VUV–UV 5d–4f interconfigurational transitions of Nd3+ in BaMgF4 ferroelectric crystals

Abstract

a b s t r a c tBaMgF 4 single crystals doped with Nd 3 þ are of great interest as possible active media for VUV-UV and mid-IR all solid-state lasers. The luminescence spectroscopy and the excited state dynamics of these crystals are investigated for the first time upon VUV excitation using synchrotron radiation. The material shows fast Nd 3 þ 5d-4f emission upon direct VUV excitation into Nd 3 þ 5d levels. The decay kinetics of the Nd 3 þ 5d-4f emission in this host lattice upon direct VUV excitation of 5d levels is characterized by a lifetime of about 14 ns with no significant rise after the excitation pulse. No significant temperature dependence of the lifetime is observed within the range 8-300 K.

The quest towards epitaxial BaMgF4 thin films: exploring MOCVD as a chemical scalable approach for the deposition of complex metal fluoride films

“…5 Thus BMF crystals have been studied as new solid-state laser materials in the UV region. [6][7][8][9][10][11] These properties make BMF a good candidate for integrated optical devices. Although the pure compound doesn't exhibit ferromagnetism, it has been recently demonstrated that this property can be induced by substitutional doping of Mg by a magnetic transition metal ion such as Mn.…”