School of Engineering
Department of Electrical Engineering
1st Semester – A.Y. 2016/2017 /
Course: / Optical Communications – 0903524 (3 Cr. – Core Course)
Instructor: / Dr. Ahmad Atieh
Telephone: 962 6 535 5000 ext 22865, Email:
Course Website: / NA
Catalog Data: / Optical communication systems. Optical fibers: step index multimode, graded index multimode, step index single mode. Attenuation and dispersion in optical fibers. Wave propagation and modes in dielectric waveguides. Lasers: principle of operation and theory, semiconductor lasers, optical transmitters. Modulation techniques: internal, external. Multiplexing: CWDM, DWDM, TDM. Optical detectors: Principles and theory of operation. Vacuum phototube, photomultiplier tube, pn, pin, APD semiconductor detectors. Practical considerations: installation and instrumentation: splicing, characterization. Optical communication systems. Numerical simulation techniques.
Prerequisites by
Course: / EE 0903421 Communications I (pre-requisit).Prerequisites
By Topic: / Students are assumed to have a background of the following topics:· Basic electromagnetic principles and theories.
· Basic communication techniques.
Textbook: / · Jeseph C. Palais, Fiber optic Communications, 5th edition, Prentice- Hall, 2005 or latest edition.
· J. M. Senior, Optical Fiber Communications, Principles and Practice, 2nd edition, Prentice Hal, 2006 or latest edition.
References: / · Fundamentals of Optical Fibers by John A. Buck, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition 1995.
· Optical Communications by Robert M. Gagliardi and Sherman Karp, John wiley & Sons Inc., 2nd edition, 1995.
· Optical fiber transmission by E. E. Bert Basch, Howard W. Sams & Co., 1st edition, 1987.
· Allen H. Cheirn, An Introduction to Optical Fibers, McGraw-Hill, International Student Edition, 1983.
· Fiber-Optic Communication systems by Govind P. Agrawal, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1st edition, 1992.
Schedule &
Duration: / 16 Weeks, 45 lectures (50 minutes each) plus exams.
Minimum Student
Material: / Text book, class handouts, scientific calculator, and an access to a personal computer.Minimum College
Facilities: / Classroom with whiteboard and projection display facilities, library, computational facilities with MATLAB.Course Objectives: / The overall course objective is to introduce the student to optical communication components and systems, specially analysis, design, and applications of: Optical fibers, Lasers, and Optical detectors.
Course Learning Outcomes and Relation to ABET Student Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, a student should understand:
1. / Optical fibers and their applications as communication channels. / [e]
2. / LASERS and optical transmitters. / [e, j]
3. / Optical detectors and optical receivers. / [e]
4. / Optical communication systems devices and subsystems / [e]
5. / Tools used in the design, implementation and characterization of different optical systems. / [k]
Course Topics:
Topic Description / Hrs
1. / Introduction to optical communication systems. Optical fibers: step index and graded index multimode and single-mode fibers, attenuation and dispersion. / 6
2. / Fiber theory:
Guided wave propagation, fields and modes in optical fibers. / 9
3. / Lasers: Principles of laser generation. Semiconductor lasers.
Light amplifiers and their applications. / 9
4. / Modulation techniques:
Optical modulation techniques: Direct modulation: external modulation. Multiplexing methods: Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM); and Time division Multiplexing (TDM). / 4
5. / Optical Detectors:
Optical detectors and receivers: PIN, and APD, quantum efficiency and responsively, capacitance and bandwidth, receiver circuits. System performance. Optical integrated circuits. / 6
6. / Practical consideration in optical systems (installation, measurements, characterization). / 6
7. / Optical communication systems: optical modem, digital optical networks. / 3
8. / Numerical simulation techniques in optical systems. / 3
Ground Rules: / Attendance is required and highly encouraged. To that end, attendance will be taken every lecture. Students’ absences exceeding 15% of total classes will be denied making the final exam and will be given F. All exams (including the final exam) should be considered cumulative. Exams are closed book. No scratch paper is allowed. You will be held responsible for all reading material assigned, even if it is not explicitly covered in lecture notes.
Assessments: / Exams, Quizzes, project, and Assignments.
Grading policy: / Course Work / 20 %
Midterm Exam / 30 %
Final Exam / 50 %
Total / 100%
Last Updated: / Sep 2016
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