Macro-bending influence on radiation induced attenuation measurement in optical fibres

Influence of the bending radius on the measurement of radiation induced attenuation in glass optical fibres is discussed in this paper. Radiation induced attenuation measured in two single-mode fibre types shows discrepancies when coiled around a low bending radius spool: the observed attenuation is lower than expected. A series of dedicated tests reveals that this invalid measurement is related to the displacement of the mode field towards the cladding when the fibre is bent with a low radius, and to the different radiation resistances of the core and cladding glasses. For irradiation tests of optical fibres, the spool radius should therefore be carefully chosen.