Photochromic effect in germanosilicatefibers

at very low intensities in the blue-green domain

Didier Neveux

The photochromic behavior of silica-based fibers irradiated in the blue-green domain is presented. The temperature influence during and after illumination is investigated. To explain the initial decrease of the transmitted light, a physical model is proposed based on Ge(1), Ge(2),and Ge(3)color centers under a new assumption: the simultaneous creation of Ge(l) and Ge(3)or Ge(2)and Ge(3). Then this model is discussed theoretically. Strange oscillating behavior in a fiber subjected to power steps is also presented.

1.

Introduction

There is increasing interest in integrated gratings in germanosilicate fibers.- 8 These gratings are obtained under strong irradiation of the fiber with UV12 3 or short wavelengths of the visible domain. -6 This technique permits the fabrication of integrated filters and a low-loss fiber laser cavity. ' 7 Second-harmonic generation (SHG) is also of interest in this type of 5 fiber.9 -1 SHG of a 1.06-jim Nd:YAG laser beam has already been reported. Both phenomena occur with short wavelengths in the visible domain. Here we present a detailed study of the behavior of a germanosilicate fiber illuminated by blue-green wavelengths.' 6 We have already reported the influence of such illuminations on optical amplification at 1.5 jim in 7 erbium-doped germanosilicate fiber.'6"1 We have shown that the presence of Ge in SiO2 glass matrix must be avoided in order to obtain efficient fiber amplifiers or fiber lasers pumped in the blue-green domain and fiber lasers emitting at these wavelengths or at shorter wavelengths. Here we propose a physical model of the observed photochromism, and we introduce a new hypothesis. A theoretical analysis is also performed.
2. Dependence on a Glass Matrix

We have investigated photochromism in three different types of silica-based fibers. The first fiber has a pure silica core and a fluoride-doped cladding. It has been made by a vapor axial deposition method. Its

cutoff wavelength is 1.24 jim, and the core diameter is 9 jim. The second fiber is doped with phosphorus and has a 8.3-jim core diameter with a cutoff wavelength of 1.04 jim. The third fiber is a classical germanosiilcate fiber with a core diameter and a cutoff wavelength of 4.5 jim and 860 nm, respectively. These last two fibers were manufactured in the Centre National d'Etudes des T6l6communications laboratories by the modified chemical-vapor deposition method. In 100 m of each fiber we launched 100 mW of the green light of a cw argon laser at 514.5 nm over more than 1 h. The resultant absorption in the visible domain was measured by the cutback method (Fig. 1). The initial attenuations are also reported. The various mode cutoffs are responsible for peaks. Because of the difference in geometric parameters and manufacturing processes, results are difficult to compare 2 quantitatively.18-3 But qualitatively we clearly see that no additional losses were induced in the pure core silica. On the other hand, a change in attenuation is visible for both phosphorus- and germaniumdoped silica fibers. Moreover, we already reported that no change was seen in an erbium-doped alumino7 silicate fiber subjected to similar conditions.1 It means that, at these wavelengths, photochromism is due to the presence of only germanium and phosphorus atoms in the silica matrix. In all the following, we used the germanium fiber we have presented here.
3. Photochromism Efficiency

The author is with Centre National d'Etudes Telecommunications, B.P.40, 22301 Lannion, France.
Received 23 September 1991.

0003-6935/93/21395207$06.00/0.
e 1993 Optical Society of America.

Poyntz-Wright et al.2 4 reported that photochromism is due to a two-photon-absorption (TPA) centered at 480 nm. As a consequence, the wavelength we used (514.5 nm) is not efficient enough to induce great absorption. 6" 7 It is also well known that the higher

the input power, the higher the induced absorption.

3952

APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 32, No. 21 / 20 July 1993

400

450 500

550

600

650

700

750 800

850

400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 900 Wavelength (non)

Wavelength (non)

Fig. 1. Photochromism behavior in several types of silica-based

fibers: 100-mW input power at 514.5 nm in 100 nm.

Fig. 2. Stability of induced absorption over months: L = 20 m;

input power, 10 mW for 10 min at 465.4 nm.

