optical carriers of different wavelength utilize the same optical fiber  Dramatic
increase of system capacity can be achieved. Ex. Few laser diodes transmit at different (but
very close) wavelength can be coupled into the same fiber without need for installation of
additional optical fiber
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 A conventional optical fiber system (single wavelength). ie. Capable of transmitting data rates
of 1.25Gb/s on a single optical fiber. If the system designed for long distance transmission, it
requires several repeaters. Essential if the system is to maintain satisfactory SNR or BER.
 Optical fiber system with WDM mode of operation, composed of multiple optical wavelength.
Capable of transmitting data rates of 5Gb/s at the same distance through a single fiber, using
only one in-line erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). The development of EDFA pushed the
WDM concept to next level, dense WDM (DWDM).
DENSE WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 The demand for high bandwidths and long optical link distances accelerated the development
of sophisticated laser structures /advanced laser diode designs made possible the development
of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical systems.

 Development of DWDM long distance optical links requires laser diode with:
 High optical efficiency (conversion from electrical to optical power)
 High optical power
 Very narrow spectral linewidth down to (kHz) range
 Direct modulation capability
 Extremely high modulating rates (GHz)
 Operating wavelengths between 630 nm and 1550 nm
DENSE WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING

 In communications link that employ DWDM, the optical wavelengths are very closely spaced in
a single fiber with a separation distance of about 0.8 nm. This concept coupled with the
advanced performance optical amplifier (EDFAs), was instrumental in revolutionizing not only
long distances optical systems but also metropolitan and local network.
 These two innovative concepts allowed networks to switch from an inflexible TDM mode
operation to an all optical system, capable of transmission rates of up to 100Gb/s through a
single fiber.
 Experimental DWDM optical systems have achieved transmission rates above the 1Tb/s range.
Optical fiber transport systems that employ DWDM are identified in terms of the total number
of wavelength they can carry and maximum distance between repeaters.
DENSE WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 TDM mode operation exhibit limited data transmission capabilities, while systems that employ
the DWDM mode of operation have data transmission capabilities limited only by technological
innovations.
 DWDM systems eliminate the complex conversion from optical to electrical and from electrical
to optical layers. Nowadays, optical networks designed to perform functions such as cross-
connect, wavelength add/drop, and signal restoration are all optical. The implementation of an
all-optical network was made possible through advancements in areas such as optical
amplifiers (EDFA), laser diodes, optical multiplexers/demultiplexers fiber and optical fibers.
 Although DWDM optical systems for long distance transmission demonstrated extraordinary
performance in terms of data capacity, flexibility, expandability and cost, their application in
metropolitan and local networks can produce the same benefits.
DENSE WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
 In systems that employ DWDM, where more than one wavelength is propagated through a
single fiber, the high data rate and higher optical power demands required to achieve longer
distance directly to contribute to the increase of fiber nonlinearities.
 Nonlinearities (NL) of DWDM optical systems are expressed as:

It is evident that, the effective cross-sectional area of the fiber is inversely proportional
to fiber nonlinearities. An increase in the core effective cross-sectional area will
substantially reduce fiber nonlinearities.
NONLINEAR EFFECT
 Lightwaves or photons transmitted through a fiber have little interaction with each other
which will effect the optical signals.
 Referred to non-linear effect since their strength depends on the square (or some higher
power) of the optical intensity. Hence, non-linear effects are weak at low power but can
become much stronger at higher optical intensity.
 Although the non-linear effect is optical fiber is small, they accumulate as light passes
through many km of SMF. Its small core diameter and long transmission distances causes
the occurrence of non-linear phenomena at power level of milliwatts which are well within
the capability of semiconductor lasers.
 Optical power level become much larger when wavelength division multiplexing packs
many signal channels into one single mode fiber (summation of individual channel optical
powers).
 Two broad categories of non-linear effects: Scattering and Kerr effects.
KERR EFFECTS
 Intensity-dependent refractive index of the fiber referred to Kerr nonlinearities.
 Refractive index of medium results from applied optical field perturbing the atoms or
molecules of medium to induce an oscillating polarization, which then radiates,
producing an overall perturbed field.
 At low intensities, the polarization is a linear function of applied field resulting the
perturbation of field described by constant refractive index. However at higher optical
intensities, the perturbation do not remain linear function of the applied field. Kerr
nonlinear effects may be observed.
 Kerr effects exhibit low dependence of frequency in VIS and IR regions. Resonance
frequency of the oscillations tend to be in UV region.
 Three processes which produce Kerr effects: SPM, XPM and FWM
KERR EFFECTS (a) (b)

