Research on Photo-Radiation Darkening Performance of Ytterbium-Doped Silica Fibers for Space Applications

Yb 3+ /Al 3+ -doped and Yb 3+ /Al 3+ /P 5+ -doped silica fibers with almost identical Yb 3+ doping concentrations were prepared using modified chemical vapor deposition methods. A harsh experimental environment for simultaneous photo-darkening (PD) and radio-darkening (RD) of an ytterbium-doped silica fiber (YDF) was established. The RD, PD, and photo-radio-darkening (PRD) of the YDF were characterized at two dose rates of 0.1 rad(Si)/s and 1 rad(Si)/s. The laser performances before and after the darkening process were tested under 974-nm pumping. The results demonstrated that the PD largely dominated the PRD kinetics of the YDF at a low dose rate (e.g., that in space) and that the PRD was not a superposition of RD and PD owing to the pump light bleaching if the induced loss was larger than the PD equilibrium level. The induced loss and defect types were investigated through absorption spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance. The results revealed that the P doping could enhance the PD, RD, and PRD resistances by inhibiting the formation of aluminum-oxygen hole centers.