Concentration effects of Er3+ ion in YAG : Er laser crystals

Laser crystals of (Y1-xErx)(3)Al5O12, (YAG:Er) have been grown by the Czochralski method and the spectral properties have been studied for different Er3+ concentrations. The effects of various Er3+ concentrations on the structural distortions, luminescence quenching Of F-4(9/2), H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2) and red shift in laser wavelength have been discussed for the YAG:Er laser crystals. By using absorption spectra and Judd-Ofelt theory the experimental oscillator strengths, Omega(lambda), parameters and the excited state integrated absorption cross sections of Er3+ ion are reported and some variation regularities of these parameters have been observed. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

EFFECT OF THE CONCENTRATION OF THE ER3+ ION ON THE SPECTRAL INTENSITY PARAMETERS OF ER-YAG CRYSTALS

The absorption spectra of Er:YAG (YAG, yttrium-aluminium-garnet) crystals containing different concentrations of the trivalent erbium ion were measured and the spectral intensity parameters were calculated from these experimental spectra using the Judd-Ofelt model. The results indicate that the phenomenological intensity parameters, OMEGA(lambda) (lambda = 2, 4 and 6), vary as a function of the concentration of the Er3+ ion in the Er:YAG crystal, but no variation in the fluorescence-branching ratios as a function of the concentration of the Er3+ ion is found. An empirical formula is proposed to describe the relationship between the spectral intensity parameters and the Er3+ ion concentration in the Er:YAG crystal. The spectral intensity parameters exhibit a maximum in Er:YAG crystals containing about 1-1.5 at.% Er3+ ion. The effect of the Er3+ ion concentration on the spectral intensity parameters may be attributed to the inhomogeneous lattice distortion in the cell of the Er:YAG crystal caused by the dopant erbium ions.

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Ce3+ ions were introduced into the Er3+/Yb3+ -codoped TeO2-WO3-ZnO glasses, and the effect of Ce3+ on the emission properties at 1.5 mu m band and the upconversion luminescence of Er3+ in the glasses was investigated. With the increasing of Ce3+ concentration, the emission intensity of Er3+ at 1.5 mu m band increases firstly, and then decreases. The optimal doping concentration of Ce3+ is about 2.07 x 10(20)/cm(3). As for the Er3+ emission at 1.5-mu m band, the fluorescence lifetime decreases a little from 3.4ms to 3.0ms, while the full width at half maximum (FWHM) hardly changes with the increase of Cc 3+ concentration. Due to the effective cross relaxation between Ce3+ and Er3+ : Er3+ (I-4(11/2)) + Ce3+ (F-2(5/2)) -> Er3+ (I-4(13/2)) + Ce3+ (F-2(7/2)), the upconversion emission intensity of Er3+ is reduced greatly. But when Ce3+ -doping concentration is too high, the other cross relaxation between Ce3+ and Er3+ : Er3+ (4I(13/2)) + Ce3+ (F-2(5/2)) -> Er3+ (I-4(15/2)) + Ce3+ (F-2(7/2)) happens, which depopulates the I-4(13/2) level of Er3+ and results in the decrease of the emission intensity and fluorescence lifetime of Er3+ at 1.5 mu m band.

Effect of oxygen substitution by halide ions on structure, thermal stability and upconversion fluorescence in Er3(+)/Yb3(+)-codoped germanium-bismuth glasses

For the first time. effect of halide ions (F-, Cl-, Br-, and I-) introduction on structure, thermal stability, and upconversion fluorescence in Er3+/Yb3+-codoped oxide-halide germanium-bismuth glasses has been systematically investigated. The results show that halide ions modified germanium-bismuth glasses have lower maximum phonon energy and phonon density, worse thermal stability. longer measured lifetimes of I-4(l1/2) level, and stronger upconversion emission than germanium-bismuth glass. All these results indicate that halide ions play an important role in the formation of glass network, and have an important influence on the upconversion luminescence. The possible upconversion mechanisms of Er3+ ion are also evaluated. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optical transitions of Er3+ and Yb3+ ions in novel oxyfluoride bismuth-germanium glass: Observation of up-conversion

