Comparative study of pulsed X-ray and y-ray radiation-induced effects in pure-silica-core optical fibers

We have investigated the variation of the optical absorption induced by pulsed and continuous y-ray exposures in pure-silica-core optical fibers. Tested multimode waveguides, designed with well-defined concentrations of hydroxyl groups and chlorine impurity, are possible candidates for integration in the plasma diagnostics of LMJ and ITER facilities. We evaluated their radiation-tolerance to low dose levels in the visible and near-infrared parts of teh spectrum. We measure the time dependent changes of the radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) at fixed wavelengths and we complete these measurements with a spectral analysis of these losses in the time range from 10-2 to 103s. We compared the responses obtained under transient exposures with measurements done at same dose levels with lower dose rate. We showed that the radiation-induced changes are strongly dose rate dependent for this kind of optical fibers. Depending on the hydroxyl group concentration in the silica-glass, different point defects are shown to alter the fiber transmission after both irradiation types. The self-trapped holes play a particular role in the transient responses of optical fibers whereas non-bridging oxygen hole centers are mainly responsible for y-ray radiation-induced losses. The consequences of these different behaviors for the integration of optical fiber in the LMJ are discussed.