VUV-UV 5d-4f interconfigurational transitions of Nd3+ in BaMgF4 ferroelectric crystals

BaMgF4 single crystals doped with Nd3+ are of great interest as possible active media for VUV-UV and mid-IR all solid-state lasers. The luminescence spectroscopy and the excited state dynamics of these crystals are investigated for the first time upon VUV excitation using synchrotron radiation. The material shows fast Nd3+ 5d-4f emission upon direct VUV excitation into Nd3+ 5d levels. The decay kinetics of the Nd3+ 5d-4f emission in this host lattice upon direct VUV excitation of 5d levels is characterized by a lifetime of about 14 ns with no significant rise after the excitation pulse. No significant temperature dependence of the lifetime is observed within the range 8-300 K.