Evaluation of a pragmatic approach for the prediction of radiation induced losses in optical fibers exposed to a gamma ray environment

The many advantages of optical fibers for their use in various nuclear environments ushered the respective communities to extensive studies over the last decades. Forecasting the behavior of fiber-optic links exposed to ionizing radiation still remains an important issue. We have developed an industry-aimed pragmatic method based on a simple model for the prediction of radiation induced losses in commercially available optical fibers exposed to ⁶⁰Co gamma rays. When environmental and measurement conditions are well defined, long-term losses could be predicted with a precision of about 15%, for dose rates ranging between 100 Gy/h and 3 kGy/h and total doses up to MGy levels. Thermally induced effects were also considered, between ambient temperature and 80 °C. From an interpretation of these results, we discuss its applicability and potential further improvements.