Influence of pre-annealing on the thermal regeneration of fiber Bragg gratings in standard optical fibers

A detailed study of the dynamics during thermal regeneration of fiber Bragg gratings, written in hydrogen-loaded standard single-mode fibers using a ns pulsed 213 nm UV laser, is reported. Isothermal pre-annealing performed in the range 85 °C to 1100 °C, with subsequent grating regeneration at 1100 °C, resulted in a maximum refractive index modulation, Δn(m) ~1.4⋅10(-4), for gratings pre-annealed near 900 °C while a minimum value of Δn(m) ~2⋅10(-5) was achieved irrespective of pre-annealing temperature. This optimum denote an inflection point between opposing thermally triggered processes, which we ascribe to the reaction-diffusion mechanism of molecular water and hydroxyl species in silica. The results shed new light on the mechanisms underlying thermal grating regeneration in optical fibers.