03-05-2023

18ECC302J: Microwave & Optical Communications

Point-to-Point link –Analog / Digital System design

Source:
Gerd Keiser: Optical Fiber Communications
Stavros Iezekiel; University of Cyprus
BC Choudhary, Professor, NITTTR

General Communications Systems Block Diagram

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Block Diagram of Optical Communication System

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Elements of Link/ Network Design

• Link – Point to Point
• Network
Transmission Types • Point to Multi Point
• Mesh
• Ring

• Optical Fibers
• Laser and LED
Basic Building Blocks • Optical Amplifier
• Modulators
• Photodetectors

• Transmitter
• Fiber
Elements of Link /
• Connection
Network Design
• In Line Devices
• Receiver

Elements of Link/ Network Design

• Operating Wavelength
• Linewidth
• Rise Time
• Bit-rate
• Line Format
• Power Level

• Single Mode Fiber / Multi-Mode Fiber (SMF/MMF)

• Fiber Types – SMF 28, DSF, etc
• Cable Loss
• Spool Length
• No. of Splice
• Splice Loss
• No. of Connectors
• Connector Loss

• Splitter
• Filter
• Attenuator
• Amplifier
• Insertion Loss
• Gain

• P(SEN), P(SAT), Rise Time

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Choice of Operating Wavelength

Short haul links (e.g. LANs) :- use short wavelengths (e.g. 0.85 mm). Moderate fibre losses can be tolerated and the
technology is cheap. By using multimode fibre, connectors are more rugged than for single mode.
Long haul links (e.g. transatlantic) :- use long wavelengths where attenuation and dispersion are low. (e.g. 1.3 μm - gives
dispersion minimum, or 1.55 μm - has attenuation minimum and is compatible with optical amplifiers; dispersion-shifted
fibre also available).

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Comparison of Spectral Widths

Choice of
Source

Choice of Spectral Source

Photodetec
tor Width Bandwidth

Choice
of Fiber

Comparison of Spectral Widths

•Power- laser couples more power into single mode fibre than LED, but high-bit rate versions can be expensive and require temperature and optical power
control. This makes them unsuitable for short links, unless VCSELs are considered (vertical cavity surface emitting laser).
•Spectral width :- at short wavelengths (high material dispersion) LEDs with large spectral widths might cause problems with inter-symbol interference. At 1.3 μm,
Choice of we have very low dispersion fibre, which combined with low spectral width lasers allows high bit rates (e.g. 10 Gb/s and above), while dispersion management is
Source possible at 1.55 μm

• LEDs: 3 dB bandwidth of a few hundreds of MHz available from commercial devices.

• Laser diodes: up to a few tens of GHz External modulation (e.g. Mach-Zehnder modulator plus laser) to more
Source
Bandwidth than 100 GHz has been demonstrated.

• Multimode :- modal dispersion limited; can be used with LEDs and laser diodes (esp. VCSELs); graded index multimode fibre can achieve reasonable
reduction in modal dispersion.
• Single-mode: No modal dispersion problems
• only used with laser diodes (high tolerance coupling)
Choice of Fibre • can support > 1 Tb/s (using WDM)
• small core diameter (8μm) leads to high tolerance (high price) connectors.

• PIN:- simpler construction than APD; relatively low sensitivity; available for short and long wavelengths;
higher bandwidths achievable compared to APDs (up to 100 GHz)
Choice of • APD:- better receiver sensitivity; temperature sensitive; high bias voltages
Photodetector

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Factors for Evaluating Fiber Optic System Design

System Factor Considerations
Type of Fiber Single-mode or Multimode
Operating Wavelength 780, 850, 1310 and 1550 nm
Transmitter Power Expressed in dBm
Source Type Laser, LED
Receiver Sensitivity and Overload Characteristics Expressed in dBm
Detector Type PIN Diode, ADP or IDP
System Factor Considerations
Modulation Code AM, FM, PCM or Digital
BER 10-9 , 10-12
Signal to Noise Ratio Specified in decibles
Number of Connectors Loss increases with the number of connectors
Number of Splices Loss increases with the number of Splices
Environmental Requirements Humidity, Temperature, and Exposure to
sunlight
Mechanical Requirements Flammability, Indoor/Outdoor Application

