Polarized spectroscopy of Er3+ ions in YAl3(BO3)4 crystal

Er3+-doped YAl3(BO3)4 (YAB) crystal has been grown by the top-seeded solution method. The Judd–Ofelt (J–O) theory has been applied to analyze the polarized absorption spectra of Er3+ ions in the uniaxial crystal measured at room temperature, and the effective J–O parameters have been determined as: Ω2 = 8.38 × 10−20 cm2, Ω4 = 1.61 × 10−20 cm2, Ω6 = 1.50 × 10−20 cm2. The parameters have been used to calculate the spontaneous emission probability and radiative lifetime of 4I13/2 manifold for the Er3+ ions. The fluorescence lifetime of this manifold has been measured and the quantum efficiency has been estimated. The emission cross-sections for the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition calculated using the Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg and the reciprocity methods are compared.