Formation of new Tm 3+ tetragonal symmetry optical centers in CaF 2 hot-formed laser ceramics

By means of time-resolved site-selective spectroscopy the formation of new Tm3+ optical centers with modified local environment and presumably tetragonal local symmetry in CaF2 hot-formed laser quality ceramics is observed. The spectroscopic properties of these new Tm3+ optical centers are investigated and shown to differ strongly from that for regular tetragonal optical centers.