Broadband near-infrared fibers dispersion measurement using white-light spectral interferometry

A new technique for an experimental determination of the effective refractive index. group refractive index and dispersion of fibers in a broad near-infrared spectral range is presented. The method is based on a white-light spectral interference which utilizes an unbalanced Michelson interferometer. The effective refractive index is obtained by a direct fitting the cosine function to the spectral interference pattern recorded by a low resolution spectrometer. The method has been tested in the spectral range of 1000-1700 nm both with standard telecommunication fibers and a sample of a photonic fiber. The accuracy of dispersion measurement (0.16 ps/nm.km) exceeds those from the previously reported near-infrared white-light spectral interference methods. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.