Sample Link
Fiber

Source Receiver

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Optical Communication Networks are Constructed Similar To Wired and RF-Networks from
Elementary Fiber-Optic Point-to-point Links:
Communication Networks
(Consists of sub-networks)

Point – Point Links

Star
Bus
Ring

Signal Multiplexing
– TDM or WDM

The Basic System Design Verification can be done through:

Optical Link Loss Budget

Key calculations in designing a

simple fiber optic link is to
determine launch power and
receiver sensitivity

• Variables
– Environmental and aging
– Connector losses
– Cable losses
– Splices
– Amplifier
– Other components

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Optical Power Budget

Building Blocks – Detailed Point-Pont Building Blocks of Elementary

Communication Link Point-to-Point Link

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Power budget in a fiber-optic link

Attenuation Limit

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Dispersion-Limitations

Consider the pulse broadening Δt caused by the material-dispersion Dmat. In fibers there is an additional
dependence of the propagation vector β(ω) of the fiber mode on the fiber geometry leading to mode-dispersion
Dmode . The total dispersion is approximated by the sum of the dispersions:

Receiver Sensitivity and Bit-Errors

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LINK POWER BUDGET

The link power budget is an

"accounting" procedure in which one
calculates how much power can be lost
between the transmitter and the
receiver for a given receiver sensitivity
(which depends on the bit rate) and
transmitter power output. The
resulting budget is allocated to
connector losses, splice losses, fibre
losses and a safety margin (system
margin).

• dB and dBm units are used in the link

power budget.

In practical applications, we often use components that

have connectors attached. Fibre with one connector is
known as a fibre pigtail. A length of fibre with
connectors on both ends is called a patchcord.

In many link budgets, the splice loss is often combined

together with the fibre loss.

We also include a safety factor known as the system

margin (Ma) to account for component degradation. A
typical value for Ma is 6 dB.

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LINK RISE-TIME BUDGET

In the previous section, we saw how the maximum link
distance is affected by the fibre attenuation and also
the source power and the photoreceiver sensitivity for
a given bit rate; this gave us the link power budget.
The total rise-time of the fibre-optic link is known as the
system rise time tsys.
It depends on the rise-times of the individual systems
components, and assuming these are independent of
one another, they affect tsys as follows:
The usual requirement on tsys is tsys < 0.7 t, where t is
pulse duration

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Link Power Budget

Example:
Specifications: Data Rate 20 Mb/s, BER 10-9
Receiver: pin photodiode @ 850 nm  Required input signal = - 42 dBm
Optical source: GaAlAs LED with average optical power 50 µW = -13 dBm
Connector loss: 1 dB at both transmitter and receiver
System margin: 6 dB

Thus,
PT = PS – PR
= 29 dB = 2(1 dB) + aL + 6 dB
aL = 21 dB

If a = 3.5 dB/km, then a 6-km transmission path is possible.

Link Power Budget

Graphical representation of a link loss budget for an 850-nm LED/pin system operating at 20 Mb/s.

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Rise-time budget for a multimode link

Example:
Specifications: Data Rate 20 Mb/s, BER 10-9
LED : rise time 15 ns; spectral width 40 nm;
Fiber : material-dispersion related rise time 21 ns over 6 km link;
400 MHz·km bandwidth-distance product, q = 0.7 tmod =3.9 ns
Receiver : 25 MHz bandwidth  trx =14 ns

= 30 ns

For 20 Mb/s NRZ system, Tb,NRZ = 50 ns. Thus, tsys < 0.7Tb,NRZ
and the rise-time requirement is met.

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Analog Communication Links

Analog (RF) links are used where converting to digital signals is undesirable, including
• Analog TV and audio services
• Cable modem services
• Microwave-multiplexed signals (e.g., satellite base stations)
• Radar signal processing

Overview of Analog Links

• A bias point on the source is set approximately at the midpoint of the linear
output region. The analog signal can then be sent with direct intensity
modulation technique.

• Other modulation techniques include AM, FM and PM, which first convert
baseband signal onto an electrical subcarrier prior to intensity modulation.

