Crystal growth and the enhanced 1.55 μm fluorescence emission in Ce3+, Yb3+, Er3+ Co-doped KBaCaY(MoO4)3 laser crystal

• Published in: Ceramics international 2024-11, Vol.50 (21), p.44235-44246
• Main Authors: Yang, Yimin, Chen, Rujia, Zuo, Chunyu, Zhou, Lingbo, Chang, Ming, Huo, Yuliang, Li, Chenglong, Li, Xinying, Yang, Weiling, Zeng, Fanming, Li, Chun, Lin, Hai, Li, Shasha, Liu, Lina, Su, Zhongmin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Energy transfer; Laser materials; Molybdate crystal; TSSG
• ISSN: 0272-8842
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.08.273

1.55 μm laser technology has been widely applied in many fields such as military, information and communications, and biomedical. With the continuous progress in these fields, the demand for new 1.55 μm laser gain media has become stronger. However, the small non-radiative transition probability and long fluorescence lifetime between the 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 energy levels of Er3+ ions lead to up-conversion loss, which in turn reduces the luminescence efficiency in the 1.55 μm band. To address this problem, this paper introduces a novel Yb3+, Er3+ and Ce3+ co-doped KBa0.94Ca0.06Y(MoO4)3 crystal and explores the relationship between its structure and spectral properties. By doping Ce3+ ions, the non-radiative transition probability between the 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 energy levels of Er3+ ions is effectively increased, which significantly enhances the emission intensity of Er3+ ions in the 1.55 μm band. Meanwhile, the near-infrared luminescence mechanism of Er3+ ions and its complex competition with up-conversion and mid-infrared luminescence are elaborated in detail. In addition, the doping of Ce3+ ions also significantly enhances the energy transfer efficiency between Yb and Er, from 39.6 % to 94 %. At a Ce3+ ion concentration of 4 mol%, the crystals exhibit optimal emission intensities, indicating their great potential as laser gain media. The research presented here not only provides a comprehensive analysis of the spectral properties of the new laser gain material but also contributes to the advancement of all-solid-state laser gain media suitable for the 1.5 μm spectral range.