Study of hydrogen diffusion in boron/germanium codoped optical fiber

Presents a novel technique for studying the dynamics of hydrogen diffusion in optical fiber. It shows that the hydrogen contributes directly to the effective refractive index of the fiber by its dielectric susceptibility. It provides a simple theory that relates the refractive index change to the total hydrogen concentration in the fiber core. It also deduces that there is a small contribution of less than 5% to the refractive index through the photoelastic effect. A low-finesse fiber Bragg grating Fabry-Perot interferometer allows the determination of the evolution of the hydrogen concentration in situ. The experimental results obtained for isothermal and isobaric diffusion between 45°C and 90°C yielded values for the parameters of Arrhenius-type expressions for the diffusivity, permeability, and solubility of hydrogen in germanium/boron codoped single-mode fiber. In addition, least squares curve-fits for outdiffusion yielded the gas-phase mass-transfer coefficient as a function of temperature.