Photonics & Space

Rad Hard Fibers

Harsh Environment Fibers

Overview

Coatings for harsh environment

For more than a decade iXblue has developed a unique know-how in the design of optical fibers in radiative environments such as nuclear power plants, high energy physics labs, nuclear waste repository sites and even all the way into space. iXblue develops and maintains a comprehensive product line of fibers designed to fit many of such applications. Our fibers can be used for data transmission, sensing or experiment monitoring.

More fibers are available on stock and we have furthermore the ability to custom design your fiber based on your specific application. Do not hesitate to contact us with your specific technical requirements.

Highlights

Benefits & Features

Low radiation induced attenuation
Low bending losses
Chemical core compositions adapted to each radiative environment
Large choice of coatings for harsh environments
Outstanding mechanical protection

Applications

Nuclear Environment
High energy physics
Space

Main Specifications

Datasheet

Products

Product	Specification	Datasheet

IXF-SM-1550-80-019-PI	Low radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-SM-1550-80-024-PI	Low radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-SM-1550-125-012-PI	Low radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-SM-1550-125-014-PI	Low radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-SM-1550-125-028-PI	Low radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-SM-1550-125-014-HT	Low radiation level Acrylate coating	PDF	More info
IXF-RAD-SM-1550-014-HT	High radiation level Acrylate coating	PDF	More info
IXF-RAD-SM-1550-014-PI	High radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-RAD-SM-1550-014-AL	High radiation level Aluminum coating	PDF	More info
IXF-RAD-MMSI-L-105-125-022	105 µm core diameter Rad Hard Space Grade	PDF	More info
IXF-SRAD-SM-800-014-PI	High radiation level Polyimide coating	PDF	More info
IXF-PMF-1550-125-P-012-E	1550 nm operation Panda design Space Grade PM 1550 0.12 Numerical Aperture	PDF	More info
IXF-PMF-1550-125-P-020-PI	1550 nm operation Panda design 0.20 Numerical Aperture Polyimide coating	PDF	More info

Temperature Dependence of Radiation-Induced Attenuation of a Fluorine-Doped Single-Mode Optical Fiber at Infrared Wavelengths

Adriana Morana, Martin Roche, Cosimo Campanella, Gilles Mélin, Thierry Robin (Exail), Emmanuel Marin, Aziz Boukenter, Youcef Ouerdane and Sylvain Girard

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science ( Volume: 70, Issue: 4, April 2023)
https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2023.3239986
In this paper, we report a similar systematic study performed, in the IR spectral domain, on a F-doped single-mode fiber, manufactured by Exail through the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) process.
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Toward Confocal Chromatic Sensing in Nuclear Reactors: In Situ Optical Refractive Index Measurements of Bulk Glass

Marion Agoyan, Gary Fourneau, Guy Cheymol, Ayoub Ladaci, Hicham Maskrot, Christophe Destouches, Damien Fourmentel, Sylvain Girard, Aziz Boukenter

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science ( Volume: 69, Issue: 4, April 2022)
https://doi.org/10.1109/TNS.2022.3150221
Here, the optical fiber was a radiation-hardened (rad-hard) optical fiber made by Exail with an aluminum coating allowing its use up to 400°C.
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Radiation Effects on Pure-Silica Multimode Optical Fibers in the Visible and Near-Infrared Domains: Influence of OH Groups

Cosimo Campanella, Vincenzo De Michele, Adriana Morana , Gilles Mélin (Exail), Thierry Robin (Exail), Emmanuel Marin, Youcef Ouerdane, Aziz Boukenter and Sylvain Girard

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 2991
https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072991
For the present investigation, three MM optical fibers with pure silica cores, fluorine-doped claddings and polyimide coatings have been manufactured by Exail (Lannion, France).
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Combined effect of radiation and temperature: towards optical fibers suited to distributed sensing in extreme radiation environments

G. Mélin, A. Barnini, A. Morana, S. Girard, P. Guitton & R. Montron

30th Conference on Radiation and its Effects on Components and Systems (RADECS 2019) – September 2019

Combined effect of radiation and temperature on the response of polyimide coated radiation hardened single-mode fibers is investigated in the context of distributed monitoring of large nuclear infrastructures. Radiation induced attenuation (RIA) is evaluated for doses ranging from 1 to 10 MGy(SiO2) and temperatures up to ~250 °C.
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Radiation resistant single-mode fiber with different coatings for sensing in high dose environments

G. Mélin, P. Guitton, R. Montron, T. Gotter, T. Robin, B. Overton, A. Morana, S. Rizzolo & S. Girard

IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science – 10 December 2018

A radiation single-mode optical fiber has been specifically developed for distributed sensing in harsh environments associated with MGy(SiO2) dose radiation. Different types of coating have been used: acrylate, polyimide, aluminum that allow extending the range of accessible temperatures up to 400°C…
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Radiation hardened temperature measurement chain based on femtosecond laser written fbgs in a specific optical fiber

G. Mélin, L. Lablonde, T. Robin, J. Kuhnhenn, U. Weinand, A. Morana, S. Girard, E. Marin, J. Périsse, J.S. Genot, J. Grelin, L. Hutter, J.R. Macé, A. Boukenter & Y. Ouerdane

5th Workshop on Specialty Optical Fiber and Their Applications – October 2017

A radiation resistant temperature measurement chain based on femtosecond laser written FBGs is described. First results confirm a suitable design to withstand foreseen harsh nuclear envirnoment both in term of temperature and cumulated dose.
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