UNIT II

OPTICAL SOURCES

:Dr. Sanket B. Kasturiwala

 Unit 2.1

Optical Source :
Light Emitting Diode
LED
 OPTICAL SOURCES
•The optical source is often considered to be the
active component in an optical fiber communication
system.

•Its fundamental function is to convert electrical

energy in the form of current into optical
energy(light) in an efficient manner.

•The light output should be effectively launched or

coupled into the optical fiber.
The optical sources can be mainly divided
into three categories:-

• Wideband ‘continuous spectra’ sources

(Incandescent lamps)
• Monochromatic incoherent sources
(LEDs)
• Monochromatic coherent sources
(Lasers)
 Wideband Sources
• Very primitive type of source
• Were used generally for Morse-code and other
obsolete forms of signaling
• Consisted of Incandescent lamps
• Monochromatic incoherent and coherent
sources are preferred over wideband sources
now-a-days
• Not used on optical source.
Monochromatic Incoherent Sources
• Consists of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
• Very widely used due to simple fabrication,
low cost and high reliability
• Limitations include
- low optical power coupling(microwatts),
- relatively small modulation bandwidth(less
than 50Mhz) and
-high harmonic distortion
 Monochromatic coherent sources
• Incoherent sources were not feasible for long
distance communications
• Coherent sources include LASER which is
widely used for long distance communication
• Generally used with single mode fibers as they
provide low dispersion
•Bothe LED and LASER are used in single mode as well as
multimode fiber with long life cycles over a longer distance.

Major Requirements of optical sources :

1. A size and configuration compatible with launching light
into an optical fiber.
-Ideally, the light output should be highly directional

2. Must accurately track the electrical input signal to

minimize distortion and noise.
-Ideally, the source should be linear

3. Emit light at wavelengths where the fiber has low losses

and low dispersion and where the detectors are efficient to
receive.
 4. Capable of simple signal modulation (i.e. direct-) over a wide
bandwidth extending from LF to beyond the HF i.e. gigahertz range.

5. Must couple sufficient optical power to overcome attenuation in the

fiber plus additional minimize connector losses.

6. Very narrow spectral bandwidth in order to minimize dispersion in the

fiber

7. Must be capable of maintaining a stable optical output irrespective of

ambient conditions (e.g. temperature)

8. Comparatively cheaper and highly reliable .

Two energy bands :
- Conduction band (CB)
- Valence band (VB)

Fundamental processes
- Absorbed photon creates an electron-hole pair
- Recombination of an electron and hole can emit a photon.

Types of photon emission :

- Spontaneous emission
•Random recombination of an electron-hole pair
•Dominant emission for light emitting diodes (LED)
- Stimulated emission
•A photon excites another electron and hole to recombine
•Emitted photon has similar wavelength, direction, and
phase.
• Dominant emission for laser diodes (LASER)
• Mathematically-
Eg = E2 − E1
hc 1.24
= = ( m)
Eg Eg (eV )

h = 6.636 x 10-34J s (Plank’s constant)

c = 3 x 108 m/s (velocity of light)
Eg = Energy released by electron-hole recombination
(approximately equal to the band gap energy)
E2 = Higher Energy level (Excited State)
E1 = Lower Energy Level (Ground State)
λ = Optical Wavelength
Energy state diagram showing: (a) absorption; (b) spontaneous emission;
(c) stimulated emission. The black dot indicates the state of the atom before and
after transition take place.
 The main semiconductor materials used to manufacture LEDs :

• Indium Gallium Nitride (InGaN):

Blue, Green and ultraviolet high-brightness LEDs.

• Aluminum Gallium Indium Phosphide (AlGaInP):

Yellow, Orange and Red high-brightness LEDs.

• Aluminum Gallium Arsenide (AlGaAs):

Red and infrared LEDs.

 LED Construction
•One way to construct an LED is to deposit
three semiconductor layers on a substrate.
•Between p-type and n-type semiconductor layers,
an active region emits light when an electron and hole recombine.
•Considering the p-n combination to be a diode, then when the
diode is forward biased, holes from the p-type material and
electrons from the n-type material are both driven into the active
region. The light is produced by a solid state process called
electroluminescence.
•In this particular design, the layers of the LED emit light all the
way around the layered structure, and the LED structure is placed
in a tiny reflective cup so that the light from the active layer will
be reflected toward the desired exit direction.
 Advantages of LED
•Cost: Simple construction of LED leads to much reduced
cost
•Reliability : The LED does not exhibit catastrophic
degradation & has proved far less sensitive to gradual
degradation, it is also immune to self pulsation & modal
noise problems.
•Simpler drive circuitry: This is due to lower drive
currents and reduced temperature dependence
•Linearity: Ideally LED has linear light output against
current
•Less temperature dependence: Light output against
current is less affected by temperature
 TYPES OF LED STRUCTURES

• Surface Emitting LED (S-LED) ;

• Edge Emitting LED (E-LED) .
S-LED Coupling with Fiber
 Working of S-LED
• When the SLED is forward-biased, photons are generated in the
p-GaAs layer.

