Radiation Response Of Optical Fibers And Selfoc Microlenses At 1.3 μm

The incremental loss induced at 1.3 μm in multimode and single mode optical fiber waveguides has been studied at 23 C and -55 C in situ as a function of time after high dose rate (9000 rads/min) steady state exposure and as a function of dose during low dose rate (- 1 rad/day) irradiation. Undoped and binary Ge-doped silica core fibers have demonstrated the lower radiation responses and better recoveries at 23 C; the induced losses substantially increase by factors of 8-18 when exposed at -55 C. Selective P doping on the fiber centerline or in the cladding has been found to reduce this temperature dependence, but increased damage and less recovery at 23 C have been noted. Measurements of the radiation response of Selfoc Microlenses have shown that the induced loss in a single lens at 1.3 I'm is only - 1 dB after an exposure of 2 x 104 rads; the SLS lenses are more radiation sensitive than the SLW lenses.