sábado, 17 de julio de 2010

Couplers

Imagine an optic fiber carrying an input signal that needs to be connected to two different destinations. The signal needs to be split into two. This is easily achieved by a coupler. When used for this purpose, it is often referred to as a splitter.
Couplers are bi-directional, they can carry light in either direction. Therefore the coupler described above could equally well be used to combine the signals from two transmitters onto a single optic fiber. In this case, it is called a combiner. It is exactly the same device, it is just used differently.
The various ways of using couplers are shown in Figure 13.1.
Physically, they look almost the same as a mechanical splice, in fact in some cases we would need to count the number of fibers to differentiate between them. If there is one fiber at each end, it is a mechanical splice, any other number and it is a coupler.

Coupler sizes — Figure 13.2

A coupler with a single fiber at one end and two at the other end would be referred to as a 1 X 2 coupler (read as one by two). Although 1 X 2, and 2 X 2, are the most common sizes they can be obtained in a wide range of types up to 32 X 32 and can be interconnected to obtain non-standard sizes. Splitters are more common than combiners and this has made it more natural to refer to the single fiber end as the input.
The numbering of the ports is shown in Figure 13.3 (port is just a fancy word used in electronics to mean a connection).

Splitting ratio or coupling ratio

The proportion of the input power at each output is called the splitting ratio or coupling ratio. In a 1 X 2 coupler, the input signal can be split between the two


outputs in any desired ratio. In practice however, the common ones are 90:10 and 50:50. These are also written as 9:1 and 1:1. In the cases where the splitting ratio is not 1:1, the port which carries the higher power is sometimes called the throughput port and the other is called the tap
port.

Coupling tolerance

Even when the splitting ratio is quoted as 1:1, it is very unlikely, due to manufacturing tolerances that the input power is actually shared equally between the two outputs. The acceptable error of between 1% and 5% is called the coupling or splitting tolerance.

Losses

A gloomy note before we start.
When consulting trade publications, we find that the terms used to describe coupler losses, the naming of the ports and even the numbering of the connections have not been totally standardized. This makes it difficult to avoid meeting several different versions of the formula for each loss.
The only way to combat this is to understand the nature of the losses and then to be fairly flexible when it comes to the way it has been expressed.



Referring to Figure 13.4, the losses are stated in decibels and assume that the input is applied to port 1 and the output is taken from ports 2 and 3. For the moment, we will ignore the other connection shown as port 4 with its outward pointing arrow. This will be discussed further when we look at directionality loss.
We may recall that, generally, the loss in decibels is derived from the standard formula:

Loss = 10log(powerout/powerin)dB

Excess loss


Excess loss is a real loss. If 10 mW goes into a device and only 9 mW comes out, then it is reasonable enough to think of the other 1 mW to be a loss. The light energy has been scattered or absorbed within the coupler and is not available at the output. So what we are really saying is that the loss is dependent on the total output power compared to the input power. In the case of the coupler in Figure 13.4, the output power is the sum of ports 2 and 3 and the input is at port 1.
So excess loss would look like this:

Excess loss = 10log((P2+P3)/P1) dB

where P1, P2, P3 are the power levels at the respective ports.

Directionality loss or crosstalk or directivity


When we apply power to port 1 we expect it to come out of ports 2 and 3 but not out of port 4, the other input port. Unfortunately, owing to backscatter within the coupler, some of the energy is reflected back and appears at port 4. This backscatter is very slight and is called directionality loss or crosstalk. The fact that the backscatter comes out of port 4 accounts for the direction of the arrow in Figure 13.4.

Directionality loss = 10log(P4/P1) dB

A typical figure is –40 dB.
Directivity puts the same information around the other way, if the reflected power has a level of –40 dB, then the power which is not reflected has a ratio of +40 dB. In the formula, the power levels are just inverted.