• The emission from the top surface is ensured by the upper

n+ AlGaAS and lower p+ AlGaAs layers of the hetero-structure.

• Therefore, radiance of the device in the forward direction is very

high.

• Although the fiber is properly aligned to optimize the coupling of

the emitted radiation with the fiber, there is some loss due to the
Lambertian distribution of radiation intensity.

• Difference between refractive index of adjacent layers confines the

optical power in the central GaAs.
 Emission Pattern
•Emission pattern is isotropic with a 120o half-power beam
width.

•This isotropic pattern from the SLED is called a Lambertian

pattern.

•Power distribution is described by PD = P Cos θ

•Where θ is the angle between the direction of the observation

and the line orthogonal to the radiating surface

•This implies that the source is equally bright when viewed

from any direction but the power diminishes as Cos θ.

•Thus the power is down to 50% of its peak when θ = 60o so

that half power beam width is 120o
 Edge Emitter LED (E-LED)
•The demand for optical sources for longer distance, &
higher bandwidth system led to the development of
edge-emitting LEDs.

• It shows the different layers of semiconductor material.

The primary active region of the ELED is a narrow
stripe, which lies below the surface of the semiconductor
substrate.

•The semiconductor substrate is cut or polished so that

the stripe runs between the front and back of the device.

•The polished or cut surfaces at each end of the stripe are

called facets.
E-LED
 Working of E-LED
•In an ELED the rear facet is highly reflective and the
front facet is antireflection-coated.
•The rear facet reflects the light propagating toward the
rear end-face back toward the front facet.
•By coating the front facet with antireflection material,
the front facet reduces optical feedback and allows light
emission.
•ELEDs emit light only through the front facet & in a
narrow emission angle allowing for better source-to-fiber
coupling.
•Edge-emitting double-heterojunction LED. The output
be a mislambertian in the plane of the pn-junction and
highly directional perpendicular to the pn-junction.
 UNIT II
OPTICAL SOURCE & DETECTORS

:Dr. Sanket B. Kasturiwala

 Unit 2.2

Optical Source :
LASER
 OPTICAL SOURCES
•The optical source is often considered to be the
active component in an optical fiber communication
system.

•Its fundamental function is to convert electrical

energy in the form of current into optical
energy(light) in an efficient manner.

•The light output should be effectively launched or

coupled into the optical fiber.
The optical sources can be mainly divided
into three categories:-

• Wideband ‘continuous spectra’ sources

(Incandescent lamps)
• Monochromatic incoherent sources
(LEDs)
• Monochromatic coherent sources
(Lasers)
 Monochromatic coherent sources
• Incoherent sources were not feasible for long
distance communications
• Coherent sources include LASER which is
widely used for long distance communication
• Generally used with single mode fibers as they
provide low dispersion
Two energy bands :
- Conduction band (CB)
- Valence band (VB)

Fundamental processes
- Absorbed photon creates an electron-hole pair
-Recombination of an electron and hole can emit a photon.

Types of photon emission :

- Spontaneous emission
•Random recombination of an electron-hole pair
•Dominant emission for light emitting diodes (LED)
- Stimulated emission
•A photon excites another electron and hole to recombine
•Emitted photon has similar wavelength, direction, and
phase.
• Dominant emission for laser diodes
• Mathematically-
Eg = E2 − E1
hc 1.24
= = ( m)
Eg Eg (eV )

h = 6.636 x 10-34J s (Plank’s constant)

c = 3 x 108 m/s (velocity of light)
Eg = Energy released by electron-hole recombination
(approximately equal to the band gap energy)
E2 = Higher Energy level (Excited State)
E1 = Lower Energy Level (Ground State)
λ = Optical Wavelength
Energy state diagram showing: (a) absorption; (b) spontaneous emission;
(c) stimulated emission. The black dot indicates the state of the atom before and
after transition take place.
 Monochromatic Coherent Sources

LASERS – Light Amplification by Stimulated

Emission Radiation.

Principle : Stimulated Emission Radiation.

- Generate highly directional optical beams;

- Modulated by very high rate (beyond 10GHz);
- Produces coherent light source;
SPECTRAL WIDTH
 Principles of LASER Action
• It is the stimulated emission process.

• The photon produced by stimulated emission is generally

of an identical energy to the one and hence the light
associated with them is the same frequency –
Monochromatic.

• The light associated with the stimulating and stimulated

photon is in phase and has a same polarization –
Coherent.

• When an atom is stimulated to emit light energy by an

incident wave, the liberated energy can add to the wave in
constructive manner, providing amplification.

• Therefore, in contrast to spontaneous emission, coherent

radiation is obtained.
Stimulated Emission

The general concept of stimulated emission is via population

inversion and optical feedback.

Carrier population inversion is achieved in an intrinsic

semiconductor by the injection of electrons into the
conduction band of the material.

