Optical properties and laser parameters of Nd3+-doped flouride glasses

Abstract Optical properties and laser parameters for 27 Nd 3+ -doped flouride glasses are reported. Included are glasses based on zirconium flouride, hafnium flouride, and aluminum flouride and other glasses formed from mixtures of several heavy metal flourides. Measurements were made of the 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 flourescence spectra and the concentration-dependent flourescence decays. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters were derived from absorption spectra and used to calculate the 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 stimulated emission cross section and the 4 F 3/2 radiative lifetime. Cross sections showed only a small variation with glass composition, ranging from 2.2 to 3.4 pm 2 ; the radiative lifetimes ranged from 470 to 650 μs. Results for these flouride glasses are compared with values for BeF 2 -based glasses and for oxide and oxyflouride laser glasses.