The results of irradiation tests on Ce-doped sol-gel silica using x- and $\gamma$-rays up to 10 kGy are reported in order to investigate the radiation hardness of this material for high-energy physics applications. Sol-gel silica fibers with Ce concentrations of 0.0125 and 0.05 mol. % are characterized by means of optical absorption and attenuation length measurements before and after irradiation. The two different techniques give comparable results, evidencing the formation of a main broad radiation-induced absorption band, peaking at about 2.2 eV, related to radiation-induced color centers. The results are compared with those obtained on bulk silica. This study reveals that an improvement of the radiation hardness of Ce-doped silica fibers can be achieved by reducing Ce content inside the fiber core, paving the way for further material development.

中文翻译：

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铈掺杂溶胶凝胶二氧化硅纤维在高能物理中的辐射硬度

使用x和γ掺杂Ce的溶胶凝胶二氧化硅的辐照试验结果。 $\gamma$为了研究这种材料在高能物理应用中的辐射硬度，报道了高达10 kGy的X射线。Ce浓度为0.0125和0.05 mol的溶胶-凝胶二氧化硅纤维。通过照射之前和之后的光学吸收和衰减长度测量来表征％。两种不同的技术给出了可比的结果，证明形成了一个主要的宽辐射引起的吸收带，峰值约为2.2 eV，与辐射引起的色心有关。将结果与在本体二氧化硅上获得的结果进行比较。这项研究表明，可以通过减少纤维芯内部的Ce含量来提高Ce掺杂石英纤维的辐射硬度，从而为进一步开发材料铺平道路。