Temperature effect on emission spectra and fluorescence lifetime of the 4I13=2 state of Er3+-doped Gd2SiO5 crystal

Abstract

By measuring the emission spectra and the fluorescence lifetime of the 4 I 13/2 state of Er 3+ ions in Gd2SiO5 crystal at different temperatures, the effects of temperature on the spectra and the lifetime of the 4 I 13/2 state are investigated. When the temperature increases, the emission line width for the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition is broadened, and the main emission lines at 1 596, 1 609, and 1 644 nm shifte toward shorter wavelengths. The measured lifetime of the 4 I 13/2 state decreases from 13.2 to 8.4 ms with temperature increase from 13 to 300 K, which is mainly due to the temperature dependence of multiphonon relaxation between the 4 I 13/2 and 4 I 15/2 states and the changing population distribution among the Stark levels within the 4 I 13/2 state. The experimental results imply that low temperature condition is better for the ∼1.6-µm laser output.