Influence of electron irradiation on optical properties of Bismuth doped silica fibers

We report a study of the attenuation spectra transformations for a series of Bismuth (Bi) doped silica fibers with various contents of emission-active Bi centers, which arise as the result of irradiation by a beam of high-energy electrons. The experimental data reveal a substantial decrease of concentration of the Bi centers, associated with the presence of Germanium in silica glass, at increasing the irradiation dose (the resonant-absorption bleaching effect in germano-silicate fiber). In contrast, the spectral changes that appear in Bi doped alumino-silicate fiber have through irradiation a completely different character, viz., weak growth of the resonant-absorption peaks ascribed to the Bi centers, associated with the presence of Aluminum in silica glass. These results demonstrating high susceptibility of Bi centers to electron irradiation while opposite routes of the irradiation-induced spectral changes in Bi doped germanate and aluminate fibers seem to be of worth notice for understanding the nature of these centers.