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Published on: April 14, 2020
Spectroscopic Properties of Tb3+ Ions in TbF3-Doped CaF2 Crystals
Irinuca Bodea1, Marius Stef1, Carla Schornig1
1Department of Physics, West University of Timisoara, Bd. Vasile Parvan 4, 200223 Timisoara, Romania.
None:
Tb3+-doped CaF2 single crystals are attractive materials for green photonic applications due to their low phonon energy, high optical transparency, and efficient Tb3+ emission. In this work, CaF2 single crystals doped with different TbF3 concentrations (1, 5, and 10 mol%) were grown and systematically investigated in order to clarify the concentration-dependent spectroscopic behavior of Tb3+ ions in a fluorite host. Optical absorption spectroscopy, Judd-Ofelt analysis, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence, colorimetric evaluation, and emission cross-section and gain calculations were employed. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters typical of fluoride hosts were obtained, enabling the calculation of radiative transition probabilities and lifetimes. The emission spectra are dominated by intense green luminescence from the 5D4 → 7F5 transition, while the absence of 5D3 emission is attributed to efficient cross-relaxation processes. Fluorescence lifetimes in the millisecond range show slight changes with Tb3+ concentration. Quantum efficiency increases from low to intermediate concentrations and tends to saturate at higher doping levels. CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates confirm stable green emission, while emission cross-sections and gain parameters reveal a highest value for orange emission of 10 mol% TbF3-doped CaF2 crystal. These results indicate that CaF2:Tb3+ single crystals are promising materials for photonic applications.
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