Gamma-radiation effects in pure-silica-core photonic crystal fiber

We investigated the steady state gamma-ray radiation response of pure-silica-core photonic crystal fibers (PSC-PCFs) under an accumulated dose of 500 Gy and a dose rate of 2.38 Gy/min. The radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) spectra in the near-infrared region from 800 nm to 1700 nm were obtained. We find that the RIA at 1550 nm is related with hydroxyl (OH^-) absorption defects in addition to the identified self-trapped hole (STH) defects. Moreover, it is proposed and demonstrated that reduced OH^- absorption defects can decrease the RIA at 1550 nm. The RIA at 1550 nm has effectively declined from 27.7 dB/km to 3.0 dB/km through fabrication improvement. Preliminary explanations based on the unique fabrication processes were given to interpret the RIA characteristics of PSC-PCFs. The results show that the PSC-PCFs, which offer great advantages over conventional fibers, are promising and applicable to fiber sensors in harsh environments.