Remote Measurements of X-Rays Dose Rate Using a Cerium-Doped Air-Clad Optical Fiber

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science 2020-07, Vol.67 (7), p.1658-1662
• Main Authors: Bahout, Jessica, Ouerdane, Youcef, Hamzaoui, Hicham El, Bouwmans, Geraud, Bouazaoui, Mohamed, Cassez, Andy, Baudelle, Karen, Habert, Remi, Morana, Adriana, Boukenter, Aziz, Girard, Sylvain, Capoen, Bruno
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cerium; Dosimeters; Dosimetry; Glass; Harsh environments; Irradiation; Microscopes; Numerical aperture; optical fiber; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical variables measurement; Optics; Photoluminescence; Photons; Physics; Radiation; Radiation dosimetry; radioluminescence (RL); Raman spectroscopy; Scintillation counters; Silica; Silica gel; Silica glass; Silicon compounds; Silicon dioxide; Sol-gel processes; X-ray radiation; X-rays
• ISSN: 0018-9499; 1558-1578
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2020.2972043

Cerium doped silica glasses are attractive materials for radiation dosimetry. In this article, Ce-doped air-clad optical fiber has been fabricated for real-time X-ray dose rate measurements through the radioluminescence (RL) signal. The structural properties of the obtained material were studied using Raman spectroscopy. The presence of Ce 3+ ions inside the sol-gel-derived silica core was confirmed using photoluminescence (PL) measurements. This optical fiber, with a high numerical aperture, was tested as active and guiding material in an all-fibered remote X-ray dosimeter configuration. We demonstrated that the response dependence of RL versus dose rate is linear from 52 mGy(SiO 2 )/s up to at least 1.5 Gy(SiO 2 )/s, allowing to monitor the dose rate evolution during an irradiation run. The presented results confirm the potentialities of this microstructured optical fiber to monitor ionizing radiations in harsh environments. They also pave the way toward an alternative to the widely used approach that uses scintillator material at the end of a transport's optical fiber.