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OSE4470L- Fiber-Optic Communications Laboratory

Laboratory experiments covering the optical fiber as a communication channel, coupler, transmitter and receiver using optoelectronic device, multiplexing, and overall systems performance.

Credits: 1 hour, 2 hours seat time

Co-requisite or Prerequisite: OSE 4470 Fiber-Optic Communications

Detailed Description:
This lab course is associated with the theory course on the same topic (OSE 4470) on introduction to the principles of optical fiber communication systems. The experiments are set up to cover three topics: 1) The optical fiber as a transmission channel; 2) Optoelectronic devices used in transmitters, receivers, and multiplexers; 3) Overall communication system performance. The challenges of coupling light into and between fibers and the associated losses are experimentally quantified. The dispersion of various types of optical fibers is measured. The issues of digital and analog systems and their performances are introduced and quantified. Introductions to wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) components and systems are also provided.

List of Topics:

  • Coupling light in and out of fibers and waveguides: connector types, fiber pigtail, free-space
  • Transmission of light through fibers:
    • Loss measurements using OTDR:
    • Dispersion:
      • Single-mode, multimode, specialty fibers
      • Pulse broadening in fibers using LED vs. laser sources
  • Build a simple communication link
  • Passive devices: couplers, isolators, interrupters, reflection modules, scanners
  • Active devices: Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, Semiconductor optical amplifiers
  • Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) components:

Fiber couplers, fiber circulators, fiber-Bragg gratings

  • WDM Systems: Two-channel experiment at 1300 and 1550 nm
  • Optical sensors: Displacement, temperature

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completing this lab course, the students will become experimentally with various fiber optic components and systems and know how to:

  • Couple light in and out of fibers and connect them together
  • Measure loss and dispersion in fibers
  • Measure the performance of analog and digital fiber links
  • Relate an integrated view of engineering by explaining the fundamental analogies between electrical and optical communication systems

Syllabi