Dependance of the refractive

index on the electric field:
(a) Pockels medium
(b) Kerr medium
KERR EFFECTS
The refractive index depends on the optical field power:
where:
n – refractive index based on nonlinearities
no – ideal refractive index
n2 – nonlinear refractive index coefficient
Aeff – effective area of the fiber core
P – optical power at the fiber input
Effective area → Equivalent area with uniform density Nonlinear coefficient
KERR EFFECTS

Kerr Nonlinearity in fiber

Temporal changes in a narrow optical pulse

that is subjected to Kerr nonlinearity in a
dispersive medium with positive GVD
SELF-PHASE MODULATION (SPM)
 Single channel systems are subject to SPM.
 SPM leads to a phase alteration of the wave due to its own intensity.
 Phase alteration causes a spectral broadening of the pulses (modification to pulse
spectrum). Together with fiber dispersion, spectral broadening can be translated into
an alteration of the temporal width of the pulse
 SPM is the result of signal intensity modulation based on refractive index
nonlinearities, enhancing chromatic dispersion and ultimately leading to chirping.
 In the case of normal dispersion (D<0) the pulse is additionally stretched, whereas it
will be compressed for an anomalous dispersion (D>0)
 Important in single-channel systems (Intra-SPM)
 SPM contributes to the increase of the BER
SELF-PHASE MODULATION (SPM)

where:
n(t) – refractive index based on nonlinearities
no – ideal refractive index
n2 – nonlinear refractive index coefficient
L – length of the optical link
P(t) – optical power at the fiber input
SELF-PHASE MODULATION (SPM)

As the instantaneous frequency of the

wave is the time derivative of its phase,
then time varying phase creates time
varying frequency. Thus SPM can alter and
broaden the frequency spectrum of the
pulse.
SELF-PHASE MODULATION (SPM)
 Spectral broadening caused by SPM can produce dispersion-like effect which can limit
transmission rate in some long –haul optical communication system, depending on fiber type
and its chromatic dispersion
 For ultrashort pulse (<1ps) with very high peak powers, its effect can be very strong,
generating a broad continuum of wavelengths.
 SPM major application – pulse compression within SMF transmission. SPM effectively imposes a
chirp or positive frequency sweep on the pulse combined with group velocity dispersion.
 A pair of diffraction grating – longer wavelength light traveling at the front of the pulse follow
the longer path length than the shorter wavelength light at the rear of the pulse  Rear of
pulse catches up with the front of the pulse  compression occurs
 Critical pulse shapes and at high optical power level (pulse compression) can be obtained in the
fiber itself which forms the basis of so-called  Soliton propagation
SELF-PHASE MODULATION (SPM)

Temporal changes in a medium with Kerr

nonlinearity and negative GVD. Since dispersion
tends to broaden the pulse, Kerr Nonlinearity
tends to squeeze the pulse, resulting in a
formation of optical soliton.
CROSS-PHASE MODULATION (XPM/CPM)
 Cross-phase modulation (XPM, or sometimes, CPM) – the origin of the spectral broadening of
the pulses are the other pulses propagating at the same time in the waveguide; they will
mutually influence each other, via the alteration of the intensity-dependent refractive index
 The refractive index that a wave experiences can be altered by the intensities of all other
waves propagating in the fiber.
 A pulse at one wavelength has an influence on a pulse at another wavelength. This effect can
be exploited for optical switching and signal processing, but lead to a degradation of a
communication system performance to a degradation of a communication system performance.
 This is especially important for WDM systems where a huge number of pulses with different
carrier wavelengths will be transmitted in one fiber (Inter with different carrier wavelengths will
be transmitted in one fiber (Inter -SPM).
 The XPM is the fundamental effect that determines the capacity of optical transmission systems
CROSS-PHASE MODULATION (XPM/CPM)
 Similar effect to SPM except that overlapping but distinguishable pulse, possessing, for
example, different wavelengths or polarizations are involved.
 Variation in intensity of one pulse will modulate the refractive index of the fiber which causes
phase modulation of the overlapping pulse(s). As with SPM, the phase modulation translates
into frequency modulation which broadens the pulse spectrum.
 XPM exhibited as a crosstalk mechanism when either intensity modulation is used in dispersive
optical fiber transmission or alternatively, when phase encoding is employed.
 The strength of XPM increases with the number of channels and become stronger as the
channel spacing is made smaller.
 Although the overall strength of XPM is twice that of SPM (total intensity is the square of sum
of two electric field amplitudes), the effect is weakened as pulse with different wavelengths or
polarization are usually not group velocity matched  overlapped not maintained.
CROSS-PHASE MODULATION (XPM/CPM)
 In order for the effect of XPM to be determined, it must first be separated from FWM
nonlinear effect.
 A relatively large dispersion fiber, in conjunction with relatively low channel capacity,
should reduce or completely eliminate FWM. The dominant XPM nonlinear component
is a function referred to as walk off length and expressed as:

