Performance investigation on RE3+(Nd3+,Er3+) doped lithium niobate nanocrystals prepared by sol-gel technique

Abstract

Properties of RE 3+ (Nd 3+ , Er 3+ ) dopped lithium niobate(LN) nanocrystals prepared by sol-gel technique are investigated in this paper. The as-obtained LN nanocrystals are the only crystalline phase according to the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results. The absorption and emission spectra were measured in the visible and near infrared regions, and compared with that of melt-grown LN crystals. The excitation wavelength was 514 nm and 355 nm for Er 3+ and Nd 3+ dopped LN nanocrystal samples, respectively. A ( 4 I 11/2- 4 I 15/2 ) and a ( 4 F 3/2- 4 I 11/2 ) near infrared lasing transition was measured at 1035 nm and 1077 nm in Er 3+ and Nd 3+ dopped LN nanocrystal samples, respectively. The results show red shifts in emission spectra in Er 3+ dopped LN nanocrystal samples, and blue shifts in emission spectra in Nd 3+ doped LN nanocrystal will be also discussed in the paper.