Optical transmission and dimensional stability of single-crystal sapphire after high-dose neutron irradiation at various temperatures up to 688 °C
Abstract
The use of single-crystal sapphire optical fibers has been considered to extend fiber-optic sensing to the extreme temperature (>1000 °C) environments encountered in nuclear applications. However, before these sapphire fiber–based sensors can be deployed, their optical transmission and dimensional stability (which impacts drift of some sensors) must be characterized under representative testing conditions. Data regarding the optical transmission of sapphire following high-dose neutron irradiation at temperatures >100 °C is extremely limited. This work provides measurements of optical density (i.e., attenuation) and directional dimensional changes in bulk single-crystal sapphire materials irradiated to a fast neutron fluence of 2.4 × 1021 n/cm2 (3.5 displacements per atom) at temperatures ranging from 95 to 688 °C. Optical density measured after irradiation at 95 and 298 °C showed ultraviolet and visible absorption bands corresponding to known defect centers and temperature trends that were generally consistent with previous ex situ and in situ measurements made at much lower neutron fluence. However, optical density measured after irradiation at 688 °C was as much as two orders of magnitude higher, indicating that the fundamental mechanism for radiation-induced attenuation changes at this irradiation temperature. Additional analysis and comparison with previous works suggest that the attenuation may result from voidmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1837867
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1834262
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; AC07-051D14517
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Nuclear Materials
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 559; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-3115
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Radiation; Fiber-optic; Transmission; Dimensional change; Sapphire; Optical
Citation Formats
Petrie, Christian M., Birri, Anthony, and Blue, Thomas E. Optical transmission and dimensional stability of single-crystal sapphire after high-dose neutron irradiation at various temperatures up to 688 °C. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153432.
Petrie, Christian M., Birri, Anthony, & Blue, Thomas E. Optical transmission and dimensional stability of single-crystal sapphire after high-dose neutron irradiation at various temperatures up to 688 °C. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153432
Petrie, Christian M., Birri, Anthony, and Blue, Thomas E. Thu .
"Optical transmission and dimensional stability of single-crystal sapphire after high-dose neutron irradiation at various temperatures up to 688 °C". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153432. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1837867.
@article{osti_1837867,
title = {Optical transmission and dimensional stability of single-crystal sapphire after high-dose neutron irradiation at various temperatures up to 688 °C},
author = {Petrie, Christian M. and Birri, Anthony and Blue, Thomas E.},
abstractNote = {The use of single-crystal sapphire optical fibers has been considered to extend fiber-optic sensing to the extreme temperature (>1000 °C) environments encountered in nuclear applications. However, before these sapphire fiber–based sensors can be deployed, their optical transmission and dimensional stability (which impacts drift of some sensors) must be characterized under representative testing conditions. Data regarding the optical transmission of sapphire following high-dose neutron irradiation at temperatures >100 °C is extremely limited. This work provides measurements of optical density (i.e., attenuation) and directional dimensional changes in bulk single-crystal sapphire materials irradiated to a fast neutron fluence of 2.4 × 1021 n/cm2 (3.5 displacements per atom) at temperatures ranging from 95 to 688 °C. Optical density measured after irradiation at 95 and 298 °C showed ultraviolet and visible absorption bands corresponding to known defect centers and temperature trends that were generally consistent with previous ex situ and in situ measurements made at much lower neutron fluence. However, optical density measured after irradiation at 688 °C was as much as two orders of magnitude higher, indicating that the fundamental mechanism for radiation-induced attenuation changes at this irradiation temperature. Additional analysis and comparison with previous works suggest that the attenuation may result from void formation, leading to increased Rayleigh scattering losses in the material and increased swelling that would also result in drift of Bragg grating-based sensors in sapphire fibers. These results pose serious questions regarding the feasibility of sapphire fiber–based sensors for high-temperature nuclear applications.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153432},
journal = {Journal of Nuclear Materials},
number = ,
volume = 559,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2021},
month = {Thu Nov 25 00:00:00 EST 2021}
}
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