Development of germanium fiber Bragg gratings and Er-doped fiber amplifiers for operation in harsh environments

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This proposal addresses the critical challenge of developing novel and more efficient Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) and Erbium-Doped Fibre Amplifiers (EDFA) for applications in car/airplane engines, submarines, spacecrafts and satellites that require operation in harsh environments. By exploiting recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology, which offer unique opportunities for advanced characterization and processing at INRS/UdeM, we propose an integrated project spanning from basic research to the design, fabrication and testing of high temperature and radiation-resistant optical fibres. Our methodology combines nuclear spectroscopy and ion beam treatments with advanced surface analysis, which can provide a fundamental understanding of the factors limiting the operating regime of optical fibres to improve and optimize their performance. This approach includes analytical techniques supported by modeling, as well as testing under high temperature annealing or after hard radiation exposure conditions, used to reproduce the environment of satellites and to imitate different fatigue scenarios. The effect of fundamental parameters, such as doping concentrations, co-doping, gas-loading and thermal annealing on both fibre performance and aging are studied separately, using notably experimental investigations by time-resolved transmission electron microscopy and optical mesoscopic imaging. The five main objectives are: 1) the atomistic study of the diffusion of erbium, germanium and their related defects, 2) the development of new experimental techniques for high resolution characterization of microstructured optical fibres, 3) the control of fiber core degradation, 4) the testing in severe environments, 5) new fiber design and optimization. Our ultimate goal is to develop prototype fibers for use by our industrial partner, MPB Technology Inc., a Canadian company that manufactures FBGs and EDFAs for a large variety of on-board systems worldwide. As an added benefit, throughout this project we will train two post-doctoral fellows, three PhD students and three summer students, imparting them advanced skills for R&D careers in the Canadian aerospace industry.