Infrared cross-section measurements for crystals doped with Er/sup 3+/, Tm/sup 3+/, and Ho/sup 3+/

The absorption and emission cross sections of the transition between the ground spin-orbit multiplet and the lowest excited multiplet were measured for Er/sup 3+/, Tm/sup 3+/, and Ho/sup 3+/ ions in a variety of crystalline hosts. The materials that were investigated include LiYF/sub 4/, BaY/sub 2/F/sub 8/, Y/sub 3/Al/sub 5/O/sub 12/, LaF/sub 3/, KCaF/sub 3/, YAlO/sub 3/, and La/sub 2/Be/sub 2/O/sub 5/. The absolute magnitudes of the emission cross sections were determined from the absorption spectra, with the aid of the principle of reciprocity. The calculated radiative emission lifetimes derived from these measured cross sections agree well with the measured emission decay times for most materials. The potential use of these rare-earth-doped materials in pulsed laser applications requires that the ground state exhibit adequate splitting to minimize the detrimental effects of the ground state thermal population, and also that the emission cross section be sufficiently large to permit efficient extraction energy. The systems based on Ho/sup 3+/ in the eightfold coordinated sites of LiYF/sub 4/, BaY/sub 2/F/sub 8/, and Y/sub 3/Al/sub 5/O/sub 12/ appear to be the most promising. >

[1]  K. Lésniak.  Crystal fields and dopant-ligand separations in cubic centres of rare-earth ions in fluorites , 1990 .

[2]  C. Y. Chen,et al.  The optical properties of Er3+ and Tm3+ in KCaF3 crystal , 1989 .

[3]  Robert A. Satten,et al.  Spectra and energy levels of rare earth ions in crystals , 1968 .

[4]  Milan R. Kokta,et al.  Simultaneous, multiple wavelength lasing of (Er, Nd):Y3Al5O12 , 1987 .

[5]  T. E. Varitimos,et al.  Laser action from Ho 3+ , Er 3+ , and Tm 3+ in YAlO 3 , 1973 .

[6]  P. Moulton.  Spectroscopic and laser characteristics of Ti:Al2O3 , 1986 .

[7]  L. A. Harris,et al.  The crystal structure of La2Be2O5 , 1968 .

[8]  Charles S. Naiman,et al.  Stimulated emission in multiply doped Ho 3+ :YLF and YAG - A comparison , 1972 .

[9]  O. Greis,et al.  Electron diffraction from LaF3 single crystals , 1978 .

[10]  P. Arsenev,et al.  Spectral properties of rare-earth ions in YAlO3 crystals , 1973 .

[11]  G. M. Zverev,et al.  Resonant and Nonresonant Processes of Excitation Energy Transfer from Tu3+ or Ho3+ Ions to the Er3+ Ions in (Y, Er)3Al5O12 Crystals , 1969 .

[12]  J. Nella,et al.  Characteristics of room-temperature 2.3-µm laser emission from tm3+in YAG and YAlO3 , 1975, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[13]  B. Bartolo,et al.  Spectroscopic investigation of Cr to Tm energy transfer in yttrium aluminum garnet crystals , 1989 .

[14]  B. Judd,et al.  OPTICAL ABSORPTION INTENSITIES OF RARE-EARTH IONS , 1962 .

[15]  D. Milam,et al.  Gain saturation in Nd:doped laser materials , 1980 .

[16]  T. Y. Fan,et al.  Spectroscopy and diode laser-pumped operation of Tm,Ho:YAG , 1988 .

[17]  L. Johnson,et al.  Electronic- and phonon-terminated laser emission from Ho 3+ in BaY 2 F 8 , 1974 .

[18]  H. Jenssen,et al.  Analysis of the optical spectrum of Ho3+ in LiYF4 , 1975 .

[19]  M. Weber.  Selective Excitation and Decay of Er 3 + Fluorescence in La F 3 , 1967 .

[20]  M. Leask,et al.  The raising of angular momentum degeneracy of f-Electron terms by cubic crystal fields , 1962 .

[21]  M. J. Weber,et al.  Probabilities for Radiative and Nonradiative Decay of Er 3 + in La F 3 , 1967 .

[22]  A. Welch,et al.  Reactions between metal oxides and fluorides: some new double-fluoride structures of type ABF3 , 1952 .

[23]  K. Stevens.  Matrix Elements and Operator Equivalents Connected with the Magnetic Properties of Rare Earth Ions , 1952 .

[24]  Jeffrey I. Steinfeld,et al.  Molecules and radiation : an introduction to modern molecular spectroscopy , 2005 .

[25]  G. Boulon,et al.  Fluorescence dynamics in LiYF4:Er3+ and LiErF4☆ , 1986 .

[26]  W. Sibley,et al.  Optical absorption and emission from Ho3+ ions in KCaF3 crystals , 1988 .

[27]  Lloyd L. Chase,et al.  Spectroscopy and gain measurements of Nd 3+ in SrF 2 and other fluorite-structure hosts , 1991 .

[28]  Leon Esterowitz,et al.  High‐efficiency 2.09 μm flashlamp‐pumped laser , 1989 .

[29]  Hamid Hemmati,et al.  2.07-μm cw diode-laser-pumped Tm,Ho:YLiF 4 room-temperature laser , 1989 .

[30]  Lloyd L. Chase,et al.  Ground-state depleted solid-state lasers: principles, characteristics and scaling , 1990 .

[31]  M. J. Weber,et al.  Multiphonon Relaxation of Rare-Earth Ions in Yttrium Orthoaluminate , 1973 .

