Annealing properties of gratings written into UV-presensitized hydrogen-outdiffused optical fiber

Accelerated aging of gratings written in UV presensitized hydrogen outdiffused optical fibers show that these gratings are more stable than standard gratings written in hydrogen-loaded fibers. They are observed to grow initially by as much as 2%. The predicted decay after 25 years at 80 degrees C is similar to 0.1%. The results suggest that the index modulation decay is so slow that postfabrication annealing can be avoided. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America.