So it would be interesting to know under which conditions we can neglect this effect. Intuitively we can consider that, with decreasing input power, the resulting decrease of interaction between matrix and photons can be balanced by increasing exposure time and fiber length, provided the background losses stay low. We illustrate this behavior in Table 1. Absorption was still rising when we stopped illuminations. Each experiment was made in a fresh fiber. The induced absorptions are similar in both cases. From this experiment it is found that photochromism cannot be neglected even at very low intensities (here, 0.19 mW/jim2 , which is 1 to 5 orders of magnitude lower than previously reported.2 42 8
4. Long-Term Stability

K is warmed up to 300 K than when it is directly illuminated at 300 K [Fig. 3(b)]. This behavior can be explained as follows. Apart from Rayleigh diffusion, the increase of absorption at short wavelengths in the visible domain is due to the tail of an absorption peak at 280 nm.3 0 Photochromism increases this peak but low temperature decreases its bandwidth. As a consequence, lowering the temperature decreases the IJV tail in the visible [see Fig. 3(a)]. It is important to notice here that induced losses decrease the transmitted pump power, and they decrease the
1,

We have measured the attenuation of a 20-m-long fiber, both 1 h and 14 months after illumination at 465.4 nm under 10 mW over 10 min (Fig. 2). The difference between spectra is probably due to the fact that attenuation was not yet stabilized 1 h after illumination.2 9 During all these months the fiber stayed in our laboratory and was never exposed to sunlight. This proves the long-term stability of the induced attenuation.
5. Influence of Temperature

-gr
.7

_Q

400

450

500

550 600 650 Wavelength (nm)

700

750

(a)
1,4 4001,2 DODo1,01

During each illumination we noticed that the transmission was sensitive to small changes of temperature.

It was thus interesting to study the temperature

influence. We took two 20-m-long fibers and we launched 94 mW of power at 514.5 nm for 10 min. One of the fibers was cooledat 77 K in liquid nitrogen. As shown in Fig. 3(a), the initial attenuation spectra is clearly less sensitive to temperature than the induced absorption. Moreover, we see that the perturbation is greater when the fiber illuminated at 77
Table1. InitialAttenuation 514.5nm,0.04dB/m at r

Measure300K at

0-

illumination K I at 77

41

00-

200- Illumination 0 a 400 450 500 I 1 550 600 650 Wavelength (nom) (b) 700 750

Input Power at
514.5 nm (nW) 31 3

Fresh Fiber
Length (m) 6.7 100

Exposure
Time 5 min lh

Induced
Attenuation 0.49 0.59 (dB)

Fig. 3. (a) Attenuation spectra at 77 and 300 K of two 20-m-long

fibers illuminated at 77 and 300 K, respectively: same fibers as Fig. 3(a). 20 July 1993 / Vol. 32, No. 21 / APPLIED OPTICS 3953 Input power, 94

mW at 514.5 nm for 10 min; (b) attenuation spectra at 300 K of the

photochromic effect at the output end of the fiber. As the UV tail is lower at low temperatures, the

resultant induced attenuation at the pump wavelength is lower at 77 K than at 300 K. Then, at 77 K, the fiber end is more illuminated, and the photochromic effect in the last meters is greater than at 300 K. An attenuation spectrum is a sum all along the fiber of the local attenuations. This is the reason why the total induced attenuation when illuminated at 77 K is greater than at 300 K [see Fig. 3(b)]. We conclude from this first observation that photochromism is not a phenon-based phenomenon. The second study we made was of the attenuation evolution that followed immediately after the laser light was blocked. Poyntz-Wright et al. 2 9 reported that the induced attenuation was still rising when the illumination was stopped. It is well known that there are three main defect centers in germanosilicateresponsible for attenuation in the visible domain.3 0'3 ' According to Poyntz-Wright et al.,2 9 these three defects trap and spontaneously relax electrons released under illumination, which leads to an increase of
based glasses Ge(1), Ge(2), and Ge(3), and Ge(1) is

concentrations. Moreover, the lowest rate shows that it takes 9 h to get a stability of better than 1% in the defect populations. Using these values for the absorption behavior at 77 K, we found a surprisingly good fit. Since these rates express the spontaneous trapping and relaxation of electrons, they must depend on temperature. Our experiment shows that this phenomenon is not sensitive to temperature. This means that spontaneous trapping and relaxation of electrons on and from the color centers may be related to low energetic phonons.
6. Physical Interpretation