1 where:
𝐿𝐿 = L – walk off length
𝑓𝑓𝑏𝑏 𝐷𝐷∆𝑣𝑣 𝑓𝑓𝑏𝑏 – channel capacity
D – fiber dispersion
∆𝑣𝑣 – channel spacing
Example 1:
The data capacity of a single channel in a DWDM optical system is 𝑓𝑓𝑏𝑏1 = 2.5 Gb/s
propagating through a fiber with a D1 = 20 ps/[Link] dispersion based on only XPM
impairment. Compute the channel capacity for a dispersion of D2 = 5 ps/[Link],
assuming that channel spacing and walk off length remain constant. (Ans: 𝑓𝑓𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 10
Gb/s)
Example 2:
Use the same parameters as in Example 1, but channel separation is reduced by 50%
(from 100 GHz to 50 GHz), compute the channel capacity. (Ans: 𝑓𝑓𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 5 Gb/s)
FOUR-WAVE MIXING (FWM)
 Four-wave-mixing (FWM) or sometimes four-photon-mixing (FPM), describes a
nonlinear optical effect at which four waves or photons interact with each other due
to the third order nonlinearity of the material
 As a result, new waves with sum and difference frequencies are generated during the
propagation in the waveguide.
 It is comparable to intermodulation in electrical communication systems
 For WDM systems in dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF), FWM is the most important
nonlinear effect. To reduce the effect, replace DSF with NZ-DSF.
 FWM leads to a reduction of the SNR and, hence increase of the BER
FOUR-WAVE MIXING (FWM)
 The origin of FWM process lies in the nonlinear response of bound electrons of a
material to an applied optical field. In fact, the polarization induced in the medium
contains not only linear terms but also the nonlinear terms. The magnitude of these
terms is governed by the nonlinear susceptibilities of different orders.
 The FWM process originates from third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ(3)). If three
optical fields with carrier frequencies ω1, ω2 and ω3, co-propagate inside the fiber
simultaneously, (χ(3)) generates a fourth field with frequency ω4, which is related to
other frequencies by a relation, ω4 = ω1 ± ω2 ± ω3
 SPM and XPM are significant mainly for high bit rate systems, but the FWM effect is
independent of the bit rate and is critically dependent on the channel spacing and
fiber dispersion. Decreasing the channel spacing increases the four-wave mixing
effect and so does decreasing the dispersion.
FOUR-WAVE MIXING (FWM)
 Linear effects such as attenuation and dispersion can be compensated, but nonlinear
effects accumulate. They are the fundamental limiting mechanisms to the amount of
data that can be transmitted in optical fiber.
 In DWDM, four-wave mixing is the most critical. FWM and XPM promote crosstalk. To
determine the exact impact of FWM and XPM in a DWDM optical system, both must be
treated as noise, while SPM must be treated as distortion.
 FWM is caused by the nonlinear nature of the refractive index of the optical fiber.
Nonlinear interactions among different DWDM channels creates sidebands that can
cause interchannel interference. In Figure below, three frequencies interact to produce
a fourth frequency, resulting in cross-talk and signal-to-noise degradation.
FOUR-WAVE MIXING (FWM)

The effect of four-wave mixing is to limit the channel capacity of a DWDM system. Four-
wave mixing cannot be filtered out, either optically or electrically, and increases with the
length of the fiber. Due to its propensity for four-wave-mixing, DSF is unsuitable for
WDM applications. This prompted the invention of NZ-DSF, which takes advantage of the
fact that a small amount of chromatic dispersion can be used to mitigate four-wave
mixing.
COMPARISON OF NONLINEAR REFRACTIVE EFFECTS
 SUMMARY

These non-linear effects are important in high-speed, long-distance optical networks, as

they can degrade signal quality, increase bit error rates, and limit system performance.
Nonlinear effects such as SPM, XPM/CPM, and FWM/FPM are discussed. These effects
degrade the performance of fiber optic systems. FWM has severe effects in WDM systems,
which uses dispersion-shifted fiber. If some dispersion is their, then effect of FWM is
reduced. That is why non-zero dispersion-shifted fibers are normally used in WDM
systems. Though these effects degrade nature, they are also useful for many applications
such as SPM in solitons and pulse compression, CPM in optical switching, and FWM in
squeezing and wavelength conversion.