Optical spectroscopy of Ho3+,Pr3+ co-doped YScO3 crystal

Abstract

YScO3 single crystal co-doped with Ho3+ and Pr3+ ions has been successfully grown by the Czochralaki method. The absorption spectrum, fluorescence spectrum and fluorescence decay curve were measured at room temperature. The absorption cross section of Ho,Pr:YScO3 at 649 nm and 1130 nm was calculated to be 0.93 × 10−20 cm2 and 0.32 × 10−20 cm2, respectively. Judd-Ofelt (J-O) theory was performed to evaluate the spontaneous emission probabilities and the radiative lifetimes. Ho,Pr:YScO3 exhibited strong emission at 2040 nm and 2890 nm with a emission cross section of 0.80 × 10−21 cm2 and 1.22 × 10−20 cm2, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime of the Ho3+:5I6 and 5I7 levels were calculated to be 0.31 ms and 5.89 ms, respectively. All the results indicate that the Ho,Pr:YScO3 crystal could be a potential laser material for 2.9 μm laser operation.