attenuation with three exponential rates after the

pump light is stopped. To observe the influence of temperature on this behavior, we took two fresh pieces of 4-m-long fibers. One was cooled at 77 K. We illuminated both pieces at 514.5 nm under 430 mW for 10 min. The induced attenuation at 77 K was 1.15 dB but, as we just saw, it cannot be compared with the 1.7 dB induced at 300 K under the same conditions. The time evolution of the absorption just after the laser light was blocked is reported in Fig. 4 for both 77 and 300 K. The different levels are due to the different induced attenuations under illumination. Fitting our measurement at 300 K with the model proposed by Poyntz-Wright et al.,2 9 we found the following spontaneous trapping and relaxation rates: ,yei'= 7.2 10-2 S-1, Ye2' S- 1, Ye3' 0 s-I and e' 0 S, Y2e = 9.4 103 S Y3e' = 1.2 104 S-1, respectively. These lead to the characteristic normalmode decay rates: 7.2 x 10-2 S- 9.4 x 10-3 s-1 and 1.2 x 10-4 s-1. These values differ from those

Friebele et al.30' 3' showed that there are three main types of germanium-based defect in fibers. Ge(1) and Ge(2) centers are germanium atoms with a trapped electron and with 1 and 2 germanium as the next-nearest neighbors, respectively. Ge(3) is an E' center, and it is thought to have 3 germanium as next-nearest neighbors. But this model is still under discussion. Ge(1) is responsible for the absorption peak at 280 nm, whose tail extends well into the visible, and Ge(2) gives rise to the peak at 213 nm.3 0 There is also a peak at 240 nm because of the bonds Ge-X.3 2 X is not well defined; it may be a Ge or a Si atom. It is known that under V irradiation the band at 240 nm decreases3 3 while the number of Ge(1), Ge(2), and Ge(3) increases. The following behavior was proposed: V breaks the Ge-X bonds, creating a Ge(3) center and relaxing one electron. In order to explain photochromism that due to visible radiations, Poyntz-Wright et al.24 postulated TPA at 480 nm corresponding to the peak at 240 nm, breaking a Ge-X bond. The released electron can be 30 trapped to form Ge(1) or Ge(2). ' 3' Then Ge(1) can relax the trapped electron through single-photon 34 absorption (SPA) or TPA. This electron can be trapped by Ge(3) and reform the initial bond Ge-X This is the bleaching mechanism.2 4 When decreasing the input power it may seem reasonable to think

that this bleaching leads to the attenuation that

would be induced in a fresh fiber by this same lower power. But it seems that some broken constrained bonds Ge-X cannot be reformed through bleaching.3 4 We did not control this point because in all our experiments the dynamic of bleaching is much slower than that of photochromism.' 6 We explain this slower dynamism as follows: since the names of the color centers are related to the number of next nearest germanium neighbors, their respective concentrations are Ge(1) > Ge(2) > Ge(3). We assume

