Radiation processes in halide crystals and glasses

Abstract

Materials with wide bandwidth transparency from the ultraviolet into the infrared are increasingly in demand for new electrooptic devices, lasers and light guides to be used in optical communication. Since the variety of potential applications can require the operation of these systems under hostile environmental conditions such as radiation, it is necessary that an understanding of the radiation damage process be obtained through a careful study of various types of materials and radiation environments. The fact that halide materials are particularly sensitive to radiation through a radiolysis process makes it imperative that potential devices involving these materials be characterized as to their radiation damage properties. The purpose of this paper is to review the radiation damage mechanisms in halide crystals and glasses and to assess their usefulness for future optical device systems.