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Judd–Ofelt spectroscopic study of Mg/Er-codoped near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 crystals for integrated optics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

De-Long Zhang ,
Hui Zheng  and
Edwin Yue-Bun Pun
De-Long Zhang*
Affiliation:
Department of Opto-electronics and Information Engineering, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China
Hui Zheng
Affiliation:
Department of Opto-electronics and Information Engineering, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China
Edwin Yue-Bun Pun
Affiliation:
Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Near-stoichiometric (NS) (Mg:)Er:LiNbO3 crystals were grown from melts containing 0.0/0.5, 0.5/0.5, and 1.0/0.5 mol%/mol% MgO/Er2O3. Crystal composition and optical properties studies show that the Li2O contents in these crystals increase all by ∼1 mol% relative to the congruent point. The 1.0 mol% MgO-doped NS crystal is just near optical damage threshold and withstands a 488 nm light intensity >0.74 MW/cm2 without optical damage. Unpolarized absorption spectra of these NS crystals were measured, and the Er3+ absorption cross-section spectra were determined. The Er3+ spectroscopic properties were studied by Judd–Ofelt theory. The results show that as the crystal composition approaches the stoichiometry, the Er3+ spectroscopic properties change definitely. The Er3+ ion in the NS crystal has smaller absorption cross section and hence weaker oscillator strength, lower emission rate, and longer radiative lifetime. Nevertheless, the radiative quantum efficiency is retained. In addition, the MgO codoping has less effect on the Er3+ spectroscopic properties.

Keywords

Optical PropertiesCrystalEr
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 25 , Issue 11 , November 2010 , pp. 2101 - 2110
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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