Optical absorption, fluorescence and decay properties of Pr3+-doped PbO-H3BO3-TiO2-AlF3 glasses

Spectroscopic and laser properties of PbO-H3BO3-TiO2-AlF3 glasses doped with 0.1, 0.5. 1.0 and 2.0 mol% of Pr6O11 have been studied. optical absorption spectra were recorded in the UV-vis-NIR regions and the observed absorption bands were assigned to different electronic transitions from H-3(4) ground state of 4f(2) configuration. The three phenomenological Judd-Ofelt (J-O) parameters Omega(t) (t = 2, 4, 6) were determined from the measured oscillator strengths by including as well as excluding the H-3(4)-> P-3(2) hypersensitive transition in J-O analysis. The emission characteristics such as stimulated emission cross-sections (sigma(e)), measured branching ratios (beta(m)), measured lifetimes (tau(m)), quantum efficiencies (eta) and gain parameters (sigma(e) x tau(m)) have been evaluated for the principal intermanifold transitions of Pr3+ from the P-3(0) and D-1(2) states to the lower lying manifolds in the visible region. From the emission and decay measurements, the effect of Pr3+ ion concentration on the quenching of the D-1(2) measured lifetimes has been discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.