Unit 3: Fiber Optics - Practice Quiz

PHY109 — Engineering Physics 60 Questions
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1 What is the primary purpose of an optical fiber?

Introduction to fiber optics Easy
A. To transmit light signals
B. To amplify sound waves
C. To generate magnetic fields
D. To store electric charge

2 Which two main dielectric regions form an optical fiber?

Optical fiber as a dielectric waveguide Easy
A. Rotor and stator
B. Core and cladding
C. Anode and cathode
D. Emitter and collector

3 For an optical fiber to guide light, how should the core refractive index compare with the cladding refractive index ?

Optical fiber as a dielectric waveguide Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

4 Total internal reflection occurs when light travels from which type of medium to which other type?

Total internal reflection Easy
A. Air to vacuum
B. Denser to rarer
C. Rarer to denser
D. Vacuum to denser

5 What must be true of the angle of incidence for total internal reflection to occur?

Total internal reflection Easy
A. It equals the refraction angle
B. It is below the critical angle
C. It exceeds the critical angle
D. It equals zero degrees

6 What does the acceptance angle of an optical fiber represent?

Acceptance angle Easy
A. Maximum input angle for guided light
B. Minimum output angle for guided light
C. Reflection angle at the fiber end
D. Critical angle at the fiber axis

7 The set of directions from which an optical fiber can accept light forms the acceptance:

Acceptance angle Easy
A. Ring
B. Cone
C. Plane
D. Cylinder

8 What does the numerical aperture of an optical fiber measure?

Numerical aperture Easy
A. Its thermal conductivity
B. Its electrical resistance
C. Its light-gathering ability
D. Its mechanical strength

9 For a fiber in air, which expression gives its numerical aperture when the core and cladding indices are and ?

Numerical aperture Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

10 Which expression defines the relative refractive index difference for a fiber?

Relative refractive index Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

11 If and , what is the relative refractive index difference ?

Relative refractive index Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

12 Which fiber properties are included in the normalized frequency, or V-number?

V-number Easy
A. Core radius, numerical aperture, and wavelength
B. Cladding radius, voltage, and pressure
C. Fiber length, density, and temperature
D. Core mass, resistance, and wavelength

13 For a step-index fiber, which condition indicates single-mode operation?

V-number Easy
A.
B.
C.
D.

14 How does the refractive index change at the core-cladding boundary of a step-index fiber?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Easy
A. It changes abruptly
B. It remains constant
C. It becomes zero
D. It changes gradually

15 How does the core refractive index generally vary in a graded-index fiber?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Easy
A. It decreases gradually outward
B. It alternates between two values
C. It remains uniform throughout
D. It increases abruptly outward

16 Which fiber type is designed to reduce intermodal dispersion by gradually varying its core refractive index?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Easy
A. Metallic-core fiber
B. Step-index fiber
C. Hollow glass tube
D. Graded-index fiber

17 Which optical fiber loss occurs when light energy is converted into heat within the material?

Losses associated with optical fibers Easy
A. Bending loss
B. Connector loss
C. Dispersion loss
D. Absorption loss

18 Which loss is produced when an optical fiber is curved too sharply?

Losses associated with optical fibers Easy
A. Bending loss
B. Material dispersion
C. Scattering loss
D. Absorption loss

19 Which application commonly uses optical fibers to transmit high-speed digital information?

Applications of optical fibers Easy
A. Mechanical gear systems
B. Steam heating systems
C. Telecommunication networks
D. Hydraulic braking systems

20 Which medical instrument uses optical fibers to view internal parts of the body?

Applications of optical fibers Easy
A. Thermometer
B. Stethoscope
C. Endoscope
D. Sphygmomanometer

21 Why can an optical fiber carry information over long distances more effectively than a conventional copper cable in many communication systems?

Introduction to fiber optics Medium
A. It amplifies light continuously along the core
B. It eliminates the need for signal modulation
C. It provides high bandwidth with low attenuation
D. It converts all optical signals into radio waves

22 A fiber has a core refractive index of and a cladding refractive index of . What feature primarily confines light to the core?

