Luminescence and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Borates LnGa3(BO3)4 (Ln = Nd, Sm, Tb, Er, Dy, or Ho)

• Published in: Optics and spectroscopy Vol. 127; no. 1; pp. 107 - 112
• Main Authors: Kuz’min, N. N., Boldyrev, K. N., Leonyuk, N. I., Stefanovich, S. Yu, Popova, M. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01-07-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum; Borates; Cryogenic temperature; Crystal defects; Crystals; Dysprosium; Erbium; Gallium; Inclusions; Lasers; Luminescence; Nonlinear optics; Nonlinearity; Optical Devices; Optical Materials; Optical properties; Optics; Photoluminescence; Photonics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Rare earth elements; Second harmonic generation; Semiconductor lasers; Single crystals; Spectra; Spectral resolution; Terbium; luminescence spectra; rare-earth gallium borate crystals; second-harmonic generation
• ISSN: 0030-400X; 1562-6911
• DOI: 10.1134/S0030400X19070154

Luminescence spectra of single crystals of rare-earth gallium borates LnGa
3
(BO
3
)
4
(Ln = Nd, Sm, Tb, Er, Dy, or Ho) at room (300 K) and cryogenic (10 K) temperatures are presented for the first time. Photoluminescence has been recorded in the wavelength range of 470–5000 nm (2000–21 300 cm
–1
) with a high spectral resolution (down to 0.1 cm
–1
) upon excitation by different diode lasers. The spectra obtained cannot be unambiguously interpreted within one luminescent center, which can be due to the presence of defects and/or inclusions of other crystalline phases. The optical nonlinearity of rare-earth–gallium borates has been estimated using the Kurtz–Perry powder technique. The typical intensities of the second-harmonic generation in gallium borate powders are 30–40 (with respect to quartz), and the optical nonlinearity is as good as the nonlinearity of the efficient rare-earth aluminum borate YAl
3
(BO
3
)
4
.