Pulsed X-ray Radiation Responses of Solarization-Resistant Optical Fibers

International audienceIn this work, we investigate the transient Radiation Induced Attenuation (RIA) of a particular type of optical fibers called “solarization-resistant” after an ultra-short X-ray pulse. We performed on-line RIA measurements, both at room temperature (RT) and at liquid nitrogen temperatures (LNT), to characterize the metastable defects that are quickly bleached just after the X-ray pulse. In particular, we studied the optical fibers in a large spectral range (0.7 – 3.5 eV) that allows us to follow the RIA kinetics from the NIR to the UV range. In both the investigated types of fibers, the transient RIA can be mainly explained by the generation and the post-irradiation kinetics of the self-trapped holes. Moreover, the possibility to compare the behavior at both RT and LNT gives us the possibility to better analyze the transient absorption dynamics, to follow the annealing processes of the defects induced by irradiation in these optical fibers