Devitrification in annealed optical fiber

The decrease in transmittance of annealed optical fiber has been measured versus temperature and time. The annealing loss is due to the devitrification of the glass and OH absorption in the 1200 to 1500 nm wavelength region. Both loss mechanisms propagate primarily from the surface into the core. However, to increase the OH absorption significantly, annealing times greater than 10 h are required. Fibers heated from 1000 to 1300/spl deg/C in an air atmosphere quickly devitrify and their transmittance approaches zero. Also, the current sensitivity of annealed fiber current sensors versus annealing time at 850/spl deg/C has been measured. A decrease in the current sensitivity is attributed to devitrification in the fiber.