3rd International Conference Laser M2P

J. Phys. IV France 04 (1994) C4-451-C4-454
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:19944108

Visible optical spectra of [MATH]-irradiated uranium - doped ZBLAN fibres

S. MAGNE¹, G. BOISDɹ, G. MONNOM², Y. OUERDANE³, M. DRUETTA³, J.P. GOURE³ and G. MAZÉ<sup>4

1</sup>  Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, LETI-DEIN, CEN Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France
²  Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, URA 190 du CNRS, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice cedex, France
³  Laboratoire TSI, URA 842 du CNRS, 42023 Saint-Etienne cedex 2, France
⁴  Le Verre Fluoré SA, ZI du Champ Martin, 35770 Vern-sur-Seiche, France

Abstract
Actinides, particularly uranium, are again of interest because these elements provide a broad spectroscopic tunability and open a new field of fibre laser applications. The uranium ion possesses many oxidation states, the most stable being U⁴⁺ and U⁶⁺. U³⁺ is an unusual oxidation state in fluorides. U³⁺ is of interest because it can provide an efficient laser emission of between 2 and 2.7 µm. We report visible absorption and fluorescence spectra of pure and γ-irradiated uranium - doped ZBLAN fibres. We show that γirradiation leads to a high reduction of U⁴⁺ into U³⁺, which is stable over a few years. Strong absorption bands of U⁴⁺ and U³⁺, centered at 650 nm and 860 nm respectively, enable us to estimate the change of the uranium oxidation state.

© EDP Sciences 1994