Radiation hardening of pure silica core optical fibers and their method of making by ultra-high-dose gamma ray pre-irradiation

摘要

A process for radiation hardening a pure-silica-core fiber, the process comprising the steps of:PP(a) providing a pure- silica-core fiber having a core index of refraction and having an outer surface;PP(b) exposing the fiber to a dose of ionizing radiation sufficient to permanently reduce transmission losses of the fiber to no more than about 30 dB/km within a wavelength range of about 400 nm to about 700 nm. In addition, white light may simultaneously be transmitted through the fiber during the exposure of the fiber to ionizing radiation. The presently claimed invention is directed to the above process and the radiation hardened fiber formed according to the above processing steps.