Spectroscopic characterization of Er-doped KPb2Cl5 laser crystals

Abstract A discussion of the spectroscopic properties of the low-phonon energy laser host material potassium lead chloride, KPb 2 Cl 5 , doped with trivalent erbium is presented. In this paper we present room temperature spectroscopic measurements and subsequent analysis based on the Judd–Ofelt model. Additionally, Stark level energies of the Er 3+ ions in the crystal were determined from spectroscopic measurements performed at cryogenic temperatures.