OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETER

1
OTDR BLOCK DIAGRAM

CRT OR
CONTROLLER LCD COUPLER
DISPLAY

LASER FIBER UNDER TEST

DETECTOR

2
THE OTDR SENDS OUT A PULSE OF LIGHT AND
MEASURES THE LEVEL OF LIGHT THAT IS
REFLECTED BACK. AN OPTICAL COUPLER
ALLOWS BOTH OPTICAL SOURCE AND OPTICAL
RECEIVER TO BE CONNECTED TO THE SAME
FIBER.

3
HOW AN OTDR WORKS

The modern OTDR knows how fast light will travel through
the core of the fiber under test because of the index of
refraction (IOR) setting. The OTDR knows how far it needs
to measure because of the fiber length setting. With this
information, the OTDR will repeatedly sample the level
of reflected light.

GN Nettest’s CMA4000 makes up to 16,384 samples of

reflected light per pulse of transmitted light this means that
if the fiber length setting was 128km, sampling would
occur every 8 meters.(128km/16384)

4
OTDR

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Principal of OTDR.

2. OTDR Specifications

3. Using an OTDR.

5
1. PRINCIPLES OF OTDR

An OTDR is a fiber optic tester characterizing fibers and

optical networks.

The aim of this instrument is to detect, locate and measure

events at any location in the fiber optic link.

An OTDR can test a fiber from only one end that is if

operates as a one dimensional Radar System.

The OTDR technique produces geographic information

with regard to localized loss and reflective events
provide a pictorial and permanent record which may be
used as a permanent baseline.
6
Principles of OTDR(Contd..)

The OTDR’s ability to characterize a fiber is base on

detecting small signals returned to OTDR in response
to the injection of a large signal.

OTDR depends on two types of Optical Phenomena:

A. Rayleigh Backscattering
B. Fresnel Reflections

7
A. Rayleigh Scattering

Rayleigh scattering is intrinsic to the fiber material itself

and is present all along the length of fiber.

If Rayleigh scattering is uniform along the length of fiber,

than discontinuities in the back scatter can be used to
identify anomalies in transmission along the length of
fiber.

8
B. Fresnel Reflections

Fresnel Reflections are only point events.

Fresnel reflections occur only where the fiber comes in

contact with air or any other media such as a mechanical
connections/splice or joint.

9
2. OTDR SPECIFICATIONS

A. Dynamic Range
B. Dead Zone
C. Resolution
D. Accuracy
E. Wavelength

10
A. Dynamic Range

Dynamic Range determines maximum observable length

of a fiber and therefore OTDR suitability for analyzing any
perticular network.

The higher the signal of noise ratio and the batter the trace
will be with a better event detection.

11
B. Dead Zone

OTDR is designed to detect the back scattering level

all along the fiber link, it measured back scattered signals
which are much smaller than the signal sent to the fiber.

The device that receives these back scattered signals is an

OTDR, which is designed to receive a given level range.

When there is a strong reflection, than the power received

by the photodiode can be more than 4000times higher than
the back scattered power and can saturate the photodiode.

12
Dead Zone

The photodiode requires time to recover from the saturated

conditions,during this time it will not detect any signal
accurately.

The length of the fiber which is not characterized during

recovery is termed the Dead Zone.

13
DEAD ZONE

14
C. RESOLUTION

1. Sampling resolution

Sampling resolution is the minimum distance between

two acquisition points.

This data resolution can go down to centimeters

depending on pulse width and range.

The more data points an OTDR can acquire and process,

the more the resolution.

15
C. Resolution

2. Distance Resolution

Distance resolution is very similar to sampling resolution,

if OTDR samples acquisition points every 1 meter, than
only it can locate a fiber within +/- 10meter.

The distance resolution is than like sampling resolution,

a function of pulse, width and range.

16
D. Accuracy

The accuracy of measurement is the capacity of

measurment to be compared with a referance value.

Linearity Accuracy : Determines how close an Optical

level corresponds to an electrical level across the whole
range.

Distance Accuracy : Depends on the accuracy of group

index(Index of refraction refers to a single ray in a fiber ,
while group index refers to propogation of all the light
pulse in the fiber.

