Title
Extreme Radiation Sensitivity Of Ultra-Low Loss Pure-Silica-Core Optical Fibers At Low Dose Levels And Infrared Wavelengths
Abstract
We report here the response of a commercial ultra-low loss (ULL) single-mode (SM) pure silica core (PSC) fiber, the Vascade EX1000 fiber from Corning, associated with 0.16 dB/km losses at 1.55 mu m to 40 keV X-rays at room temperature. Today, among all fiber types, the PSC or F-doped ones have been demonstrated to be the most tolerant to the radiation induced attenuation (RIA) phenomenon and are usually used to design radiation-hardened data links or fiber-based point or distributed sensors. The here investigated ULL-PSC showed, instead, surprisingly high RIA levels of similar to 3000 dB/km at 1310 nm and similar to 2000 dB/km at 1550 nm at a limited dose of 2 kGy(SiO2), exceeding the RIA measured in the P-doped SM fibers used for dosimetry for doses of similar to 500 Gy. Moreover, its RIA increased as a function of the dose with a saturation tendency at larger doses and quickly recovered after irradiation. Our study on the silica structure suggests that the very specific manufacturing process of the ULL-PSC fibers applied to reduce their intrinsic attenuation makes them highly vulnerable to radiations even at low doses. From the application point of view, this fiber cannot be used for data transfer or sensing in harsh environments, except as a very efficient radiation detector or beam monitor.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.3390/s20247254
SENSORS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
radiation monitor, fiber sensors, optical fibers, radiation effects
Journal
20
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
24
1424-8220
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
10