Irradiation Temperature Influence on the In Situ Measured Radiation Induced Attenuation of Ge-Doped Fibers

We report an experimental investigation on the radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) in the ultraviolet-visible domain for Ge-doped optical fibers, during X-ray (10 keV) exposure at different temperatures. The objective is to characterize the impact of the irradiation temperature on the RIA levels and kinetics. Our data highlight that for dose exceeding 1 kGy(SiO₂) the RIA spectrum changes with the irradiation temperature. In particular, for wavelengths below 470 nm the RIA depends both on the dose and on the irradiation temperature, whereas at higher wavelengths the RIA depends only on the dose. From the microscopic point of view the origin of this behavior is explained by a larger impact of the irradiation temperature on the Ge(1) defects generation mechanism with respect to the one of GeX defects, which appears as poorly temperature sensitive in the tested range. This finding prevents us from easily establishing a conclusive relation between the generation mechanisms of these two types of defects. The lower content of radiation induced Ge(1), in fiber irradiated at higher temperature, is supported by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) results acquired after the irradiation. In situ RIA and postmortem EPR data show a significant correspondence of the Ge(1) growth as a function of the dose. Confocal microscopy luminescence experiments indicate that the non-bridging oxygen hole center concentration is higher at 473 K in comparison with those observed at 300 and 373 K.