Abstract
In this study, a 2 at% erbium doped cerium trifluoride (Er:CeF_3) single crystal was grown using the Bridgman method. The consequent absorption, infrared transmittance, and fluorescence spectra were recorded. The spectroscopic properties of Er:CeF_3 crystals were intensively studied based on the Judd-Ofelt (J-O) theory. The Ω_2, Ω_4, and Ω_6 parameters were fitted to be 5.206 × 10~(-20), 1.805 × 10~(-20), and 3.06 × 10~(-20) cm~2, respectively. The emission cross-section centered at 1564.6 nm was calculated to be 1.053 × 10~(-20) cm~2, and the corresponding fluorescence lifetime was measured to be 1.675 ms. Additionally, the magneto-optical (MO) performance of the Er:CeF_3 crystal was investigated for the first time. The Verdet constants of Er:CeF_3 at 532, 632.8, 1064, and 1310 nm are 231.0,165.4, 43.4, and 24.4 rad-T~(-1)-m~(-1), respectively, which are significantly higher than those of pure CeF_3 and traditional Tb_3Ga_5O_(12). The results show that the Er:CeF_3 crystal can be applied both to solid-state lasers and Faraday devices.
NSTL
Elsevier