Engineering Commons^™

Neutron Versus Gamma Radiation Effects On Ytterbium-Doped Optical Fibers, Olivia M. Borman

Theses and Dissertations

Multimode ytterbium-doped optical fibers (YDFs) are increasingly utilized in military applications involving fiber lasers and amplifiers. YDFs were irradiated with three different radiation sources (neutron, gamma, and mixed gamma/neutron) in order to determine the independent effects that gamma and neutron radiation have on the fibers. The transmission spectra of the fibers were measured during each irradiation and the spectral shapes and attenuation were compared at similar doses. Comparisons of the spectra showed that gamma radiation results in increased attenuation over the 550-975 nm wavelengths. Fast neutrons were found to contribute to increased attenuation near 500 nm. Neutron radiation also caused …