Radiation-induced spectral changes in femtosecond point-by-point written FBGs in metal and polyimide-coated fibers

The influence of β-radiation exposure (the total dose up to 41.1 MGy and dose rate of 2.5 kGy/s) on the spectral characteristics of high and low reflective FBGs inscribed using femtosecond laser radiation in Ge-doped and pure-silica core fibers with polyimide and metal coating is presented. The largest Bragg wavelength induced shift (BWS) of +55 pm is observed in the case of weak reflective FBG (type I) inscribed in Ge-doped fiber. A comparable red shift in wavelength of + 50 pm is observed in the case of high reflective FBG (type II), which is explained by an increase in the concentration of GeE’-centers and, accordingly, an increase in the effective refractive index. Moreover, a significantly smaller BWS of -10 pm was obtained in the case of high reflective FBGs inscribed in pure-silica core fibers.