The luminescence parameters of Yb3+:Er3+-doped LiLa(WO4)2 single crystal grown in the form of fiber for up-conversion green emission

Abstract

This report details the first study of the luminescence properties of a single crystal grown in the form of fiber for prospective application as the gain medium for fiber laser emission at 552 nm. The excited state decay processes related with the 4S3/2→4I15/2 transition in double Yb3+:Er3+-doped LiLa(WO4)2 crystal have been investigated using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy with a Er3+ concentration of 0.5 mol% and Yb3+ with 2, 5, 7, 10 and 15 mol%. Selective laser excitation of the 2F5/2 energy level of Yb3+(972 nm) and selective laser excitations of the 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 energy levels of Er3+(972 and 1550 nm), respectively has established that in a similar way to other optical materials, a strong energy-transfer up-conversion by way of a dipole-dipole interactions between an Yb3+ excited and Er3+ ions, the 4F5/2 level (Yb3+) populates the 4S3/2 upper laser level of the 550 nm transition. The 4S3/2 energy level emits luminescence with peaks having the wavelength center at 550 nm with luminescence efficiency increasing from 7% for Er3+ singly doped to 36% for Yb3+(15 mol%) co-doped crystals. The 4S3/2 lifetime of Er3+ is observed to increase due to the saturation of the multiphonon relaxation rate at high excited-state density of Yb3+ ions. At high excited-state density, Yb3+ ions saturates the accepting modes inside of a critical volume of RC=39.4 Å centered at an excited Er3+(4S3/2) ion, by the high-energy phonons generated from emission sideband of Yb3+ ions in Yb(x%):Er(0.5%) crystals. It is established that the green (552 nm) upconversion luminescence of Er3+ is optimized using an Yb3+ concentration of 11.5 mol% for Er(0.5%):LiLa (WO4)2 crystal.