published in Ref. 29 because they depend on defect

3.00250!2 2001501.000.50 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 _T |-Iheoretica fit

~~~~~~~~300

K=

Rest time s) Fig 4. Time evolution at 77 and 300 K of two fibers after the illumination is stopped at 77 and 300 K, respectively: L = 4 m; input power, 430 mW at 514.5 nm for 10 min. 3954 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 32, No. 21 / 20 July 1993

here that there is no clustering of germanium and the germanium concentration remains low. The probability for a relaxed electron to be trapped in a Ge(3) center will be the lowest. Moreover, a Ge(3) center that traps an electron can be a stable system that can relax this electron. The Ge-X bond will not be systematically restored. This hypothesis was implicitly used in the conservation of the total number of electrons when modeling the attenuation evolution

after an illumination. We can deduce also that the number of Ge(1) is initially negligible because we have never seen any bleaching in any fresh fiber, even
at an input power as low as 3 mW.

Coupling the dynamic model under illuminations and the spontaneous evolution model of color centers,2 9 we get an

To obtain Eq. (4), we neglect the z dependence of the absorption. This hypothesis is not valid when t > 0 and for long fibers. In a rested fiber, we have a thermal equilibrium between the center populations. This means that yieni = Yeine(Ni - ni) (i = 1, 2) [Eqs. when a rested fiber is illuminated, we initially get
ani/at < 0 for i = 1, 2, Ge [see Eqs. (1)]. Then, from 1(a) and 1(b)], and from Eq. (1c) we get n3 r = 0. So

at

- [El(2)(le(2)np + /2

El(l)Ule(l)np]

x nl - Ylent + Yeinle(Nl nl),

an2

Eq. (4), we find that the transmitted power should initially increase. We observe such behavior only in fibers that were already illuminated, never in a fresh fiber. To solve this ambiguity we postulate the simulta2),

at

= -E2 (2) 2e( 2)n2n p2/2 -

Y2en2 + Ye2ne(N2 -

neous creation of Ge(3) and Ge(i) centers (i = 1, 2)

an3r

at
anGe =

EGe (2)Ge(2)(N3r- n3r)np2/2 - Ye3nen3r,

at

-EGe (2)Ge (2)nGenp 2/2 + Ye3nen3r,

(Fig. 5). When TPA breaks a Ge-X bond, the released electron can be immediately trapped by one of the three next-nearest germanium neighbors. This trapping forms a Ge(1) or a Ge(2) center. This new mechanism has the advantage of showing that the initial increase of Ge(1) centers (or of absorption in the visible) depends directly on the TPA. This new mechanism leads to the addition of the

term

6iEGe(2)rGe (2)nGe n2/2

to the right-hand sides of

8i stands for

where ni, n2 , and nGeare the population of Ge(1) and Ge(2) centers and Ge-X bonds, respectively; n3r is the population of broken Ge-X bonds that can be reformed through electron trapping, while n3p is the population of permanently broken Ge-X bonds. ne is the population of untrapped electrons, and ne = n3r + n3p - n - n2 - n 3, where n 3 is the population of trapped electrons in a permanent Ge(3) center (permanently broken Ge-X bond). N are the maximum
possible populations related to ni (i = 1, 2, 3, 3r, 3p). Wenote that nGe = N3r + N3p - n3r - n3p. Yei and Yie

Eq. 1(a)for i = 1 and Eq. 1(b) for i = 2.

are the spontaneous trapping and relaxation rates of an electron that are due to Ge(i). Here they do not 2 depend on population centers. O'l(l) le 2 , U92e , and UGe(2) are the SPA and the TPA cross sections of Ge(1), which are responsible for bleaching, and the TPA cross sections of Ge(2) and Ge-X, respectively. El(') is the probability of electron relaxation when Ge(1)
absorbs one photon (i = 1) or two photons (i = 2), and in the same way, E 4') 2 and EGe(i) stand for Ge(2) and

the fraction of electrons immediately trapped to form Ge(i) after the break of Ge-X. The other equations remain unchanged. Considering that we have never seen any bleaching in our fresh fiber, we can neglect the initial influence of n in the new Eq. (la). Assuming that the variations of attenuation are mainly due to SPA and neglecting the effects of the initial population of Ge(1) and Ge(2) (the validity of these assumptions can easily be controlled, e.g., by using the values found by Russel et al.34 it leads to 58 mW/>im2 > 2.3 W/pm 2 for the input intensity in the blue-green), we get

(an at

=
tOs 121

2(12
e Ole Ce

n e

Ln 3

p.

(5)

Ge-X. np is the photon flux. The photon propagation equation and the transmita = Cli + Uile 'Mnl + ure(2 )nlnp/2
+
2e

ted power give

(2)n2np/2 +

UGef2)nGenp/2,

(2) (3)

np

exp[-a(t)L],

where ai is the initial attenuation of the fiber and L is the fiber length. Differentiating Eqs. (2) and (3) we
easily get

We find that the initial slope of the transmitted power is proportional to the third power of the input power while it depends only linearly on the length. To check this result, we plot on the slope of the transmitted power at t = Osas a function of the input power in Fig. 6. The wavelength is 514.5 nm, and in order to maintain our assumptions (short fiber lengths) we took 5 m of fiber only. Each point represents a measure, and we took a new fiber for each point. Plot A in Fig. 6 clearly shows the validity of our model. It means that we observe a phenomenon based on TPA even at our low intensities. We made a second measurement on another type of
germanosilicate fiber. Its coare diameter is 3.2 [um

and the cutoff wavelength is 0.52 pLm. We took 16 m

-

anp

[20ile(l) + (le(2)np]

at
2

+ U2e2lp

at +

(2)

anGe

= -

npL

2 + npL(uiel )nl + 2e( )f2 +

UGe(21nGe)

(4)

20 July 1993 / Vol. 32, No. 21 / APPLIED OPTICS

3955

2 hv 0

0 -Ge0

I -GeI

I XI

0\

- 10-

Ge-0-Ges
o=4 0\ , I

X.E3

I,

\\__