17
E. Wavelength

OTDR’s measure according to wavelength.

The measure wavelengths are :850nm, 1310nm and 1550nm

the fourth wavelength is now appearing for the monitoring
live systems which is 1625nm.

The wavelength is usually specified with central wavelength

and central width.

The attenuation of wavelength varies with wavelength, and

the measurement should be corrected to transmission
wavelength or to the central wavelength.
18
3. USING AN OTDR

We can broadly define the use of OTDR in two process.

A. Acquisition step : Where the unit acquires data and

displays it graphically or numerically.

B. Measurment step : Where the operator analyzes the data

makes a decision based on the results to either store, print
or go to the next acquisition.

19
A. Acquisition

There are three major approaches to configure and accept

acquisition parameter selected by OTDR(Automatic).

A user may allow the OTDR unit to auto configure,

analyze the results and change one or more parameters
(accordingly).

A more experienced user may choose not to use auto

configuration feature altogether and enter the acquisition
parameters based on his experience(Manual).

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Acquisition parameters

Given below are various acquisition parameters and their

effect on the resulting trace.

Injection Level.

Wavelength.

Pulse Width.

Range.

Averaging.
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Injection Level

Injection level is defined as the power injected into the

fiber under test, the higher this level the higher the power
level.

The presence of dirt on connector faces and damaged or

low quality pigtails or patch cords are the primary cause
of low injection levels

Mating a dirt connector with a OTDR connector may scratch

the OTDR connector, degrading the OTDR launch condition.

Some OTDR’s will display the measured injection level

during real time acquisition or just prior to averaging.
22
OTDR Wavelength

A fiber must be tested with same wavelength as that

used for transmission.

For a given dynamic range 1550nm will see more

distance than 1310nm.

Single mode fiber has more mode field diameter at

1550nm that at 1310nm.

23
Pulse Width

The OTDR pulse width controls the amount of light that

will be injected into the fiber(it is the time for which the
Lesser is on and determines the resolution of waveform).

Longer the pulse width, more light is injected into the fiber.

Longer pulse widths also produce longer dead zones in the

OTDR trace waveform where the measurements are
impossible.

Short pulse widths inject lower power level of light but

reduce dead zone.
24
Pulse width

By reducing the pulse width, there is a reduction in the

dead zone of the fiber, compared to that of a larger pulse
width and also an increase.

But the reduction in the pulse width, there is a

reduction in the dynamic range, a reduction in the
sensitivity of the receiver and also the distance.

By proper selection of pulse with we can optimize the use

of OTDR for making fiber measurements.

25
Range

Range of an OTDR is the distance over which it can

acquire data samples.

The longer this parameter the more distance OTDR will

shoot the pulses.

This parameter is generally set to twice the distance of the

end of fiber.

26
Averaging

The OTDR detector works with extremely low optical

power levels(as low as 100 photons per meter of fiber).

Average is the process by which each acquisition point is

sampled repeatedly and results averaged to improve
signal to noise ratio.

Averaging can be done by selecting the time of acquisition

or the number of averages, the longer the time or higher
the number of averages, the more signal the trace waveform
will display in random noise conditions.

27
Modes of operation of OTDR

Free Run Mode(Real Time) :

It continually sends lesser pulses down the fiber under test

and obtains back scatter.

This mode is useful for optimizing fiber alignment.

The waveform obtained in free run mode contain

unacceptable amounts of noise making it impossible to
determine small attenuation changes such as non-reflective
splices.

28
Modes of operation of OTDR

Averaging mode :
In the averaging mode each pulse are averaged from that
of preceding pulses which makes the trace appear clear
for each of the succeeding pulses.

The number of samples that are to be averaged is

predefined for an OTDR.

The larger the number,the longer the OTDR takes for

displaying the results.

Recent OTDR specifies their averaging in terms of time

29
taken for display , instead of number of samples.
Tests performed using OTDR

Acceptance test:

Acceptance of fiber using OTDR(To measure loss per km):

This loss measurement is wavelength dependent, so the

OTDR is set to the wavelength which matches with the
fiber system operating wavelength.

When using an OTDR to make any measurement it is

critical to correctly place reference markers so that the
OTDR can display the loss & distance between them.