Er3+/Yb3+-codoped novel oxyfluoride bismuth-germanium glass was prepared and its up-conversion fluorescence property under 975 nm excitation has been studied. Intense green and weak red emissions centered at 525, 546, and 657 nm, corresponding to the transitions 2H(11/2) -> I-4(15/2), S-4(3/2) -> I-4(15/2), and F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2), respectively, were observed at room temperature. The possible up-conversion mechanism was also evaluated. The optimal Yb3+-Er3+ concentration ratio is found based on the direct lifetime measurements of excited levels for Er3+ ion. The structure of this novel oxyfluoride bismuth-germanium glass has been investigated by peak-deconvolution of FT-Raman spectrum, and the structural information was obtained from the peak wavenumbers. This novel oxyfluoride bismuth-germanium glass with relatively lower maximum phonon energy (similar to 731 cm(-1)) can be used as potential host material for up-conversion lasers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Upconversion emission in Er3+ doped novel bismuthate glass

Novel Er3+-doped bismuth lead strontiam glass was fabricated and characterized, and the absorption spectrum and upconversion spectrum of the glass were studied. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Omega(t)(t = 2, 4, 6) were found to be Omega(2) = 3.27 x 10(-20) cm(2), Omega(4) = 1.15 x 10(-20) cm(2), and Omega(6) = 0.38 x 10(-20) cm(2). The oscillator strength, the spontaneous transition probabilities, the fluorescence branching ratios, and excited state lifetimes were also measured and calculated. The upconversion emission intensity varies with the power of infrared excitation intensity. A plot of log I-up vs log I-IR yields a straight line with slope 1.86, 1.88 and 1.85, corresponding to 525, 546, and 657 nm emission bands, respectively, which indicates that a two-photon process for the red and green emission.

Role of Bi3+ ions for Er3+ ions efficient 1.54 mu m light emission in Er/Bi codoped SiO2 thin film prepared by sol-gel method

Er/Bi codoped SiO2 thin films were prepared by sol-gel method and spin-on technology with subsequent annealing process. The bismuth silicate crystal phase appeared at low annealing temperature while vanished as annealing temperature exceeded 1000 degrees C, characterized by X-ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering measurements well explained the structure change of the films, which was due to the decrease of bismuth concentration. Fine structures of the Er3+-related 1.54 mu m light emission (line width less than 7 nm) at room temperature was observed by photoluminescence (PL) measurement. The PL intensity at 1.54 gm reached maximum at 800 degrees C and decreased dramatically at 1000 degrees C. The PL dependent annealing temperature was studied and suggested a clear link with bismuth silicate phase. Excitation spectrum measurements further reveal the role of Bi3+ ions for Er3+ ions near infrared light emission. Through sol-gel method and thermal treatment, Bi3+ ions can provide a perfect environment for Er3+ ion light emission by forming Er-Bi-Si-O complex. Furthermore, energy transfer from Bi3+ ions to Er3+ ions is evidenced and found to be a more efficient way for Er3+ ions near infrared emission. This makes the Bi3+ ions doped material a promising application for future erbium-doped waveguide amplifier and infrared LED

Role of amorphous silicon domains on Er3+ emission in the Er-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon suboxide film

An investigation on the correlation between amorphous Si (a-Si) domains and Er3+ emission in the Er-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon suboxide (a-Si:O:H<Er>) film is presented. On one hand, a-Si domains provide sufficient carriers for Er3+ carrier-mediated excitation which has been proved to be the highest excitation path for Er3+ ion; on the other hand, hydrogen diffusion from a-Si domains to amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx) matrix during annealing has been found and this possibly decreases the number of nonradiative centres around Er3+ ions. This study provides a better understanding of the role of a-Si domains on Er3+ emission in a-Si:O:H<Er> films.

