Excited state absorption in glasses activated with rare earth ions: Experiment and modeling

We present semiempirical approach based on the Judd–Ofelt theory and apply it for modeling the spectral properties of fluoride glasses activated with the rare earth (RE) ions. This method provide a powerful tool for simulating both ground state absorption (GSA) and excited state absorption (ESA) spectra of RE ions, e.g. Nd3+, Ho3+, Er3+ and Tm3+ in the ZBLAN glass matrix. The results of theoretical calculations correspond to the experimentally measured data. We also demonstrate that the spectra obtained using the presented approach are applicable in the analysis of up-conversion excitation schemes in these optoelectronically relevant materials.

► Theoretical modeling of excited state absorption spectra of Nd3+, Er3+, Ho3+ and Tm3+ in ZBLAN glasses. ► Comparison of calculated and experimentally measured spectra which shows excellent agreement. ► New up-conversion excitation channels.