In this paper, we present a comparative experimental and theoretical study on gamma radiation sensitivity of Long Period Gratings (LPGs), fabricated by electric arc discharge technique, as monitored in three single mode optical fibers supplied by different manufacturers. A real-time measurement of LPGs’ wavelength shift was performed until a total dose of 35 kGy was reached, with average dose rate of 0.18 kGy/h, the irradiation being done at room temperature. In one case, a maximum radiation sensitivity of 1.34 nm/kGy was recorded for doses up to 0.5 kGy. Moreover, by combining experimental results with numerical simulations, it was found that changes occurred in the core refractive index of the irradiated optical fibers up to 2.5 ∙ 10⁻⁵. The increase of the core thermo-optic coefficient up to 1.5 ∙ 10⁻⁸/°C was observed as well.

This work presents a comparative study regarding the effects of gamma radiation on standard and different radiation hardened optical fibers, by means of arc-induced long period gratings (LPGs) written in these fibers. In particular, the resonance wavelength shift (Δλ _res ) of LPG attenuation bands and the attenuation in the fiber transmitted optical power (ΔP) have been comparatively explored during irradiation. Different responses were observed depending on the fiber model. The Ge-doped fiber exhibits significant changes of both resonance wavelength and optical transmission loss, whereas the pure silica core fiber is mostly insensitive to radiation (Δλ _res and ΔP keep almost close to zero). Surprisingly, the radiation resistant fiber, with doped core, exhibits significant resonance shift even if with trivial power losses. In addition, by combining these results with numerical modeling of LPGs, we were able to estimate the radiation effects on the optical fibers under investigation, in terms of average refractive index change. These results can be useful for the application of such devices in radiation environments, i.e., for the development of both radiation sensitive and radiation hardened sensors.

This paper compares the impact of gamma irradiation on various optical fibers, where the evolution in their optical properties could be identified using long period gratings (LPG) there induced. The LPGs were fabricated in broad spectrum of commercially available single-mode optical fibers - from standard to unconventional ones - using the electric arc discharge method. The fused silica fiber material contained such dopant as Ge, F, B/Ge and P. The gamma exposure has been performed with a dose rate of 2.6 kGy/h for 20 h (a total dose of 52 kGy). Subsequently, the recovery effect was monitored during the following 48 h. The wavelength shift and power change of the LPG attenuation bands during irradiation were investigated in real time. Moreover, to identify the impact of gamma treatment on the fiber properties, the thermal response of the gratings was studied before and after the irradiation. Depending on the fiber, significant differences have been observed in the grating responses. The highest radiation-dependent resonance wavelength shift has been found for B/Ge fiber (∼10 nm at maximum dose). Moreover, for these LPGs no response saturation within the applied dose levels has been observed together with very low recovery effect, what differentiate these LPGs from the other tested in this experiment. Finally, concerning the changes in optical power at the resonance wavelength, the LPG induced in P-doped fiber has shown a strong irradiation-induced attenuation reaching 18 dB with a negligible recovery effect. The findings reported in this work are crucial for optical fiber and optical fiber sensors application in environments exposed to radiation.

In this paper, for the first time, the effects of mixed neutron and gamma flux on the spectral and sensing responses of Long Period Gratings (LPGs) are thoroughly analyzed. Six LPGs written by means of Electric Arc Discharge (EAD) technique in standard and speciality fibers, including radiation-hardened ones, were tested. The EAD technique was chosen because it enables the writing of gratings both in standard and not photosensitive fibers. The experiments have been carried out in a “TRIGA” pulsed nuclear reactor and the LPGs were irradiated by a gamma-ray dose-rate of 9 Gy/s and a mean 1.2∙10¹² n/(cm²s) neutron flux. Real time monitoring was performed for a comparative investigation of LPGs’ response, in terms of radiation sensitivity and wavelength shift. Experiments show that LPG in a radiation-resistant fiber exhibits resonant wavelength shift higher than LPG in standard fiber. The changes of temperature sensitivity due to radiation were experimentally established by comparison of pre- and post-radiation characterization, indicating that radiation effects induce a slight increase of the temperature sensitivity, except for the LPG in pure-silica fiber. Theoretical and numerical analysis was combined with experimental data for evaluation LPGs’ parameters changes, such as refractive index and thermo-optic coefficient, after exposure to radiation.

In this paper, we present a comparative study of long-period gratings (LPGs) written in the standard Ge-doped fiber and in two different fluorine-doped fibers by means of the electric arc discharge (EAD)-based technique. Concerning Ge-doped fibers, we present an assessment of the EAD procedure by fabricating relatively short LPGs with deep attenuation bands (up to 32 dB) and trivial power losses. We also demonstrate the ability to manage the effect of the single EAD perturbation to select grating length, which in turn acts on the bandwidth of attenuation bands, without compromising depth. Furthermore, for the first time, we produced LPGs in F-doped fibers with attenuation bands deeper than 30 dB, demonstrating the dependence of the spectra on the grating period. Finally, we illustrate a comparative experimental study on the sensitivity of LPGs fabricated in the standard and F-doped fibers with surrounding refractive index (SRI) and temperature changes. We proved that the SRI response of LPGs in F-doped fibers is significantly higher than in the standard fiber and it strongly depends on the type of F-doped fiber considered. LPGs written in F-doped fibers exhibit a slightly lower temperature sensitivity (in the range 20-30 pm/°C for λ _res2 cladding mode) than the LPG in the standard fiber (45 pm/°C).