~~~-__ 2'30s _
O ls

-5n _

On!................................... -1mW

Ge-X

Ge(l) or Ge(2)

Ge(3)

2-

is 2

Fig. 5. New mechanism: simulataneous creation of Ge(3) and

Ge(i) (i = 1, 2) centers through a TPA.

us
0

.
4

.
6

.
a

.
14

.
16

.
10

.
20

10 12 Time (s)

of fiber for each run, and we found a dependence on the power 2.5 of the input power (plot B in Fig. 6). It means that we have also a TPA phenomenon but the noninteger value remains unexplained. It may be due to the relatively long length of fiber we chose, but as with rare earths, we can also think of energy transfer between centers or of excited-state absoption. Moreover, we must note the great efficiencyof TPA at 2 relatively low intensities: 6 W/pLm here, down to 2 (see Section 3). Anyway, 0.19 mW/jim these experiments show that the mechanism we propose is relevant and can describe the initial evolution of induced absorption.
7. Reaction of an Irradiated Fiber to a Power Step

Fig. 7. Reaction of 20 m of irradiated fiber to a power step after different rest times. Input power, 1.1 W at 514.5 nm.

lower attenuation under illumination than when it is rested after this illumination. The model proposed by Poyntz-Wright et al. 3 4 presents some oscillations when our experimental conditions are simulated. But we did not manage to find a good numerical fit. However, it is encouraging for finding a complete theoretical model of photochromism.
8. Energy-Level Schematic

We subjected 20 m of fiber to 1.1 W of incident power at 514.5 nm. When stability of the transmitted light was reached, we stopped the laser light for a given time and suddenly restored the illumination. The results are shown in Fig. 7. We reported the time of blocking on each plot. For more clarity we translated each plot, and we mentioned the value of the translation. We see that transmission has a strange oscillating behavior depending on the time exposure. We checked to see that it was not a thermal effect on the input end of the fiber. The evolution seems to tend to a bleaching behavior16 2 7 with increasing time of light blocking. This is only the annulment of the additional losses that occurs immediately after stopping an illumination, as shown in Section 5. This is not a bleaching. It only illustrates that a fiber has a

K E.

_a 20 .:;g 0 5

'

25303

To describe our observations we propose the energylevel diagram of Fig. 8. The double arrows stand for photonic absorptions. The solid arrows represent all the electron behaviors that are possible when a Ge-X bond is broken through TPA, while the dashed arrows show that the Ge-X simultaneously becomes a Ge(3) center. When TPA occurs in a Ge-X bond, the released electron has a probability 81EGe being of simultaneously trapped to form a Ge(1) center, a probability 82EGe forming a Ge(2) center, and a of probability 8eEGe of being relaxed in the pathway. 8e is defined in the same way as 81. In this model we have 81+ 82 + e = L The large bandwidth of Ge(1) shows its influence up to the visible domain. We also propose a recovery between the pathway and the excited state of Ge(1) to illustrate the bleaching of Ge(1) through SPA or TPA. Moreover, the ground states of Ge(i) centers are close to the electron pathway in order to explain the relatively low influence of temperature.

Ge(l)
--

7-i

plot

ll

'

Y2,5X-44 Yp3 X-61.6

-1.1 lekJ)

:9 _S

tloE

"lot8A

5- 9-:| 3

,
10

,,|
29

16 17

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2 Input power (dBm)

Fig. 6. Initial slope of the transmitted power as a function of the

input power: input wavelength, 514.5 nm; plot A, L = 5 m; plot B,

Ge-Si

L= 16m.
3956 APPLIED OPTICS / Vol. 32, No. 21 / 20 July 1993

Fig. 8. Simplifiedenergy-level diagram illustrating photochromic behavior.

