Patent ID: 8040523

Claim:
A measurement method of the chromatic dispersion of an optical waveguide sample using an optical interferometer, which enables an optical beam splitter to distribute optical signals transferred from a light source to a reference arm having an adjustable transmission length and to a sample arm connected to said optical waveguide sample to be measured and allows the distributed optical signals to meet at an optical beam combiner so that they form an interference pattern, comprising the steps of: measuring first and second interference spectra of the optical beam output exiting from said interferometer with an optical spectrum analyzing apparatus when said optical waveguide is connected to said sample arm, and when said optical waveguide is not connected to said sample arm respectively, by adjusting the reference arm length for appearance of clear interference patterns and converting the wavelength-domain interference spectra into frequency-domain interference spectra; calculating phase difference values of the interference spectra from a predetermined reference peak as a function of the frequency change by counting the interference peak (or valley) points; finding two Taylor series curve fit functions, each of these for each set of the phase difference value data corresponding to each of the first and second interference spectra; and calculating a chromatic dispersion coefficient of the optical waveguide by using the coefficients of the Taylor series curve fit functions.