Optical properties of CeF3 crystal at high temperature or pressure by first principles and its application in isolators

Abstract

In this work, CeF3 single crystal was successfully grown by Bridgman method. The XRD diffraction was tested and the data matched well with the standard card. Further trying its optical performance, CeF3 single crystal has very high transmittance of 90 %, the cut-off absorption edge length of the crystal is better than 300 nm. Testing the magneto-optical Verdet constant of CeF3 single crystal and trial-produced optical isolator shows that the Verdet constants of CeF3 single crystals in the magneto-optical field are similar to those of TGG crystals. The band structure, state density, optical properties and elastic constants of CeF3 crystal under different temperature and pressure are calculated by first principles. The results show that CeF3 crystal has excellent thermal stability and mechanical stability. Under high temperature conditions, light absorption and loss are small, and the optical properties are stable. Under high pressure, the crystal exhibits certain stability and impact resistance, and the optical properties are relatively stable. The results show that CeF3 crystal has significant advantages in replacing TGG crystal in laser field, and has a certain application prospect in window materials.