This model has the advantage of including a synthesis of the models proposed by Poyntz-Wright and Rus3 2 sel, 9 Friebele and Griscom, 0 Friebele et al.,3 1and Rowe.35
9. Conclusion

2. G. Meltz, W. W. Morey, and W. H. Glenn, "Formation Opt. Lett. 14, 823-825 (1989). 3. B. S. Kawasaki, K. 0. Hill, D. C. Johnson,

of Bragg

gratings in optical fibers by a transverse holographic method,"

and Y. Fujii,

"Narrow-band Bragg reflectors in optical fibers," Opt. Lett. 3,

66-68 (1978). 4. K. 0. Hill, Y. Fujii, D. C. Johnson, and B. S. Kawassaki, application to "Photosensitivity in optical fiber waveguides:

In our model we have postulated the simultaneous creation of Ge(3) and Ge(1) or Ge(3) and Ge(2) centers to describe the initial evolution of the transmission of a fiber under illumination, and this new idea seems relevant to our observations. These color centers are thought to be responsible for the writing of gratings and for SHG, but this point is still under
discussion.'5 ,28

reflection filter fabrication," Appl. Phys. Lett. 32, 647-649

(1978). 5. D. K. W. Lam and B. K. Garside, "Characterization of singlemode optical fiber filters," Appl. Opt. 20, 440-445 (1981). 6. C. P. Kuo, U. Osterberg, and G. I. Stegeman, "Long wave3 7. G. A. Ball, W. Morey, and J. P. Waters, "Tunable Er + fiber

The large absorptions induced by our low intensities show that the creation of color centers can never be neglected. The long-term stability we saw in the induced defects made us think of a great stability of the integrated gratings. For the SHG of a Nd:YAG laser at 1.06 plm, the higher the second harmonic in the green, the higher the increase of this second harmonic.10 This means that the higher the photochromism, the higher the efficiencyof the SHG. We saw that time compensates for low intensities. This is the reason why it can take several hours to obtain efficient SHG in a fresh fiber.' 0 It was shown, moreover, that Ce3 +-dopedphosphoaluminosilicate fibers (PASF's) could be more sensitive to UV than germanosilicate fibers for inducing
refractive-index

length cutoff of photoinduced gratings in photosensitive glass fibers," Appl. Opt. 29, 4430-4431 (1990). laser utilizing intracore Bragg reflectors," in Optical Fiber

Communication, Vol. 4 of 1991 OSA Technical Digest Series (Optical Society of America, Washington, D.C., 1991), p. 196. 8. V. Mizrahi, S. LaRochelle, G. I. Stegeman, and J. E. Sipe, "Physics of photosensitive-grating formation in optical fibers," Phys. Rev. A 43, 433-438 (1991). 9. U. Osterberg, A. S. L. Gomes, and J. R. Taylor, "Spectra and

temporal investigation of non-linearities in a non-polarization preserving optical fiber," presented at the European Conference on Optical Communication, Venice, Italy, 1985. 10. U. Osterberg and W. Margulis, "Dye laser pumped by Nd-YAG laser pulses frequency doubled in a glass optical fiber," Opt. Lett. 11, 516-518 (1986).

11. U. Osterberg and W. Margulis, "Experimental studies on efficientfrequency doubling in glass optical fibers," Opt. Lett.
12, 57-59 (1987). 12. R. H. Stolen and H. W. K. Tom, "Self-organized phasematched harmonic generation in optical fibers," Opt. Lett. 12, 585-587 (1987). 13. M. C. Farries, P. St. J. Russel, M. E. Fermann, and D. N.

an Yb3+-doped PASF exhibited a strong induced 3 absorption when submitted to infrared light. 7 More generally, a rare-earth-doped fiber will be more sensitive to light than a nondoped fiber. The first reason is that the rare-earth ion sizes are much bigger than ). They the fiber components (Si, Ge, 0, Al, P locally perturb the glass structure, and so they favor the creation of weak links that can be broken by photons. This is the case in our Er3 +-dopedgermanosilicate fibers.'6 But rare earth can also be a catalyst to the breaking of bonds through excited-state absorp3 tion or energy transfer. We saw that Tb + in a PASF produces LV light when pumped at 488 nm. The resultant induced absorption could then be bleached 3 with 514.5 nm. 7 In the same way, we observe that TM3+ in an aluminogermanosilicate fiber generates 3 3 LV light when pumped at 647.1 nm. 7 Yb + in a PASF pumped at 850 nm was also seen to induce strong absorption.3 7 These fibers are promising for obtaining efficient gratings with high-index differences written with classical lasers (argon lasers, laser diodes, etc.) instead of UV lasers. We think also that SHG in these fibers should be much more efficient and quicker. The author is indebted to J. F. Bayon for providing
the fibers, to P. Niay and T. Georges for fruitful discussions, and to M. Monerie for supporting this work.
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We also observed that

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