Title :
Reliability issues for optical fibre technology in nuclear applications
Author :
Berghmans, Francis ; Brichard, Benoît ; Fernandez, Alberto ; Van Uffelen, Marco
Author_Institution :
Belgian Nucl. Res. Centre, SCK/CEN, Mol, Belgium
fDate :
29 June-3 July 2003
Abstract :
The deployment of optical fibre networks for communication and monitoring in nuclear environments, including nuclear power plants, future thermonuclear power reactor buildings and even spacecrafts is a very particular issue. A major reliability problem when dealing with photonics in these environments is the presence of nuclear radiation fields. It is well known that electronic or photonic components may suffer from exposure to high-energy radiation. Any resulting system malfunctions might have dramatic consequences on safety and cost and it is therefore essential to investigate the reliability of optical communication devices exposed to radiation. In this paper, we try to summarize the degradation mechanisms of state-of-the-art fibre optic components. We illustrate these findings with recent results obtained on commercially available optical fibre components.
Keywords :
Bragg gratings; optical fibre couplers; optical fibre networks; photodiodes; radioactivity measurement; reliability; semiconductor lasers; surface emitting lasers; degradation mechanisms; fibre optic components; nuclear applications; nuclear environment monitoring; nuclear power plants; nuclear radiation fields; optical fibre communication; optical fibre components; optical fibre networks; optical fibre technology; photonic components; safety; thermonuclear power reactor buildings; Inductors; Monitoring; Optical fiber applications; Optical fibers; Photonics; Power generation; Power system reliability; Space technology; Space vehicles; Telecommunication network reliability;
Conference_Titel :
Transparent Optical Networks, 2003. Proceedings of 2003 5th International Conference on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7816-4
DOI :
10.1109/ICTON.2003.1264626