Kinetics and microscopic interaction parameters of Cr to Tm energy transfer in yttrium aluminum garnet crystals

Abstract

We have studied the time evolution of the Cr emission in the double-doped samples of Cr, Tm: YAG and measured the spectral overlap between this emission and the Tm 3+ absorption in the 78–350 K temperature region. From these data we have extracted the relevant microscopic interaction parameters that give a measure of the Cr-Tm coupling. The results of our measurements and calculations indicate that, despite the confinement of the Cr emission to a region of the spectrum which is narrower than that in low-crystal-field garnets, the Cr 3+ ion in YAG can be used to sensitize efficiently the Tm 3+ ion.