Spectroscopy of Tb3+ ions in monoclinic KLu(WO4)2 crystal application of an intermediate configuration interaction theory

The spectroscopic properties of Tb3+ ions in monoclinic KLu(WO4)2 double tungstate crystal are studied with polarized light. The absorption spectra in the visible, near- and mid-IR including the transitions to all lower-lying 7FJ (J = 0 … 5) excited states are measured. The maximum absorption cross-section for the 7F6 → 5D4 transition is 3.42 × 10−21 cm2 at 486.7 nm for light polarization E || Nm. The transition probabilities for Tb3+ ions are calculated within the Judd-Ofelt theory modified for the case of an intermediate configuration interaction (ICI). The radiative lifetime of the 5D4 state is 450 μs and the luminescence quantum yield is >90%. The polarized stimulated-emission cross-section spectra for all 5D4 → 7FJ (J = 0 … 6) emission channels are evaluated. The maximum σSE is 11.4 × 10−21 cm2 at 549.4 nm (for E || Nm). Tb3+:KLu(WO4)2 features high transition cross-sections for polarized light being promising for color-tunable visible lasers and imaging.