Study of radiation effects on Er$^{3+}$-doped nanoparticles germano-silica fibers

International audienceThe main goal of the present work is to study the impact of Er–SiO$_2$ and Er–Al$_2$O$_3$ nanoparticles on the radiation induced defects in germano-silica optical fibers with Al/Ge ranges over 0.1–150. These fibers are prepared by a modified chemical vapor deposition technique and are characterized by optical absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. High amount of Ge, Er–SiO$_2$ nanoparticles-derived optical fibers exhibit lower radiation induced attenuation than those with a low Ge content undoped or doped with Al$_2$O$_3$ nanoparticles. Furthermore, the behavior of point defects namely GeE’, Ge(1), SiE’, nonbridging oxygen hole centers, and H(1) is reported according to the Al/Ge ratio. In contrast to the optical fiber preforms, no Al-related defects are found in the optical fibers. Therefore, the results evidence the strong radiation tolerance by the virtue of the nanoparticle doping, which is enabling technology for the development of the photonic and space applications in the radiation fields