30
Loss and span length

This test has to be conducted in averaging mode, when

ever we choose averaging mode a trace will be displayed.

To make any measurements it is critical to correctly place

reference markers so that OTDR can display loss and
distance between them.

For making the measurement, a trace is obtained on OTDR

in real time mode.

Place the reference markers accurately, first reference

marker is placed exactly where the back scatter starts, that is
31 edge of fiber
beyond dead zone(correct point is on the trailing
Span Loss and span length

Than move the cursor to the end of the trace and place the
second marker before the refractive fiber end, the correct
point is where the slope starts increasing faster than the
normal slope of the trace.

To exactly locate these reference markers use the

horizontal and vertical zoom controls.

Now choose the averaging mode and the display gives us

the loss per span and the span length.

32
Attenuation of splice or
connector
OTDR can be used to measure splice or connector loss,in
order to do this a marker is placed on either of the
abettation of the OTDR trace.

OTDR will than display the attenuation between the two

points.

The vertical separation of the two marker points is the

attenuation of the splice or the connector

33
Attenuation of Fusion Splice

Fusion splice has a loss value which is very negligible, so

to accurately measure this value the OTDR is used in
averaging mode.

To measure the loss value, first amply the slope of the

OTDR trace and than place the two reference points on
either side of the aberration.

To accurately place the markers use horizontal and vertical

zoom controls.

34
Automatic operation

In two cursor method, sometime the cursor might not

have been placed properly and the OTDR also adds some
looses and thereby increasing the loss value.

For short distance applications the effect is negligible, but

becomes highly pronounced for long haul.

Fortunately, most OTDR’s have the provision to perform

automaticaly.

That is in averaging mode the OTDR displays the splice

loss as well as the connector loss systematically on the trace.
35
Summary

OTDR can thus be used to determine the loss per span of

the fiber , splice loss connector loss and also the end of the
fiber.

36
37
What is splicing?

Splicing is method of joining two properly aligned fibers so

that the two fibers are held together and the transmission of
light continues.

38
DIFFERENT TECHNIQUS
FOR JOINING OF FIBER.

39
Splicing/Jointing…….

1. Why splicing is necessary?

2. Types of splicing.

3. Pros and Cons.

40
Why Splicing is necessary?

Long cable runs.

Crowded
conduits.

Fire-code
restrictions.

Building or Campus
environments.

41
Types of Splicing.

Temporary splicing :

V-Grove Splicing
Connectorization

Permanent Splicing :

Mechanical Splicing.
Fusion Splicing.

42
Pros and Cons of Splicing

Flexibility for future system reconfiguring.

Easy in testing.

Trade-offs are increased signal loss.

Large space requirements.

Expensive- increase system cost.

43
Types of Splicing

Fusion splicing :

A fusion splice is a junction of two (or more) optical

fibers that have been melted together. This is accomplished
with a machine that performs two basic functions : aligning
the fibers and melting them together typically using an
electric arc.

44
Pros and Cons of Fusion
Splicing
Low Loss (<0.05db for SM fiber).
Very fast and fully automated process.

Expensive.
Less safer than mechanical splicing.

45
Five steps ahead for fusion
splicing
1. Fiber and preparation.

2. Cleave the fiber.

3. Alignment of the two(or more) fibers.

4. Fuse the fiber.

5. Protect the fiber.

46
Fiber and preparation

It mainly concerns with removing bare fiber

from OFC and cleaning the fiber.

Required accessories are……

1. Sheath Cutter
2. Jacket stripper
3. Primary coat stripper
4. Alcohol (>99% pure)
5. Lint-free tissue paper
6. Cotton swat.

47
Cleave the fiber

Good cleaving is key for good splicing.

Actually, cleaving is same as cutting a window pane to

size, only on a much finer scale. The cleaver first nicks
the fiber, and than pulls or flexes it to cause a cleane
break.

48
Alignment of two fibers

1. Manually.

2. Automated.

3. Misalignment causes bad splicing.

49
Fuse the fiber

For better Fusion Splicing

Set the……….

1. Current supply to electrodes

2. Splicing time.

Observe & try to maintain…….