[32]  T. E. Varitimos,et al.  Optical Intensities of Rare-Earth Ions in Yttrium Orthoaluminate , 1973 .

[33]  C. K. Jayasankar,et al.  Comparative Crystal‐Field Analyses of 4fN Energy Levels in LiYF4:Ln3+ Systems , 1989 .

[34]  T. M. Murina,et al.  Oscillator strengths of 4I152→4I132 transitions in Y3Al5O12-Er3+ , 1988 .

[35]  Shihua Huang,et al.  Upconversion in LaF3:Tm3+ , 1981 .

[36]  Christian Pedrini,et al.  Excited-state dynamics of the Tm3+ ions and Tm3+ → Ho3+ energy transfers in LiYF4 , 1989 .

[37]  M. Nakazawa,et al.  Lasing characteristics of Er3+‐doped silica fibers from 1553 up to 1603 nm , 1988 .

[38]  B. Aull,et al.  Vibronic interactions in Nd:YAG resulting in nonreciprocity of absorption and stimulated emission cross sections , 1982 .

[39]  H. Crosswhite,et al.  Further interpretation of the spectra of Pr3+-LaF3 and Tm3+-LaF3☆ , 1983 .

[40]  S. Pollack,et al.  Upconversion-pumped population kinetics for4I13/2 and4I11/2 laser states of Er3+ ion in several host crystals , 1990 .

[41]  L. Esterowitz,et al.  Efficient Room-Temperature Operation of a Flashlamp-Pumped Cr;Tm:YAG Laser at 2.014 µm , 1991 .

[42]  J. Morrison,et al.  Absorption Spectrum of Tm3+:LaF3 , 1970 .

[43]  Dinh C. Nguyen,et al.  Blue upconversion thulium laser , 1990, Photonics West - Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering.

[44]  R. Stoneman,et al.  Efficient, broadly tunable, laser-pumped Tm:YAG and Tm:YSGG cw lasers. , 1990, Optics letters.

[45]  Gregory J. Kintz,et al.  cw and pulsed 2.8 μm laser emission from diode‐pumped Er3+:LiYF4 at room temperature , 1987 .

[46]  H. Eichler,et al.  Spectroscopic and laser properties of Er3+-doped monoclinic BaY2F8 single crystals , 1990 .

[47]  Norman P. Barnes,et al.  Operation of an Er:YLF laser at 1.73 microns , 1986 .

[48]  Richard P. Leavitt,et al.  Analysis of the optical spectrum of Tm 3 + in LiY F 4 , 1975 .

[49]  L. Johnson,et al.  Optical Maser Characteristics of Rare‐Earth Ions in Crystals , 1963 .

[50]  R. Mcfarlane,et al.  Infrared (Er)BaY2F8 laser pumped through di‐ and tri‐ionic upconversion processes , 1990 .

[51]  G. M. Zverev,et al.  Nonradiative Transitions Between Levels of Trivalent Rare-earth Ions in Yttrium-Aluminum Garnet Crystals , 1971 .

[52]  M. Weber,et al.  Optical Transition Probabilities for Trivalent Holmium in LaF3 and YAlO3 , 1972 .

[53]  L. Johnson,et al.  EFFICIENT, HIGH‐POWER COHERENT EMISSION FROM Ho3+ IONS IN YTTRIUM ALUMINUM GARNET, ASSISTED BY ENERGY TRANSFER , 1966 .

[54]  Michael Bass,et al.  Effects of energy transfer among Er 3+ ions on the fluorescence decay and lasing properties of heavily doped Er:Y 3 Al 5 O 12 , 1990 .

[55]  S. A. Pollack,et al.  Ion‐pair upconversion pumped laser emission in Er3+ ions in YAG, YLF, SrF2, and CaF2 crystals , 1988 .

[56]  William F. Meggers,et al.  Spectroscopic properties of rare earths , 1965 .

[57]  N. Barnes,et al.  Pulsed Ho:YAG oscillator and amplifier , 1981 .

[58]  Walter Koechner,et al.  Solid-State Laser Engineering , 1976 .

[59]  D. Nguyen,et al.  Blue-green (450-nm) upconversion Tm(3+):YLF laser. , 1989, Applied optics.

[60]  D. Mccumber,et al.  Einstein Relations Connecting Broadband Emission and Absorption Spectra , 1964 .

[61]  H. Caspers,et al.  Absorption, Fluorescence, and Energy Levels of Ho3+ in LaF3 , 1970 .

[62]  L. Esterowitz,et al.  Efficient room-temperature operation of a flash-lamp-pumped, Cr,Tm:YAG laser at 2.01 μm , 1990 .

[63]  Morrison,et al.  Spectra and energy levels of Tm3+:Y3Al5O12. , 1989, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[64]  E. Desurvire,et al.  Analysis of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers pumped in the /sup 4/I/sub 15/2/-/sup 4/I/sub 13/2/ band , 1989, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[65]  T. M. Murina,et al.  Cooperative process in Y3Al5O12:Er3+ crystals , 1986 .

[66]  Lloyd L. Chase,et al.  LiCaAlF/sub 6/:Cr/sup 3+/: a promising new solid-state laser material , 1988 .

[67]  W. Krupke,et al.  Energy Levels of Er3+ in LaF3 and Coherent Emission at 1.61 μ , 1964 .

[68]  J. Geusic,et al.  Energy Levels and Crystal-Field Calculations of Neodymium in Yttrium Aluminum Garnet , 1964 .