Crystal growth and spectroscopic analysis of Ho:Lu2O3 crystal for mid-infrared emission

Ho:Lu2O3 crystal was successfully grown by TGT method. The spectroscopic properties of the crystal were analyzed. The absorption cross section of Ho:Lu2O3 were 0.307 × 10−20 cm2 at 1147 nm and 1.076 × 10−20 cm2 at 1929 nm. J-O theory was applied to analyze fluorescence properties of the Ho:Lu2O3 crystal. The intensity parameters Ωt(t = 2,4,6), radiative transition rates, branching ratios and radiative lifetime were calculated. The Ho:Lu2O3 crystal had very strong emission at 2027 nm and 2849 nm and emission cross sections were calculated to be 3.271 × 10−21 cm2 and 8.852 × 10−21 cm2, respectively. The fluorescence lifetimes of the Ho3+ 5I7 and 5I6 levels were measured to be 12.400 ms and 0.622 ms. All those results show that the Ho: Lu2O3 crystal would be a potential laser material for mid-infrared region.