Crystal growth and spectroscopic properties of erbium doped Lu2SiO5

A high optical quality erbium doped Lu2SiO5 single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski method. The distribution coefficient of Er3+ was measured to be ∼0.926. The absorption and emission spectra as well as the fluorescence decay curve of the excited state 4I13/2 were measured at room temperature. The spectroscopic parameters were calculated using the Judd–Ofelt theory, and the J–O parameters Ω2, Ω4 and Ω6 were found to be 4.451×10-20, 1.614×10-20 and 1.158×10-20 cm2, respectively. The room-temperature fluorescence lifetime of the Er3+4I13/2→4I15/2 transition was measured to be 7.74 ms. The absorption and emission cross-section as well as the gain cross-section in the eye-safe regime of 1400–1700 nm were also determined and discussed.