Estimation of Single-Mode Fiber Dispersion Based on Measurement of Phase-Shift Microwave Signal Using a Vector Network Analyzer

A technology for estimating the chromatic dispersion parameter of a single-mode fiber is presented. The technique is based on high-precision measurement of the phase-frequency dependence in transfer characteristics of a microwave photonic link. Link transfer characteristic measurements are realized at two known optical carriers by a vector network analyzer and then the difference in phase-frequency dependences is used for fiber dispersion calculation. The results of experimental studies and the calculation of the error in estimating the dispersion parameter are presented.