Growth and spectroscopic properties of Sm3+ doped Na3La9O3(BO3)8 crystal

Sm3+ doped Na3La9O3(BO3)8 (Sm:NLBO) crystal has been grown by the top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) method. The absorption and emission spectra were measured at room temperature by using a (1 0 0) oriented crystal plate. According to the Judd-Ofelt theory, the spontaneous transition probabilities, fluorescence branch ratio, and radiation lifetime of 4G5/2 state were calculated. The unpolarized and polarized emission properties of 564, 601, and 651 nm under the 405 nm excitation were also evaluated. The decay curve of the 601 nm emission assigned to the 4G5/2-6H7/2 transition was also measured. The experimental results have shown that Sm:NLBO would be a promising orange-red laser material, which can be pumped directly by lighting 405 nm laser diodes (LDs).