Sensors (Dec 2020)

Extreme Radiation Sensitivity of Ultra-Low Loss Pure-Silica-Core Optical Fibers at Low Dose Levels and Infrared Wavelengths

  • Adriana Morana,
  • Cosimo Campanella,
  • Jeoffray Vidalot,
  • Vincenzo De Michele,
  • Emmanuel Marin,
  • Imène Reghioua,
  • Aziz Boukenter,
  • Youcef Ouerdane,
  • Philippe Paillet,
  • Sylvain Girard

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s20247254
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 24
p. 7254

Abstract

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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 µm 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 ~3000 dB/km at 1310 nm and ~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 ~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.

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