1. Weather condition
2. Temperature and Humidity.

50
Some observations about fusion splicing….

51
Splice loss

SPLICE LOSS DUE TO CORE MISMATCH :

Off-center core in second fiber does not receive all the

light from the first fiber. The amount of light lost is the
splice loss.

52
Protect the fiber

Spliced fiber has to protect by using protection sleeve.

53
HOW TO USE OPTICAL FIBER:

1. Always make sure you have clean hands and clean

equipment.

2. Always clean all fiber ENDFACES couplers and

interfaces before use.

3. Always use clean tissues and cleaning sticks.

4. Always keep the can, contain the dry air in the

upright position.

5. Always check if you are using the same fibers before

coupling them (fiber type SM or MM & core54diameter).
HOW TO USE OPTICAL FIBER:

6. Always check if the fiber end faces are angled or not.

7. Always keep fiber away from extreme heat(>85c).

8. Always store not used optical cables, couplers and

interfaces with protection caps and in a dry, clean
place.

9. Always use a microscope when you are using cleaning

fluid.

10. Always check the bending radius (>30mm) and prevent

torsion (<90degree/meter).
(Never apply mechanical stress to optical55
fibers)
HOW TO USE OPTICAL FIBER:

11. In case of doubt while using optical fibers and/ or

components, consult an expert.

12. Always check if the optical input power applied to the

optical components or optical (measuring ) equipment
is within the dynamic range.

56
How fiber works

The operation of an optical fiber is based on the principle of

total internal reflection. Light reflects(bounce back) or
refracts(alters its direction while penetrating a different
medium),depends on the angle at which it strikes a surface.

One way of thinking about this concept is to envision a

person looking a t a lake down at a steep angle, the person
will see fish, rocks or whatever is below the surface of the
water(in a somewhat distorted location due to reflection),
assuming that the water is relatively clear and calm. Howeve
by casting a glance farther out, this making the angle of light
less steep, the individual is likely to see a reflection of trees
or other objects on an opposite shore. 57
How fiber works

Because air and water have different indices of reflection, the

angle at which a person looks into or across the water
influences the image seen.

This principle is at the heart of how optical fiber works.

Light waves are guided through the core of the optical fiber in
much the same way that radio frequency(RF) signals are
guided through co-axial cable. The light waves are guided to
the other end of the fiber by being reflected within the core.
Controlling the angle at which the light waves are transmitted
makes it possible to control how efficiently they reach there
destination. The composition of the cladding glass relative to
the core glass determines the fibers ability to reflect
58 light.
How fiber works

The difference in the index of refraction of the core and the

cladding cause most of the transmitted light to bounce off
the cladding glass and stay within the core. In this way, the
fiber core acts as wave guide for the transmitted light.

59
The design of fiber

An optical fiber consist of two different types of highly pure,

solid glass,composed to form the core and cladding. A
protection acrylate coating than surrounds the cladding. In
most cases the protective coating is a dual layer
composition.

60
 Reflected light ray

Coating
n2 Cladding
n1 Core
Reflected
Incident light ray
light ray

Index of refraction = n
n1>n2 permits total internal reflection 61
The design of fiber

A protective coating is applied to the glass fiber as the final

step in the manufacturing process. This coating protects the
glass from dust and scratches that can affect fiber strength.
This protective coating can be comprised of two layers:
a soft inner layer that cushions the fiber and allows the
coating to be stripped from the glass mechanically and a
harder outer layer that protects the fiber during handling,
particularly the cabling, installations and terminations
processes.

62
TYPES OF FIBER

63
SINGLE-MODE AND
MULTIMODE
Single mode fiber
Cladding glass
Light
signal

Core glass

Multi-mode fiber
Cladding glass
Light
signals

64
SINGLE-MODE AND
MULTIMODE

Multi-mode fiber was the first type of fiber to be

commercialized. It has a much larger core than single-mode
fiber, allowing hundreds of modes of light to propagate
through the fiber simultaneously. Additionally, the larger
core diameter of multi-mode fiber facilitates the use of
lower-cost optical transmitters(such as light emitting
diodes (LEDs) or vertical cavity surface emitting lasers
(VCSELs) and connectors.
Multi-mode fibers are used primarily in systems with short
transmission distance(under2km.), such as premises
communications, private data networks. 65
SINGLE-MODE AND
MULTIMODE

Single-mode fiber on the other hand ,has a much smaller

core and allows only one mode of light at a time to propagate
through the core. While it might appear that multi-mode
fibers have higher capacity, in fact the opposite is true.
Single-mode fibers are designed to maintain spatial and
spectral integrity of each optical signal over longer distances,
allowing more information to be transmitted.

