Investigation of Ce³⁺ Impurity Centers in UV Active Media Ce:LiCaAlF<inf>6</inf> and Ce:LiSr<inf>0.8</inf>Ca<inf>0.2</inf>AlF<inf>6</inf>

Abstract

© 2019, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. Abstract: Fluoride crystals with the colquiriite structure LiCaAlF6 doped with Ce3+ ions are used as active media for lasers of ultraviolet spectral range with advantages of laser wavelength tuning range and no photoinduced degradation of laser properties. In this work we show that the multicenter character of Ce3+ segregation in this matrix agrees with the previously known peculiarities. On the basis of spectral-kinetic properties investigation, we show the increase of segregation coefficient for Ce3+ in LiSr0.8Ca0.2AlF6 mixed crystal. In laser experiments with Ce:LiCaAlF6 crystal, the differential efficiency of 47% and the wavelength tuning from 281 to 312 nm have been reached.