Abstract

The response of optical fiber waveguides to radiation has been previously well characterized only at room temperature (except for Ref. 3) for a large number of commercially available and prototype fibers at both 0.85 and 1.3 μm using dose rates of either ~10¹² rad/sec for pulsed irradiations or 10²-10⁴ rad/min for steady state irradiation.^1-3 This paper is the first report of the effect of temperature on the induced loss and recovery of a suite of both single-mode and multimode fibers at 0.85 and 1.3 μm over the —55-80°C typical Mil Spec temperature range and the first measurements of the dose rate dependence of the induced loss over the 0.0007 - 10⁴-rad/min range simulating reactor environs, fallout, or an accelerated cosmic background exposure. The results characterize optical fibers in these important field conditions.

© 1983 Optical Society of America