Application of Nd3+-doped silica fibers to radiation sensing devices

Applications of rare-earth-ion-doped optical fibers to radiation sensing devices have been studied. It was revealed that rare-earth-ion-doped optical fibers are highly sensitive to radioactive rays such as gamma ray and thermal neutron flux and that they have little dependence on ambient temperature and optal power. An experimental distributed radiation sensing system incorporating Nd3+-doped optical fibers, radiation resistant optical fibers and an OTDR was made and tested. The results proved that the distributed sensing system is practically adaptable to the measurement of radioactive rays.