Effective Area and Nonlinear Coefficient Measurements of Single-Mode Fibers: Recent Interlaboratory Comparisons

Published

June 1, 2000

Author(s)

Timothy J. Drapela

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently administered two interlaboratory comparisons, coordinated within the Fiber Optics Committees of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), of measurements on single-mode optical fibers. The first dealt with Effective Area (A_eff) but also included Mode-Field Diameter (MFD) measurements; the second concerned Nonlinear Coefficient (n₂/A_eff). The A_eff comparison included five participants. Standard deviations, perfiber, for all participants measurements, ranged from 0.4% to 0.7% for MFD and from 1.3% to 3.9% for A_eff. The n₂/A_eff Comparison included data from six participants. Differences in measurement test sets required different participants to use wide ranges of specimen lengths and input powers. Standard deviations, per fiber, for all participants' measurements of n₂/A_eff, ranged from 9.6% to 18.7%.

Proceedings Title

Proc., Intl. Conf. on Applications of Photonics Tech. (ICAPT 2000)

Conference Dates

June 12-16, 2000

Conference Location

Quebec, CA

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

effective area, fiber measurements, fiber metrology, mode-field diameter, nonlinear coefficient, optical fiber

Citation

Drapela, T. (2000), Effective Area and Nonlinear Coefficient Measurements of Single-Mode Fibers: Recent Interlaboratory Comparisons, Proc., Intl. Conf. on Applications of Photonics Tech. (ICAPT 2000), Quebec, CA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=28581 (Accessed May 14, 2026)

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