Optical properties of Cr 2+ ions in Cd 0.85Mn 0.15Te

Abstract

We present a spectroscopic study of Cr 2+-doped Cd 0.85Mn 0.15Te. The infrared absorption is characterized by a strong, broad-band centered at 1900 nm which can be attributed to the only spin-allowed transition 5 T 2 → 5 E within the 3d 4 shell of Cr 2+ ions. Upon optical excitation at 1800 nm, we observed a broad luminescence centered at 2250 nm at room temperature ( 5 E → 5 T 2 ). The luminescence decay time was determined to be 3.7 μs at 15 K and 1.4 μs at 300 K. The potential of Cr: Cd 0.85Mn 0.15Te for mid-infrared solid-state laser applications will be discussed.