Its tremendous information carrying capacity and low loss

have made single mode fiber the ideal transmission medium
for a multitude of applications. Single-mode fiber is typically
used for longer-distance and higher bandwidth66applications.
Optical fiber sizes

The international standard for outer cladding diameter

of most single-mode optical fibers is 125 microns for the
glass and 245 microns for the coating. This standard is
important because it ensures compatibility among
connectors, splices, and tools used throughout the
industry.

Standard single mode fibers are manufactured with a small

core size, approximately 8 to 10 microns in diameter.
Multi-mode fibers have core size of 50 to 62.5microns in
diameter.

67
Optical fiber sizes

Single-mode Multi-mode
8-10microns 50 microns 62.5 microns

125 microns 125 microns 125 microns

68
FUSION SPLICING

Fusion splicing provides a fast , reliable , low -loss , fiber

to fiber connection by creating a homogenous joint between
the two fiber ends, typically using an electric arc. Fusion
splices provide a high quality joint with the lowest loss. (in
the range of 0.01db to 0.10db for single mode fibers) and
are practically non reflective.

69
MECHANICAL SPLICING

Mechanical splicing is an alternative method of making a

permanent connection between fibers. In the past,the
disadvantages of mechanical splicing have been slightly
higher losses, less reliable performance and a cost associated
with each splice. However, advances in technology have
significantly improved performance. System operators
typically use mechanical splicing for emergency
restoration because it is fast, inexpensive, and easy.
(Mechanical splice losses typically range from 0.05-0.2db
for single mode fiber.)

70
71
OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

Basically we can used this cable for transmission media in

our telecommunication field as this cable is capable of
carrying a large amount of data or voice traffic.

72
OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

CAPACITY WISE THE CAPACITY OF A FIBER IS

13000 TIMES MORE THAN THAT OF A SAME
DIAMETER COPPER.

73
OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

USED FOR LONG DISTNCE PROJECT

FOR MAINTAINANCE NEEDS DOCUMENTATION

SHOULD BE 100%.

74
OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

HOW TO DO THE DOCUMENTATION OF OFC.

1. Fiber laying reports.

2. Fiber termination reports.

3. Splicing reports.

4. As-build drawings.

75
Attenuation

As light is guided through the core four properties can

cause attenuation.

1. ABSORPTION :

Occurs when light strikes impurities in the core glass

and absorbed.

Impurity
(Absorption) 76
Attenuation

2. SCATTERING :

Occurs when light strikes an area where the material

density changes.

Density change
(scattering)
77
Attenuation

3. MACROBENDING :

Macro bending is large scale bending of the fiber which

exceeds the fiber bend radius and causes light to leave
the core and travel in the cladding (usually an installation
problem).

78
Attenuation

4. MICROBENDING :

Micro-bending is microscopic distortion of the fiber

which causes light to leave the core and travel in the
cladding (created during manufacturing).

79
Dispersion

DISPERSION IS THE SPREAD OF A PULSE OF

LIGHT AS IT IS GUIDED THROUGH THE FIBER.

There are 3 types of dispersion :

1. MODAL

2. MATERIAL

3. WAVEGUIDE

80
Dispersion

1. MODAL :

Modal dispersion occurs when light follows different paths

through the fiber and arrives at the far end at different
times. It occurs only in Multi-mode fibers.

81
Dispersion

2. MATERIAL :

Material dispersion occurs because different wavelengths

(colors) of light travel at different velocities through
the fiber.

82
Dispersion

3. WAVEGUIDE :

Wave-guide dispersion occurs because light travels

in both core and cladding at slightly different speeds.
It is most significant in single-mode fibers.

83