Functionalized Microstructured Optical Fiber for Magnetic-Field Sensing in Radiation Environments

Abstract

A functionalized microstructured silica-based optical fiber, displaying significant magneto-optical effects in the C-band telecommunication wavelength (1530-1565 nm) has been developed by adding a sol-gel layer doped with magnetic nanoparticles around its pure silica core. The fiber was subjected to X-rays at room temperature up to a total ionizing dose (TID) of 500 kGy(SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> ) – 50 Mrad – at a dose rate of 9.5 Gy(SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> )/s. The magneto-optical responses of the functionalized fiber under a rotating permanent NeFeB magnet were investigated prior, during and after the irradiation using a dedicated setup. The results show that magneto-optical properties of the sample remain unaffected by such radiation constraints, keeping the same promising performances than the not-irradiated sample. An additional passive measurement was conducted with an even greater TID of 2.5 MGy, at same dose rate, giving identical results. This work demonstrates the radiation resistance of such a functionalization process in order to develop magneto-optically sensitive optical fibers able to be implemented in harsh environments such as the ones encountered in fusion-devoted facilities or nuclear power plants.