| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1495857 | Optical Materials | 2010 | 5 Pages |
Absorption spectra were recorded for the three samples of KLa1−xErx(PO3)4 crystal, where x = 0.025, 0.05 and 1, at room temperature in the 400–900 nm spectral range. Fluorescent emissions from the 4S3/2 and 4F9/2 multiplets were observed under pulsed laser excitation in the 2H11/2 multiplet (λexc=532nm) and in the 4G9/2 multiplet (355 nm). The time-resolved luminescence of these emissions has also been studied. The decays are shown to be exponential, with decay times on the order of 1 μs, independently of the erbium content. No significant lengthening of the decay time is observed as erbium concentration decreases from 100 to 2.5 at.%. Non-radiative relaxations related to multiphonon emission have been evoked to be at the origin of the excited state depopulation in the Er3+-doped KLa(PO3)4 crystals studied. The emission spectra of the lasing transition 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 in Er3+-doped KLa(PO3)4 phosphate crystals have also been analyzed. The influence of the erbium concentration on this electronic transition has been discussed as well. It was observed that the increase of Er3+ ion concentration, in the 2.5–100 at.% range, results in a spectral broadening of the 1.54 μm emission band. Reabsorption has been evoked as the main mechanism to explain the broadening of the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 emission line.