Optical fiber as a dielectric waveguide Medium
A. The cladding absorbs light entering the core
B. The core continuously generates additional light
C. The core index is less than the cladding index
D. The core index is greater than the cladding index

23 The core and cladding indices of a fiber are and , respectively. What is the critical angle at the core-cladding interface, measured from the normal?

Total internal reflection Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

24 A light ray inside a fiber core of index strikes the cladding of index at to the normal. What happens at the boundary?

Total internal reflection Medium
A. The ray undergoes total internal reflection
B. The ray passes completely into the cladding
C. The ray travels along the boundary indefinitely
D. The ray is absorbed completely by the cladding

25 A step-index fiber has and . What is its numerical aperture in air?

Numerical aperture Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

26 An optical fiber has a numerical aperture of and is surrounded by air. What is its acceptance half-angle?

Acceptance angle Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

27 A fiber whose intrinsic numerical aperture is is immersed in water of refractive index . What is its acceptance half-angle in water?

Acceptance angle Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

28 For a fiber with core index and cladding index , what is the relative refractive index difference ?

Relative refractive index Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

29 A weakly guiding fiber has and . Using , estimate its numerical aperture.

Relative refractive index Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

30 A fiber has a core radius of , numerical aperture , and operating wavelength . What is its approximate V-number?

V-number Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

31 A step-index fiber has at . If it is operated at with all other parameters unchanged, which conclusion is correct?

V-number Medium
A. Its V-number remains , independent of wavelength
B. Its V-number becomes about , preserving single-mode operation
C. Its V-number becomes about , allowing higher-order modes
D. Its V-number becomes about , reducing confinement

32 A multimode step-index fiber and a multimode graded-index fiber have comparable dimensions and numerical apertures. Why does the graded-index fiber generally transmit shorter pulses with less broadening?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Medium
A. Its refractive index is constant throughout the core
B. Its refractive-index profile reduces differences in modal transit times
C. Its core permits only one propagation mode at a time
D. Its cladding reflects every mode at exactly the same angle

33 For a multimode step-index fiber with , approximately how many guided modes are supported, assuming the weak-guidance approximation?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

34 A parabolic graded-index fiber has . Approximately how many guided modes does it support under the weak-guidance approximation?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

35 An optical signal decreases from to after traveling through of fiber. What is the average attenuation?

Losses associated with optical fibers Medium
A.
B.
C.
D.

36 If Rayleigh scattering is the dominant loss mechanism, how does the scattering loss change when wavelength increases from to ?

Losses associated with optical fibers Medium
A. It increases by approximately four times
B. It decreases to approximately one-fourth
C. It decreases to approximately one-sixteenth
D. It increases by approximately sixteen times

37 A fiber cable develops a sharp bend during installation, causing some guided light to radiate into the surroundings. Which loss mechanism has increased?

Losses associated with optical fibers Medium
A. Rayleigh scattering
B. Connector reflection
C. Material absorption
D. Macrobending loss

38 Two fiber sections are joined with a small lateral offset between their cores. Which loss is most directly produced by this defect?

Losses associated with optical fibers Medium
A. Splice coupling loss
B. Chromatic dispersion loss
C. Intrinsic absorption loss
D. Rayleigh scattering loss

39 An optical fiber sensor is used near high-voltage equipment where strong electromagnetic fields are present. Why is fiber preferable to a metallic signal cable?

Applications of optical fibers Medium
A. It is immune to electromagnetic interference
B. It produces electrical shielding currents
C. It increases the surrounding magnetic field
D. It requires a conductive return path

40 In a medical endoscope, one fiber bundle illuminates internal tissue while another forms an image. What property must the imaging bundle possess?

Applications of optical fibers Medium
A. Every fiber must support many propagation modes
B. The fibers must be randomly rearranged at each end
C. The relative positions of fibers must remain ordered
D. The cladding must absorb all reflected illumination

41 An engineer claims that increasing the core refractive index will simultaneously improve confinement, eliminate absorption, and increase the maximum data rate. Which assessment is physically correct?

