Prerequisite:

This course assumes a basic understanding of digital transmission and the use of decibels. It is recommended that the PTT course SRA: "Analogue and digital signals" is studied before attempting this course.

Course Aim:

After completing this course a trainee will be able to explain the basic principles of optical fibre transmission and the factors that limit the performance of a link, describe the main components of optical links, appreciate the hazards of optical sources, and calculate the power budget of a link.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course, the trainee will be able to:

Describe the basic structure of an optical fibre and explain how infrared energy is propagated down the core of a fibre.

Describe the causes and effect of modal, chromatic and polarisation mode dispersion.

Describe the structure of different types of glass fibre (including multimode and single mode fibres) and compare their characteristics.

Explain that OSI/IEC and ITU standards exist which specify the characteristics and capabilities of various types of multimode and singlemode fibre.

Describe the features, characteristics and uses of different types of fibre connection including demountable connectors and fusion splices.

Describe the components of an optical link including lasers and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and the role of Optical Line Terminating Equipment (OLTE), regenerators and optical amplifiers.

Explain the significance of the IEC classification of optical sources according to the hazard they present.

Explain the main causes of optical loss in a fibre transmission system and discuss methods of minimising those losses.

Explain the significance of a "power budget" for an optical link, explain the meaning of the terms: receiver sensitivity, launched power, system margin and dispersion penalty and calculate the maximum length of a link for a given set of link parameters.

Number of modules: 8
Approximate study time: 9 hours