Optical losses in As--S fibers in the wavelength range 0.8--1.6 μ

The spectra of the optical losses in fibers were determined in the 0.8--1.6 μ wavelength range. A considerable change in the optical losses was observed under the influence of visible radiation and this was attributed to a photoinduced absorption of light because of a strong interaction of nonequilibrium carriers with localized states in the band gap of a glassy chalcogenide semiconductor. The photoinduced absorption was found to depend on the visible radiation intensity. The optical losses in the fibers made of chalcogenide glasses increased as a result of irradiation with a neutron dose of 1017 cm-2 because of the appearance of additional defects which altered the surface state of the fibers