This part of IEC 60793 establishes uniform requirements for measuring the chromatic dispersion of optical fibre, thereby assisting in the inspection of fibres and cables for commercial purposes.
Chromatic dispersion varies with wavelength. Some methods and implementations measure the group delay as a function of wavelength and the chromatic dispersion and dispersion slope are deduced from the derivatives (with respect to wavelength) of this data. This differentiation is most often done after the data are fitted to a mathematical model. Other implementations can allow direct measurement (of the chromatic dispersion) at each of the required wavelengths.
For some categories of fibre, the chromatic dispersion attributes are specified with the parameters of a specific model. In these cases, the relevant recommendation or standard defines the model appropriate for the definition of the specified parameters. For other fibre categories, the dispersion is specified to be within a given range for one or more specified wavelength intervals. In the latter case, either direct measurements may be made at the wavelength extremes or some fitting model may be used to allow either group delay measurement methods or implementations or storage of a reduced set of parameters that may be used to calculate the interpolated dispersion for particular wavelengths which may not have actual direct measurement values.
Annex E gives a general description of chromatic dispersion fitting and outlines a number of fitting equations suitable for use with any of the measurement methods or fibre categories.
This standard gives four methods for measuring chromatic dispersion:
- method A: phase shift;
- method B: spectral group delay in the time domain;
- method C: differential phase shift;
- method D: interferometry.
Methods A, B, and C apply to the measurement of chromatic dispersion of the following fibres over a specified wavelength range:
- class A1 graded-index multimode fibres;
- category A4f, A4g and A4h multimode fibres;
- class B single-mode fibres (all categories).
Method D applies to the measurement of chromatic dispersion values of single-mode fibres
categories B1, B2, B4 and B5 over the 1 000 nm to 1 700 nm wavelength range.
The methods can be applied to laboratory, factory and field measurements of chromatic dispersion, and the wavelength range of the measurements can be tailored as required.
Measurements are made at temperature as stated in IEC 60793-1, Table 1 - Standard range of atmospheric conditions (Temperature 23 °C ±5 °C).
The methods are suitable for fibre or cable lengths greater than 1 km. They may also be applied to shorter lengths, but accuracy and repeatability may be compromised. Method D is the preferred method for shorter piece fibres (1 m to 10 m).
Information common to all methods is contained in Clauses 1-8, and information pertaining to each individual method appears in Annexes A, B, C, and D, respectively.

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• DS DS/EN 60793-1-1 : Optical fibres - Part 1-1: Measurement methods and test procedures - General and guidance
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• BIS IS/IEC 60793-1-21 : Optical fibres : Part 1 Measurements methods and test procedures, Section 21 Coating geometry
• BIS IS/IEC 60793-1-22 : Optical fibres : Part 1 Measurement methods and test procedures , Section 2 Length measurement

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