Effect of γ-irradiation on light attenuation in lightguides fabricated from multicomponent glass

Optical loss behavior was investigated in multicomponent glass fiber lightguides during γ-irradiation has been investigated over the wavelength range 0.8-1.6 μm as a function of cerium oxide content in the fiber core and the synthesis conditions for the original glass; relaxation of the optical losses after irradiation at 300 K was studied. An increase of 0.72 mass % in cerium oxide concentration in the lightguide core reduced the γ-induced optical losses in fibers drawn from glasses prepared under oxidative conditions over the entire wavelength range investigated. One cause of this phenomenon was suppression of the γ-induced loss component long-lived at 300 K. A shift toward reduction in the redox balance during synthesis of the glasses increased lightguide radio-optical stability in the 850 nm wavelength region. An annealing temperature of 70-80 degrees C was found to permit a significant reduction in losses for an irradiated lightguide fabricated from a cerium-containing multicomponent glass