Effects of ultraviolet and thermal pretreatment on the formation of self-written chi((2)) gratings and optical damage

In this article we report the effects of thermal and ultraviolet light pret reatments of a variety of optical fibers with different core dopants. Excep t for fibers codoped with phosphorus, a negative correlation was found betw een the onset of optical damage to the fibers and the formation of seeded s econd-harmonic generation (SHG). From our results and from those of other w orkers, we conclude that there is a link between susceptibility to optical damage and the formation of seeded SHG in germanosilicate optical fibers. ( C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.