• Signal impairments in optical source : harmonic distortions, inter-modulation

(IM) products, RIN in the laser, and laser clipping.

• The fiber should have a flat amplitude and group-delay response within the
passband required to send the signal free of linear distortion.

• Since modal-distortion-limited bandwidth is difficult to equalize, it is best to

choose a single-mode fiber.

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Radio Over Fiber (RoF)

Link design and Performance Parameter

Radio Over Fiber (RoF)

• Radio frequency (RF) signals at microwave and millimetre-wave frequencies are
used in applications such as radars, satellite links, broadband terrestrial radios, and
cable television networks.

The signal ranges include the

1. 0.3- to 3-GHz ultra-high frequency (UHF) band,
2. 3- to 30-GHz super-high frequency (SHF) region, and
3. 30- to 300-GHz extremely high frequency (EHF) range.

• Traditionally these RF systems used wireless or coaxial cable links for transporting
the microwave signals from a receiving element (Ex. an antenna) to a signal
processing centre, which could be located hundreds of meters away.

• The methods for transmitting microwave analog signals over an optical fiber link
have become known as RF-over-fiber techniques.

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Generic RF–over-fiber Link

Fig: Basic constituents of a generic RF-over-fiber link

Three Major Modules:

• An RF-to-optical signal converting device at the transmitting end,
• An optical-to-RF signal converting device at the receiving end, and
• An optical fiber that joins these two modules.

Radio Over Fiber (RoF)

• Radio over fiber (RoF) refers to a technology whereby light is modulated by a
radio frequency signal and transmitted over an optical fiber link.
• Main technical advantages of using fiber optical links are
• lower transmission losses and
• reduced sensitivity to noise and electromagnetic interference compared to
all-electrical signal transmission.
• Applications range from the transmission of mobile radio signals
(3G, 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi) and the transmission of cable television signals (CATV)
to the transmission of RF L-Band signals in ground stations for satellite
communications.
• Access to dead zones
• An important application of RoF is its use to provide wireless coverage in
the area where wireless backhaul link is not possible. These zones can be
areas inside a structure such as a tunnel, areas behind buildings,
Mountainous places or secluded areas such as jungles.

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RoF – for Wireless Communication

• In the area of Wireless Communications one main application is to
facilitate wireless access, such as 5G and Wi-Fi simultaneous from the
same antenna. In other words, radio signals are carried over fiber-optic
cable.
• A single antenna can receive any and all radio signals (5G, Wi-Fi, cell,
etc..) carried over a single-fiber cable to a central location where
equipment then converts the signals; this is opposed to the traditional way
where each protocol type (5G, Wi-Fi, cell) requires separate equipment at
the location of the antenna.
• In RoF systems, wireless signals are transported in optical form between
a central station and a set of base stations before being radiated through
the air.
• Each base station is adapted to communicate over a radio link with at
least one user's mobile station located within the radio range of said base
station.

RoF - Advantages
• The advantage is that the equipment for Wi-Fi, 5G and other protocols
can be centralized in one place, with remote antennas attached via fiber
optic serving all protocols. It greatly reduces the equipment and
maintenance cost of the network.
• RoF technology enables convergence of fixed and mobile networks.

FTTA (Fiber to the antenna)

• By using an optical connection directly to the antenna, the equipment

vendor can gain several advantages like low line losses, immunity to
lightning strikes/electric discharges and reduced complexity of base
station by attaching lightweight optical-to-electrical (O/E) converter
directly to antenna

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Radio over Fiber (RoF)

Radio frequency (RF) is carried over optical fiber

• Between a central office

(CO) and multiple low-
cost remote antenna units
(RAU) or radio remote
head (RRH).
• (RAUs) referred for microcellular
radio systems
• (RRHs) referred for distributed
antenna system (DAS)

History
Coaxial copper cable carrying RF signal

• Low Bandwidth (750 MHz) • Heavy

• Attenuation is 26dB per 30m • Difficult to maintain and install
for 750MHz bandwidth due to dielectric insulating
• Attenuation is 6.6dB per 30m layer.
for 50MHz bandwidth • The co-axial cables are evolved
• Typical Distance of co-axial as parallel copper cables like
copper cable is 500m CAT5, CAT6 and HDMI cables
to improve bandwidth.
• High cost $13 per 30m

