Crystal growth and optical properties of the Nd3+ doped LuF3 single crystals

✍ Scribed by Kentaro Fukuda; Sumito Ishizu; Noriaki Kawaguchi; Toshihisa Suyama; Takayuki Yanagida; Yuui Yokota; Martin Nikl; Akira Yoshikawa

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 730 KB
• Volume: 33
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0925-3467
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2010.10.054

✦ Synopsis

Thirty millimeter diameter single crystal of Nd 3+ doped LuF 3 was grown using LiF as solvent. The single phase crystallization was confirmed by the powder X-ray diffraction, and high structural perfection was demonstrated by X-ray rocking curve (XRC) measurements. FWHM of XRC for 220 reflection was 32 arcsec. No remarkable absorption due to unfavorable impurities was observed from optical absorption measurements in the VUV spectral region. The crystal showed the VUV luminescence peaking around 178 nm that is consistent with the 4f 2 5d-4f 3 transition of Nd 3+ ion. The luminescence intensity of Nd:LuF 3 under X-ray irradiation was significantly higher than that of reported VUV scintillators such as Nd:LaF 3 or Nd:LiLuF 4 .