Characterizing short dispersion-length fiber via dispersive virtual reference interferometry.

Area of Science:

• Optical Fiber Characterization
• Metrology
• Photonics

Background:

• Characterizing fibers with near-zero dispersion-length products is crucial for optical systems.
• Existing methods often require broad spectral bandwidths or multiple scans, limiting practicality.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce Dispersive Virtual Reference Interferometry (DVRI) for characterizing short fibers (<1m) with near-zero dispersion-length.
• Demonstrate DVRI's accuracy and efficiency compared to standard techniques.

Main Methods:

• Developed and experimentally validated the DVRI technique.
• Utilized a tunable laser with a 145 nm bandwidth for characterization.
• Applied DVRI to an erbium-doped gain fiber and a commercial dispersion-shifted fiber.

Main Results:

• DVRI achieved accuracy comparable to balanced spectral interferometry for group delay and dispersion-length measurements.
• Characterized a 23.3-cm erbium-doped gain fiber with a dispersion-length product <0.002 ps/nm.
• Determined the zero-dispersion wavelength and slope for a 28.6-cm dispersion-shifted fiber with high precision.

Conclusions:

• DVRI offers a practical and accurate method for characterizing short fibers with near-zero dispersion.
• The technique simplifies measurements by avoiding the need for wide spectral bandwidths or multiple scans.
• DVRI provides precise measurements of key fiber dispersion parameters.