Study on Spectral Properties and Mid-Infrared Laser Performance of Er, La:CaF<sub>2</sub> Crystals
Zhen Zhang,
Jingjing Liu,
Yunfei Wang,
Fengkai Ma,
Shaochen Liu,
Zhonghan Zhang,
Jie Liu,
Liangbi Su
Affiliations
Zhen Zhang
Synthetic Single Crystal Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Transparent and Opto-Functional Inorganic Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Jingjing Liu
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optics and Photonic Device, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
Yunfei Wang
Synthetic Single Crystal Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Transparent and Opto-Functional Inorganic Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Fengkai Ma
Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Crystal and Laser Technology, Department of Optoelectronic Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Shaochen Liu
Synthetic Single Crystal Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Transparent and Opto-Functional Inorganic Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Zhonghan Zhang
Synthetic Single Crystal Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Transparent and Opto-Functional Inorganic Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Jie Liu
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optics and Photonic Device, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China
Liangbi Su
Synthetic Single Crystal Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Transparent and Opto-Functional Inorganic Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201899, China
Er3+-doped fluorite crystals, including CaF2 and SrF2, are considered as attractive laser gain materials in the mid-infrared (MIR) region with merits of high laser efficiency as well as low doping concentration. In this work, a series of Er, La:CaF2 crystals were grown and the modulation effect of co-doping La3+ ions on the spectral properties and mid-infrared laser performance was investigated. It was found that introducing La3+ ions can effectively manipulate the coordination environment of Er3+ ions embedded in CaF2 crystal, thus modulating the shape and intensity of absorption and emission bands. On the other hand, La3+ ions can partially substitute Er3+ sites in the clusters to form mixed clusters, which affects the energy transfer processes between Er3+ ions as well as ~3 μm laser performance, which is dominated by energy transfer up-conversion (ETU) processes between Er3+ ions. By co-doping La3+ ions into Er:CaF2 crystal at an appropriate concentration, the spectral parameter modulation can be achieved while maintaining a high MIR laser efficiency.
