Photosensitivity of active optical fibers with a core made of phosphosilicate glass co-doped with germanium and aluminum oxides to the effects of UV radiation

Authors

  • Andrey A. Rybaltovsky Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, 38, Vavilov st., Moscow 119333, Russian Federation
  • Sergei A. Vasiliev Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, 38, Vavilov st., Moscow 119333, Russian Federation
  • Alexey S. Lobanov G. G. Devyatykh Institute of Chemistry of High Purity Substances of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 49, Tropinin st., Nizhny Novgorod 603951, Russian Federation
  • Denis S. Lipatov G. G. Devyatykh Institute of Chemistry of High Purity Substances of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 49, Tropinin st., Nizhny Novgorod 603951, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13686

Keywords:

Germanophosphosilicate glass, Aluminophosphosilicate glass, Photorefractive effect, Photoinduced color centers, Active fiber optics, Fiber Bragg gratings, Induced refractive index

Abstract

Objectives: This work is devoted to the investigation of the physicochemical mechanisms of recording and thermal stability of photoinduced refractive index Bragg gratings in optical fibers with a core based on phosphosilicate glass activated with rare-earth ions (Er3+ and Yb3+). The effect of dopants of germanium (GeO2) and aluminum (Al2O3) oxides in the phosphosilicate glass matrix (P2O5/SiO2) on its photosensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) laser radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm is studied.

Experimental: It was discovered that the addition of GeO2 at a concentration of ~3 mol % increases the photosensitivity and the recording rate of Bragg gratings by more than an order of magnitude compared to the basic (undoped) glass composition P2O5/SiO2. Moreover, the thermal stability of Bragg gratings recorded in fibers with a GeO2/P2O5/SiO2 core composition turned out to be significantly (by approximately 200 °C) lower than that of similar gratings recorded in standard commercial fibers with a germanosilicate glass (GeO2/SiO2) core.

Conclusions: A compromise solution combining the relatively high photosensitivity of the active fiber core and satisfactory thermal stability of the recorded gratings was found in the complex, four-component glass matrix based on a GeO2/Al2O3/P2O5/SiO2 composition. The paper also proposes a model describing the appearance of new point defects (color centers) as the main result of photoionization of interatomic bonds in the glass network by UV radiation. In this model, the mechanisms of formation and thermal decay of refractive index gratings are associated with changes in the absorption spectrum of glass caused by the structural transformation of the network in the vicinity of the color centers

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Author Biographies

  • Andrey A. Rybaltovsky, Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, 38, Vavilov st., Moscow 119333, Russian Federation

    Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math.), Research Fellow at the Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, Prokhorov General Physics Institute RAS (Moscow, Russian Federation)

  • Sergei A. Vasiliev, Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, 38, Vavilov st., Moscow 119333, Russian Federation

    Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math.), Senior Research Fellow at the Dianov Fiber Optics Research Center, Prokhorov General Physics Institute RAS (Moscow, Russian Federation)

  • Alexey S. Lobanov, G. G. Devyatykh Institute of Chemistry of High Purity Substances of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 49, Tropinin st., Nizhny Novgorod 603951, Russian Federation

    Cand. Sci. (Chem.), Senior Research Fellow at the G.G. Devyatykh Institute of High-Purity Substances Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation)

  • Denis S. Lipatov, G. G. Devyatykh Institute of Chemistry of High Purity Substances of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 49, Tropinin st., Nizhny Novgorod 603951, Russian Federation

    Cand. Sci. (Chem.), Senior Research Fellow at the G. G. Devyatykh Institute of High-Purity Substances Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation)

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Published

2026-06-25

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 2 (2026)

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Original articles

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How to Cite

Photosensitivity of active optical fibers with a core made of phosphosilicate glass co-doped with germanium and aluminum oxides to the effects of UV radiation. (2026). Kondensirovannye Sredy I Mezhfaznye Granitsy = Condensed Matter and Interphases, 28(2), 279-289. https://doi.org/10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13686