Mechanical degradation of polymer-coated glass optical fibres under γ irradiation

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Abstract
The successful operation of any system containing an optical fiber depends both on the optical and the mechanical properties of the fiber. When used in applications where ionizing radiations are present, the detrimental effect of the radiation must be evaluated. Although radiation-induced optical attenuation has been studied by many groups, there is negligible quantitative data available on how the mechanical strength of glass optical fibers is affected by gamma irradiation. This paper reports results from an experimental investigation into the tensile strength of standard, polymer coated, glass optical fibers when exposed to gamma-rays from a Co-60 source. The changes in the mean stress at failure, measured from the Weibull plots, showed that fibers protected with acrylate, silicone + acrylate, or polyimide coatings showed little degradation after receiving a total dose of 1 MGy (they retained more than 95 percent of their preirradiated strength). Two other types of fiber, both protected with fluorinated polymers, were severely weakened after 0.1 MGy (their tensile strength being reduced to less than 40 percent of their preirradiated strength). Support is given for the hypothesis that this degradation results from gaseous fluorine containing species chemically attacking the surface of the glass fiber.

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