Spectral Characterization and Modeling of Wavelength-shifting Fibers

TL;DR

This paper presents a validated software model for photon transport in wavelength-shifting fibers, enabling accurate predictions of spectral and spatial light distributions and attenuation lengths for various applications.

Contribution

The authors developed and validated a detailed GEANT4-based model of photon transport in wavelength-shifting fibers, which was not previously available.

Findings

Model shows good agreement with measurements

Accurately predicts spectral and spatial distributions

Useful for designing fiber-based optical systems

Abstract

We have constructed a detailed software model of photon transport in clear and wavelength shifting polystyrene optical fibers based on the GEANT4 framework. We validate the model with measurements obtained from several different lengths of fiber illuminated with several LEDs, using two independent acquisition systems. The simulated spectral and spatial light distributions at the end of the fiber and the resultant attenuation lengths show good agreement with measurement. We use the model to predict the fiber behaviour for several test cases and discuss potential applications.