Luminescence in epitaxial Er-doped LiNbO 3 films

Epitaxial Er-doped LiNbO3 films were pulsed-laser-deposited onto c-cut sapphire. Wavelength dispersion of the refractive index and the extinction coefficient was obtained by fitting the experimental transmittance spectrum to the Swanepoel formula and microscopic theory, which accounts for two resonance transitions in the electric dipole approximation. Strong room temperature luminescence was observed under 514.5 nm Ar-laser pumping. Two-lifetime (3.0 and 6.0 ms) luminescent decay is characteristic for the lasing I413/2→I415/2 transition in Er:LiNbO3 films.