Synthesis and Upconversion Luminescence Properties of GdF3:Er3+, Yb3+

GdF3:Er3+,Yb-3 with Er3+ ion of 3% and Yb3+ ion concentration of 10%, 20% have been prepared by a hydrothermal method. The results of XRD show that all the samples are of an orthorhombic structure. The average crystallite sizes estimated by Scherrer formula are 28 and 26 nm for Gd0.87Yb0.10Er0.03F3 and Gd0.77Yb0.20Er0.03F3, respectively. The Upconversion luminescence spectra of the samples have been studied under 980 run laser excitation. The results show that the green and red upconversion emission can be attributed to the H-2(11/2),S-4(3/2) -> 4I(15/2) and 4F(9/2) -> 4I(15/2) transitions of Er3+, respectively.

Upconversion luminescence of Y2O3 : Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles prepared by a homogeneous precipitation method

Y2O3: Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles were synthesized by a homogeneous precipitation method without and with different concentrations of EDTA 2Na. Upconversion luminescence spectra of the samples were studied under 980 nm laser excitation. The results of XRD showed that the obtained Y2O3:Er3+,Yb3+ nanoparticles were of a cubic structure. The average crystallite sizes calculated were in the range of 28-40 nm. Green and red upconversion emission were observed, and attributed to H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2) -> I-4(15/2) and F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2) transitions of the Er3+ ion, respectively.

Red and green upconversion luminescence of Gd2O3 : Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles

Gd2O3:Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles have been synthesized by a homogeneous precipitation method with EDTA 2Na of two different concentrations. Upconversion luminescence spectra of the samples have been studied under 980 nm laser excitation. The results of XRD show that obtained Gd2O3:Er3+, Yb3+ nanoparticles are of a cubic structure. The average crystallite sizes could be calculated as 22 and 29 nm, respectively. The strong green and red upconversion emission were observed, and attributed to the H-2(11/2), S-4(3/2) -> I-4(15/2) and F-4(19/2) -> I-4(15/2) transitions of Er3+ ion, respectively.

Near-infrared luminescent properties and natural lifetime calculation of a novel Er3+ complex

in this communication, a novel Er3+ complex Er(PT)(3)TPPO [PT = 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-tert-butylbenzoyl-5-pyrazolone, TPPO = triphenyl phosphine oxide] is successfully synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Its optical properties and the energy transfer process from the ligand PT to the Er3+ ion are investigated, the typical near-infrared (NIR) luminescence (centered at around 1530 nm) is attributed to the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition of Er3+ ion which results from the efficient energy transfer from PT to Er3+ ion (an antenna effect). The wider full width at half maximum (78 nm) peaked at 1530 nm in the emission spectrum and the Judd-Ofelt theory calculation on the radiative properties suggest that Er(PT)(3)TPPO should be a promising candidate for tunable lasers and planar optical amplifiers.

Up-conversion spectrum properties of the oxy-fluoride glass co-doped with Er3+ and Yb3+

Up-conversion of 45PbF(2)-45GeO(2)-10WO(3) oxy-fluoride glasses co-doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ ions were prepared by fusion method through melting at 1223 K and then annealing at 653 K for 4 h. Transmittance of the undoped host glass was beyond 73% in a range of 0.6-2.5 mu m and the co-doped glasses still provided good transmittance beyond 50%. Refractive indices of the host and co-doped glasses were 1.517 and 1.650, respectively. Blue, green and red fluorescence spectra were observed in a range of 400-700 nm under 980 nm diode laser excitation. Up-conversion spectra at about 410, 518, 530and 650 nm were assigned to the 4f electron transitions of H-2(9/2) -> I-4(15)/(2), H-2(15/2) -> I-4(15/2) S-4(3/2) -> I-4(15/2) and F-4(9/2) -> I-4(15/2) of Er3+ ion, respectively. The mechanism of energy transfer between Yb3+ and Er3+ ions in the glass was analyzed. Raman shift shows the non-radiative relaxation of the glass sample is low.

NIR luminescent Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped SiO2-ZrO2 nanostructured planar and channel waveguides: Optical and structural properties

Funda����o de Amparo �� Pesquisa do Estado de S��o Paulo (FAPESP)