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History

Microwave carrying RF signal

• Moderate Bandwidth (100 GHz)

• Attenuation is 10 dB/km (high • RF signal is transmitted over
dependence on channel µwave due to growing
condition and operational bandwidth demand
frequency) • µwave for communication
• Typical Distance of 3 to 5km ranges from 1GHz to 100GHz
• Line of sight to achieve high • As frequency increases the
data rate. transmitter and receiver module
• Easy to deploy and transfer become more expensive
• Limited Capacity (Few Gbps) • Link length of the system
decreases, cell size decreases.

Radio over Fiber

• Fiber attenuation is fixed
for all the transmitting
frequency typically 0.5
dB/km
• Offers enormous
bandwidth
• Can carry up to 50km of
fiber length
• Signal can be distributed
and processed separately
• Light weight fibers quick to
deploy and economic
solution

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Categories of Radio over Fiber Systems

Types of Transport
• RF over fiber
• IF over fiber
• Digitized IF over fiber or
Baseband over fiber

Types of Modulation
• Double sideband with carrier
• Double sideband suppress
carrier
• Single sideband with carrier

Types of Fiber
• Single mode fiber (SMF)
• Multimode fiber (MMF)

RF - over fiber
• In RF-over-fiber architecture, a data-carrying RF (radio
frequency) signal with a high frequency is imposed on a light
wave signal before being transported over the optical link.
• Therefore, wireless signals are optically distributed to base
stations directly at high frequencies and converted from the
optical to electrical domain at the base stations before being
amplified and radiated by an antenna.
• As a result, no frequency up–down conversion is required at
the various base stations, thereby resulting in simple and rather
cost-effective implementation is enabled at the base stations

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IF-over-fiber

• In IF-over-fiber architecture, an IF (intermediate frequency)

radio signal with a lower frequency is used for modulating light
before being transported over the optical link.

• Therefore, before radiation through the air, the signal must be

up-converted to RF at the base station.

Radio Over Fiber Parameters - Link Gain

The Link Gain (G) is defined as the ratio of the RF power Pout generated in the
photodetector load resistor to the RF power input Pin to the laser transmitter
For a directly modulated link, the gain is

Where
SM is the slope efficiency (W/A) of the modulation device The two major contributors to the
ηLF is the laser to- fiber coupling efficiency maximum value of the gain are
TF is the fiber transmission efficiency 1. The limits of the modulator slope
efficiency and
ηFD is the fiber-to-detector coupling efficiency 2. The photodetector responsivity.
R is the photodetector responsivity (A/W)
Rload is the detector load resistance, and The values of the other parameters do not
RM is the modulator resistance. vary significantly.

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Radio Over Fiber Parameters - Link Gain

Typical parameter values for a 500-m RF-over-fiber link

Parameter Symbol Value

Slope Efficiency SM 0.3 W/A
Coupling Efficiencies ηLF and ηFD 0.80
Fiber transmission efficiency TF 0.7
Detector load resistance Rload 50 Ω
Modular resistance RM 45 Ω

Radio Over Fiber Parameters – Noise Figure

The Noise Figure (NF) represents a measure of the degradation in the signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR) between the input and the output of the link. It is usually defined in decibels.

where
The input noise is the thermal noise power generated by a matched resistive load kBT held at T = 290°K.
The parameter kB is Boltzmann’s constant and
Be is the noise bandwidth of the electronic receiver.

• Nout denotes the total output noise power in the bandwidth Be .

• Since Nout is proportional to Be, the Nout is the noise power per unit bandwidth, so that the
NF is independent of the noise bandwidth.

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Radio Over Fiber Parameters – Noise Figure

• At the link output the noise power is due to the laser RIN, photodetector shot noise, and
thermal noise.

• Their contributions per unit noise bandwidth (in A2/Hz) are given by

where Ip is the average photodiode current in the receiver.

• Thermal noise imposes a poorly performing limit on the SNR for low values of the
photodetector current.

• At higher detector currents, the RIN of the laser restricts the SNR to an upper value that
cannot be exceeded even if the photodiode current is increased.

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