Directivity = 10log(P1/P4) dB

Insertion loss or port-to-port loss or throughput loss or tap loss This looks at a single output power compared with the input power, so in Figure 13.4 there are two possibilities. We could look at the power coming out of port 2 and compare it with the input power at port 1 or we could do a similar thing with port 3 compared with the input power at port 1.
Generally, insertion loss for any output port could be written as:

Insertion loss = 10log(Poutput port/Pinput port) dB

As an example, the insertion loss at port 2 is:

Insertion loss = 10log(P2/P1) dB

This would then be referred to as the insertion loss of port 2 or simply the portto-port loss between ports 1 to port 2.
If, in the above example, the splitting ratio was not 1:1, then port 2 may be referred to as the throughput port and so the formula above becomes the throughput loss. Similarly, if ports 3 and 1 were used, the loss could be called the tap loss.

Coupling loss

This is often overlooked. Whenever a coupler is used, it has to be joined to the rest of the circuit. This involves two pairs of connectors and a splice at each end. The losses caused by these connectors or splices must be added to the losses introduced by the coupler.

Example


Calculate the output power at each port in the coupler shown in Figure 13.5.
Output power at port 4
The directionality loss is quoted as –40 dB.
Starting with the standard formula for decibels.

Loss = 10log(powerout/powerin)dB

The input power is 60 μW and the loss figure in decibels is –40 dB so we make a start by inserting these figures into the formula:

–40 dB = 10log(powerout/60x10-6)

Divide both sides by 10:
–4 = log(powerout/60x10-6)

Take the antilog of each side:
10–4= (powerout/60x10-6)

So:
60 x 10–6 x 10–4 = power out

So power out of port 4 = 60 x 10–10 = 600 nW.
As the output from port 4 is so small, it is often ignored.

Output power at port 2

Port 2 is the throughput port i.e. the port with the largest output power. With a splitting ratio of 3:1, for every 4 units of power leaving the coupler there are three at port 2 and only 1 at port 3. This means that 0.75 of the power leaving the coupler goes via port 2.
But how much power is leaving the coupler? This is the input power minus the excess loss. Port 4 output can be ignored since it is so slight compared with the other power levels.

In this example, the excess loss is 1 dB so if we convert this 1 dB into a ratio, we can find the output power.
Into the standard formula we put the –1 dB (minus, as it is a loss) and the input power:

–1 dB = 10log(powerout/60x10-6)

Divide both sides by 10:
–0.1 = log(powerout/60x10-6)

Take the antilog of each side:
10–0.1 =(powerout/60x10-6)

So:
60 x 10–6 x 10–0.1 = power out

By calculator, 10–0.1 = 0.794

So total power out of the coupler = input power x 0.794, or:
60 x 10–6 x 0.794 = 47.64 x 10–6 W

Of the 60 μW that entered the coupler, 47.64 μW is able to leave. Of this amount 0.75 leaves via port 2 so:
power out of port 2 = 0.75 x 47.64 μW = 35.73 μW

Output power at port 3

We have already calculated the power remaining after the excess loss to be 47.64 μW and since we are dealing with port 3, the tap port, the proportion of power leaving by this port is only 0.25 of the total.
Thus the output power at port 3 is 0.25 x 47.64 μW = 11.91 μW.
The results are shown in Figure 13.6.


The tee-coupler — Figure 13.7

This is simply a 1 x 2 coupler used to convey a single signal to a number of different work stations. Such stations are said to be connected on a network. It would use a high splitting ratio of 9:1 or similar to avoid draining the power from the incoming signal.


Advantages and disadvantages of a tee network

The main advantage is its simplicity. The couplers are readily available and, if required, can be supplied with connectors already fitted. This means that the network can be on-line very quickly indeed.
The disadvantage is the rapid reduction in the power available to each of the workstations as we connect more and more terminals to the network. As the power is reduced, the number of data errors increases and the output becomes increasingly unreliable. At first glance we could solve this problem by simply increasing the input power level. However we run the very real risk of overloading the first workstation.

