Investigations of the spin-Hamiltonian parameters for Er3+ ions in AlN crystal

Abstract

The spin-Hamiltonian parameters (g factor g //, g ⊥ and hyperfine structure constants A //, A ⊥) for Er3+ ion at the trigonal Al3+ site of AlN crystal are calculated by diagonalising the 52 × 52 energy matrix. The matrix are related to the ground mutiplet 4I15/2 and the first to third excited multiplets 4I13/2, 4I11/2 and 4I9/2 for 4f11 ions in trigonal crystal field under an external magnetic field. The crystal-field parameters used in the matrix are obtained from the superposition model and the local lattice relaxation due to the substitution of Er3+ for Al3+ is considered. The calculated spin-Hamiltonian parameters are in reasonable agreement with the experimental values and the signs of hyperfine structure constants are suggested. The results are discussed.