Room‐Temperature Induced Emission of Tetragonal YVO₄ Crystals Containing Nd³⁺

The effect of pressure on the structural and electronic properties of yttrium orthovanadate YVO4 compound: total-energy calculations

“…The pressure dependences of the Raman active modes in yttrium orthovanadate YVO 4 crystallizing in the zircontype structure (I4 1 /amd), have been studied by Jayaraman et al [1] using a diamond anvil cell up to 15 GPa where they have shown that at room temperature the zircon-type structure transforms to the scheelite-type structure (I4 1 /a) with a ¼ 5.04 # A and c ¼ 11.24 # A near 7.5 GPa. The electronic structures of the zircon polymorph of YVO 4 have previously been reported both experimentally and computationally [20,21]. They were interpreted from the VO 3À 4 molecular orbital diagram as the Y 3þ cations make a negligible contribution to the electronic structure near the Fermi level.…”

“…Theoretical studies of such phase transitions have been of special interest over the last three decades. Compounds of the family ABX 4 are widely used as solid state scintillator materials, laser host materials, in opto-electronic devices, etc. So there is a renewed interest in the study of the phase transition behavior of these systems.…”

“…Among the extensively investigated systems of this family are orthovanadates [1], and most of these compounds crystallize either in the zircon-type [space group I4 1 /amd, Z ¼ 4] or the scheelite-type structure [space group I4 1 /a, Z ¼ 4] at ambient conditions. Yttrium orthovanadate YVO 4 crystallizes in the zircon-type structure at ambient conditions. The compound is attractive for technological applications owing to its properties such as large refractive indices, non-linear coefficients, birefringence and effectively no infrared absorption from 2.5 to 15 mm [2].…”

“…The compound is attractive for technological applications owing to its properties such as large refractive indices, non-linear coefficients, birefringence and effectively no infrared absorption from 2.5 to 15 mm [2]. Yttrium orthovanadate YVO 4 can be considered as the oldest laser host crystal for Nd 3þ ions [3][4][5], as well as being a highly efficient red-emitting phosphor when doped with Eu 3þ [6]. Due to its high birefringence, YVO 4 is an excellent synthetic substitute for calcite (CaCO 3 ), and can provide crystalline polarizers for the mid-infrared (as Wollaston, Rochon, and Glan prisms) [7].…”

“…However detailed characteristic of YVO 4 have not been well investigated. We therefore think that it is worthwhile to perform calculations using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW) method in order to complete the exciting experimental and theoretical works on this compound.…”