Power levels in a tee network
  • Specification for our example system:
  • incoming power = 1 mW
  • splitting ratio of each coupler = 9:1
  • excess loss of each coupler = 0.3 dB. The couplers are joined by connectors with an insertion loss of 0.2 dB each.
Step 1 — Figure 13.8
The incoming power level is reduced by 0.2 dB by the first connector, and 0.3 dB by the excess loss.
Total power reduction is 0.2 + 0.3 = 0.5 dB.
By inserting the values into the standard decibel formula, remembering to use
–0.5 dB as it is a loss, we have:
–0.5 dB = 10log(powerout/1x10-3)

Divide both sides by 10:
–0.05 dB = log(powerout/1x10-3)

And antilog:
0.8913 =(powerout/1x10-3)

So, the input power is:
0.8913 x 1 x 10–3 = power out = 891.3 μW


Step 2

The 891.3 μW is the power just before it is split into the two output ports. As the splitting ratio is 9:1, the throughput power at port 2 is 0.9 of the available power or 802.17 μW. Similarly, the tap power is 0.1 of 891.3 μW or 89.13 μW.

Step 3 — Figure 13.9

The throughput power, 802.17 μW, is actually the input power to the next section of the network and is simply a replacement for the 1 mW input in Step 1. This new input power suffers the same connector insertion loss, coupler excess loss and splitting ratio and so the calculations would involve exactly the same steps as we have already used.


The results we would obtain are throughput loss = 643.47 μW and the tap power going to terminal 2 = 71.49 μW.

Step 4

The next section would decrease the powers by the same proportions and it would result in a throughput loss of 516.2 μW and a tap power of 57.4 μW. The same proportional loss would occur at each section of the network.

The star coupler

This is an alternative to the tee coupler when a larger number of terminals is involved as shown in Figure 13.10. The star coupler takes the input signal to a central location, then splits it into
many outputs in a single coupler. Styles of up to 1 x 32 and up to 32 x 32 are commonly available.


Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of using star couplers is that the losses are lower than a tee coupler for networks of more than three or four terminals as in Figure 13.11. This is because the star coupler requires only one input connector and suffers only one excess loss. The larger the number of terminals, the more significant are the benefits.


The disadvantage is that the star coupler will normally use much larger quantities of cable to connect the terminals since the star is located centrally and a separate cable is connected to each of the terminals. A tee network can use one cable to snake around the system from terminal to terminal.

Construction of couplers

Fused couplers

This is the most popular method of manufacturing a coupler. It is, or appears to be, a very simple process.
The fibers are brought together and are then fused just like in a fusion splicer as seen in Figure 13.12. The incoming light effectively meets a thicker section of fiber and spreads out. At the far end of the fused area, the light enters into each of the outgoing fibers.



A fused star coupler is made in a similar way (Figure 13.13). The fibers are twisted round to hold them in tight proximity, then the center section is fused. In the case of the reflective star, the fibers are bent back on themselves before being fused.

Mixing rod couplers — Figure 13.14

If several fibers are connected to a short length of large diameter fiber, called a mixing rod, the incoming light spreads out until it occupies the whole diameter of the fiber. If several fibers are connected to the far end they each receive some of the light.



A reflective coupler can be produced by putting a mirror at the end of the mixing rod. The light traveling along the mixing rod is reflected from the end mirror and all the attached fibers receive an equal share of the incoming light.

Variable coupler — Figure 13.15

This is more of an experimental or test laboratory tool than for the installation environment. It enables the splitting ratio to be adjusted to any precise value up to 19:1, which allows us to try out the options before the final type of coupler is purchased.


The design principle is very simple. A vernier adjustment allows precise positioning of the incoming fiber so that the light can be split accurately between the two output fibers to provide any required splitting ratio. This form of variable coupler is available for all plastic as well as glass fibers, singlemode and multimode.


Kevin M Contreras H
CI 18.255.631

CRF

http://www.kiet.edu/ensite/downloads/Introduction%20to%20Fiber%20Optics%20-%20John%20Crisp.pdf


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