Local field effect of the host matrix on the decay time of doped emitters

Abstract

Experimental results for variations in the lifetime of excited states of Sm3+ ions incorporated in a glassy system with a ‘refractive index’ have been reported. Increasing content of barium carbonate in the solid host matrix results in a fairly large variation in its refractive index, which provides a way to determine the local field effects for ions doped in the solid host material. Measurements are observed to be in disagreement with the virtual cavity model, while they show a reasonable agreement with the real cavity model.