Group delay dispersion measurements in the mid-infrared spectral range of 2-20 µm.

We present two measurement devices which both allow the direct measurement of the group delay (GD) and group delay dispersion (GDD) of laser optics, covering the near- and mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range from 2 to 20 µm (500-5,000 cm). Two different kinds of devices were developed to measure the GDD of multilayer interference coatings. One is a resonant scanning interferometer (RSI) and the other is a white light interferometer (WLI). The WLI is also capable of measuring the GDD in transmission, for instance of bulk material. GDD measurements of a high dispersive mirror for wavelengths from 2.0 to 2.15 µm and one of a multilayer mirror from 8.5 to 12.0 µm are presented. A measurement of a zinc selenide (ZnSe) substrate in transmission was made with the WLI demonstrating the full bandwidth of the device from 1.9 to 20 µm. The comparison of all measurements with their related theoretical values shows a remarkable correspondence.