Numerical analysis of radiation effects on fiber optic sensors

Abstract

Optical fiber sensors (OFS) are a potential candidate for monitoring physical parameters in nuclear environments. However, under an irradiation field the optical response of the OFS is modified via three primary mechanisms: (i) radiation-induced attenuation (RIA), (ii) radiation-induced emission (RIE), and (iii) radiation-induced compaction (RIC). For resonance-based sensors, RIC plays a significant role in modifying their performance characteristics. In this paper, we numerically investigate independently the effects of RIC and RIA on three types of OFS widely considered for radiation environments: fiber Bragg grating (FBG), long-period grating (LPG), and Fabry-Perot (F-P) sensors. In our RIC modeling, experimentally calculated refractive index (RI) changes due to low-dose radiation are extrapolated using a power law to calculate density changes at high doses. The changes in RI and length are subsequently calculated using the Lorentz–Lorenz relation and an established empirical equation, respectively. The effects of both the change in the RI and length contraction on OFS are modeled for both low and high doses using FIMMWAVE, a commercially available vectorial mode solver. An in-depth understanding of how radiation affects OFS may reveal various potential OFS applications in several types of radiation environments, such as nuclear reactors or in space.