LASER requires:

* Population Inversion
* Optical feedback

Types: Gas laser, Semiconductor laser and Solid-state laser

 Population Inversion
• Under the conditions of thermal equilibrium given by the
Boltzmann distribution, the lower energy level E1 of the two-
level atomic system contains more atoms than the upper energy
level E2 (i.e. N1>N2) E2

E1
• To achieve optical amplification, it is necessary to create a non-
equilibrium distribution of atoms such that the population of the
upper energy level is greater than that of the lower energy level
(i.e. N2 > N1)
• This condition is known as Population Inversion

• Population inversion is achieved using ‘Pumping’ technique

which makes use of an external energy source.
 • Three levels
➢E0 -ground level
➢E1-metastable level E1
➢E2- third level above the metastable
level

• Initially, the atomic distribution follows

Boltzmann’s law

•Using pumping the electrons in some of

the atoms may be excited from E0--->E2

•Since E2 is a normal level the electrons

will rapidly decay by non-radiative
processes to either E1 or directly to E0
E2---> E1 E1---> E0.
Fig a. Three-level system – ruby (crystal) laser

•The metastable level E1 exhibits a much longer lifetime than E2 which allows a large
number of atoms to accumulate at E1
•Over a period the density of atoms in the metastable state N1 becomes greater than N0
(N1>N0)

•Stimulated emission causes and hence lasing can then occur, creating radioactive electron
transitions between levels E1 and E0.
 •Four level lasers is an improvement on
a system based on three level systems

•The material is pumped to level E3,

which is a fast decaying level

• The atoms decay rapidly to level E2,

which is a metastable level

•The stimulated emission takes place

from level E2 to level E1 from where the
atoms decay back to level E0

•In this case, the laser transition takes

place between the third and second
excited states
Fig (b) four-level system He–Ne (gas) laser
•Since lower laser level E1 is a fast
decaying level which ensures that it
rapidly gets empty and as such always
supports the population inversion
condition
 Optical Feedback
• Light amplification in laser occurs when a photon colliding with
an atom in the excited energy state causes the stimulated emission
of a second photon and then both these photons release two more.
• Continuation of this process effectively creates multiplication, and
when the electromagnetic waves associated with these protons are
in phase, amplified coherent emission is obtained.
• To achieve this laser action it is necessary to contain photons with
the laser medium and maintain the conditions for coherence.
• This is accomplished by placing or forming mirrors at either end
of the amplifying medium.
• Furthermore, if one mirror is made partially transmitting, useful
radiation may escape from the cavity.
 The basic laser structure incoporating plane mirrors

•The basic laser structure incorporating plane mirror.

•The optical signal is fed back many times whilst receiving
amplification (stimulated emission) as it passes through the
medium.
•One mirror is made partially transmitting to allow useful
radiation escape from the cavity.
•The structure acts as a Fabry-Perot resonator, it is the
combination of stimulated emission and feedback that gives a
gain and a continuous output.
 THRESHOLDING CONDITION
• Lasing is the condition at which light amplification becomes
possible on laser diode.

• Requirement for lasing is that a population inversion to be

achieved.

• In addition, a minimum or threshold gain within the amplifying

medium should be attained.

• Steady state conditions for laser oscillations are achieved when

gain in amplifying medium balances total losses.

• At the lasing threshold a steady state oscillation takes place

• The magnitude and phase of the returned wave must be equal to

those of the original wave
• On each round trip the beam passes through the medium twice

• The fractional losses incurred by the light beam is

• Fractional loss= r1*r2*exp(-2nL)

n – Signal loss coefficient per unit length
L - Length of the amplifying medium between the mirrors
r1 & r2 - reflectivities of the two mirrors
(Frensel reflection coefficients)

• Lasing occurs when the gain of one or several guided modes is

sufficient to exceed the round trip through the cavity

• Increase in beam intensity from the simulated emission is

exponential
• Fractional gain = exp(2gL)
g – Gain coefficient per unit length

• For oscillations to occur, the gain should balance the total

losses
Gain*Losses =1

[exp(2gL)] . [r1*r2*exp(-2nL)] = 1
r1*r2*exp(2(g-n)L) = 1

• The threshold gain per unit length

• The second term of R.H.S. above eqn. represents transmission

loss through the mirrors
 Efficiency
•Total efficiency (external quantum efficiency) ηT which is
efficiency defined as:

• The external power efficiency of the device (or device efficiency)

ηep in converting electrical input to optical output is given by:
 Laser Resonant Frequencies
• Resonant Frequency generated by Fabry-Perot Resonator :

m.c
f = m = 1,2,3,...
2 L.n
m = No. of longitudinal modes ; c = Velocity of light ;
n = Refractive Index ;
L = Length between the Fabry-Perot Resonator Mirrors
• Optical Wavelength is given by
m.c
2 L.n = = m.
f Frequency
Spacing
2 L.n
=
m
2 c
 = Wavelength Spacing f =
2 Ln 2 Ln
Example : A GaAs laser is operating at 850 nm wavelength and has a length
of 500 μm. If its refractive index is 3.7,
find (a) the frequency spacing between longitudinal modes;
(b) the wavelength spacing.

c
(a)f =
2 Ln

 2
(b) =
2 Ln