Measurement of the Group Velocity Dispersion of air using a femtosecond comb

In this thesis, the Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD) of air has been measured by using a femtosecond frequency comb at 1.5 microm. By comparing the spectra from a balanced and unbalanced Mach - Zehnder interferometer, the need for vacuum tube is eliminated. The method employs the Fast Fourier Transform of both auto- and cross correlation to find the spectral and their differences. The GVD of air is then calculated from these spectral phase differences. With twenty-five independent measurements, the GVD of air was found to be 0.0120 fs2/mm, with a standard deviation of 0.0075 fs2/mm.