
468 Principles of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
15.2.4.1.1 LED
The LED is the simplest optical source available for optical ber communi-
cation. It is a low-cost device used with multimode bers. It cannot be used
with single-mode bers because its frequency spectrum is much wider than
warranted for single-mode operation. Figure 15.10 shows the frequency spec-
trum of a typical LED.
The launched power of LED is much less as compared to that of LASER
diodes; hence, they are suitable for short distances only. (Launched power
is a product of the output power and the coupling efciency in the ber. In
case of LED, the coupling efciency is very po