Performance of F-Doped Silica Fiber Under High Ionizing Radiation Exposure

Abstract

This work investigates the radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) performance of F-doped silica core single-mode fibers (Si-SMFs) under high ionizing radiation exposure. The Si-SMFs were fabricated using plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) with a triple-cladding design to minimize internal stress. Throughout two distinct types of radiation exposure experiments, the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of RIA at telecommunication wavelengths of 1310 and 1550 nm were monitored in real-time using an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR). Upon completion of the initial irradiation cycle, characterized by a dose rate of 1.25 Gy(SiO2)/s and a total dose of 1 MGy(SiO2) at room temperature (RT), the RIA values for the sample fibers reached approximately 14.43 dB/km at 1310 nm and 22.81 dB/km at 1550 nm. Notably, the F-doped fibers exhibited superior RIA performance at the shorter wavelength (1310 nm) when the accumulated dose exceeded 40.5 kGy(SiO2) ( $\gamma $ -rays, at RT). After the second irradiation phase, the RIA values decreased to approximately 7.27 dB/km at 1310 nm and 14.38 dB/km at 1550 nm. This study sheds light on the attenuation characteristics of F-doped silica fibers under high ionizing radiation and their variation with radiation dose, providing valuable insights for the application of optical fibers in radiation environments.