A closely related yet independent quantity is the group-delay dispersion (GDD), defined such that group-velocity dispersion is the group-delay dispersion per unit length. GDD is commonly used as a parameter in characterizing layered mirrors, where the group-velocity dispersion is not particularly well-defined, yet the chirp induced after bouncing off the mirror can be well-characterized. The units of group-delay dispersion are [time], often expressed in fs.