Simple Method for Measuring the Zero-Dispersion Wavelength in Optical Fibers

Abstract

We propose a very simple method for measuring the zero-dispersion wavelength of an optical fiber as well as the ratio between the third- and fourth-order dispersion terms. The method is based on the four wave mixing process when pumping the fiber in the normal dispersion region, and only requires the measurement of two spectra, provided that a source tunable near the zero-dispersion wavelength is available. We provide an experimental demonstration of the method in a photonic crystal fiber and we show that the measured zero-dispersion wavelength is in good agreement with a low-coherence interferometry measurement.