Method of measuring the chromatic dispersion parameter of optical fibers using a single-arm interferometer and a fiber femtosecond frequency comb

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel method for accurately measuring the chromatic dispersion of optical fibers using a single-arm interferometer and a fiber femtosecond frequency comb, covering a broad spectral range.

Contribution

The work presents a new measurement technique employing a fiber femtosecond frequency comb and a theoretical model to determine the dispersion parameter D with high precision.

Findings

Accurately measured D for SMF-28 fiber

Broad spectral range measurement from 1 to 2 microns

High precision and rapid measurement process

Abstract

We propose and study a method for measuring the chromatic dispersion parameter (D) of optical fibers and bulk optical elements through the use of a single-arm three-wave interferometer and a fiber femtosecond frequency comb (FFFC). The FFFC is frequency locked to a single-ytterbium-ion optical standard and employed as a source of highly stable and broadband laser radiation. The FFFC spectrum ranges from 1 to 2 microns, which is the most demanded range in fiber optics. The theoretical model presented in the work is used to derive analytical expressions for the parameter D, taking into account the second-order group velocity dispersion. To validate the methodology, the parameter D is measured for a standard single-mode SMF-28 fiber. The proposed method enables the precise measurement of the parameter D with high accuracy across a broad spectral range in a relatively short time.