Spectral broadening mechanism of Yb3+-doped cubic LuxSc2-xO3 sesquioxide crystals for ultrafast lasers

Abstract

Over the past decades, Yb3+-doped cubic sesquioxide crystals have been considered as ideal gain materials for ultrafast laser generation, owing to their high thermal conductivity and adequate optical characteristics. The broadening of spectra by mixing host crystals to obtain short pulses has been extensively explored; however, few studies have examined the mechanism of the crystal field effect on spectral broadening. This paper describes the spectral broadening process caused by the combination of the discrete transition peaks induced by the crystal field effect and electron-phonon coupling widening based on Yb:LuxSc2-xO3 crystals. The energy level splitting induced by the crystal field effect not only determines the emission peak positions, but also broadens the emission spectra in the mixed host materials through the increasing spin-orbit coupling effect. Moreover, with the involvement of the electron-phonon coupling and the crystal field effect, the spectral broadening is much more obvious at room temperature. These results not only explain the spectral broadening mechanism of Yb3+-doped sesquioxides but also provide important insights for the improvement of new ultrafast laser materials.