| Abstract: | We report a novel method to increase the UV photosensitivity of GeO(2): SiO(2) optical fibers based on exposure to CO(2) laser irradiation before grating writing. Fibers treated with a CO(2) laser can produce gratings with refractive-index modulation two times greater and a Bragg wavelength that can be 2 nm longer than those of untreated fibers. Experiments on GeO(2): SiO(2) preform samples treated with a CO(2) laser in a way similar to the fibers showed a marked increase of the 242-nm absorption band, which is associated with an increase of germanium oxygen-deficient centers and is believed to be responsible for the higher photorefractive response. |