Introduction to fiber optics Hard
A. Index contrast affects guidance, while absorption and data rate also depend on material loss and dispersion.
B. Core index affects absorption, while confinement and dispersion remain independent of the index profile.
C. Index contrast controls absorption, while confinement and data rate depend only on wavelength.
D. Core index controls data rate, while absorption and confinement depend only on cladding thickness.

42 A weakly guiding fiber has , , and normalized propagation constant , where What is the effective modal index?

Optical fiber as a dielectric waveguide Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

43 A meridional ray in a step-index fiber with and travels at to the fiber axis. What occurs at the core-cladding boundary?

Total internal reflection Hard
A. It undergoes total internal reflection because its axial angle exceeds the critical angle.
B. It undergoes total internal reflection because its incidence angle is greater than .
C. It propagates along the interface because its incidence angle equals the critical angle.
D. It refracts into the cladding because its incidence angle is below the critical angle.

44 A fiber with and is immersed in water of refractive index . Neglecting end-face curvature, what is its acceptance half-angle in water?

Acceptance angle Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

45 A step-index fiber has and relative index difference . What is its exact numerical aperture in air?

Relative refractive index Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

46 A step-index fiber has core radius and . Determine the cutoff wavelength above which it is single-mode, using .

V-number Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

47 Two weakly guiding multimode fibers have the same large V-number. One is step-index and the other has an ideal parabolic graded-index profile. Using the usual large- approximations, what is the ratio of their guided mode counts ?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

48 A graded-index fiber follows within its core. If , , and , what is ?

Step-index and graded-index fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

49 For a step-index fiber with and , estimate the maximum intermodal delay between the axial ray and the limiting meridional ray. Take .

Step-index and graded-index fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

50 Two identical single-mode fibers are laterally misaligned by . Under the specified Gaussian coupling model with , what is the splice loss?

Losses associated with optical fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

51 A link contains of fiber with attenuation , five splices of each, and two connectors of each. If the launched power is , what power reaches the receiver?

Losses associated with optical fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

52 If Rayleigh scattering contributes at , what contribution is expected at , assuming all other conditions are unchanged?

Losses associated with optical fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

53 In a cutback measurement, the output from a fiber is . After cutting it to without changing launch conditions, the output is . What is the measured attenuation coefficient?

Losses associated with optical fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

54 A fiber preform purification process strongly reduces a narrow attenuation peak near but leaves the smooth background attenuation nearly unchanged. Which loss mechanism was most directly reduced?

Losses associated with optical fibers Hard
A. Fresnel reflection from the polished fiber end face
B. Rayleigh scattering from microscopic density fluctuations
C. Macrobending radiation from insufficient bend radius
D. Hydroxyl-ion absorption from residual water impurities

55 An intensity-based fiber sensor is affected by unpredictable source-power fluctuations. Which measurement architecture best separates the sensor response from common source variations?

Applications of optical fibers Hard
A. Use a larger-core fiber and compare its output with the launch current.
B. Add an optical attenuator and measure only the minimum received power.
C. Measure a sensing channel and a reference channel, then use their power ratio.
D. Increase source power and interpret the absolute sensing-channel power directly.

56 Which statement must hold for the effective index of a bound mode in an ideal core-cladding dielectric fiber with ?

Optical fiber as a dielectric waveguide Hard
A. , with no field at the interface
B. , with an evanescent cladding field
C. , with an oscillatory field in the cladding
D. , with an evanescent field in the core

57 A Lambertian emitter is placed directly against a large planar fiber face in air. If the fiber has and all rays inside its acceptance cone couple equally, what fraction of the emitter's hemispherical power can be accepted?

Numerical aperture Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

58 A weakly guiding step-index fiber has . Using cutoff values , , and , which LP mode families are guided, ignoring polarization and angular degeneracy?

V-number Hard
A. , , , and
B. and only
C. , , , and
D. , , and only

59 An OTDR records a reflection after launching a pulse into a fiber whose group index is . Neglecting instrument delay, how far from the OTDR is the reflecting event?

Applications of optical fibers Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.

60 A fiber with core radius and core index must remain single-mode at . Using , what is the minimum allowable cladding index?

V-number Hard
A.
B.
C.
D.