Crystal growth and spectroscopic characterization of Sm:LaMgAl11O19 crystal.

LaMgAl 11 O 19 (LMA) crystal with nominal Sm3+ concentrations of 8 at.% was grown by the Czochralski method. Polarized absorption spectra, polarized emission spectra and fluorescence decay curve of Sm:LMA crystal were recorded at room temperature. The absorption cross-sections at 404 nm were calculated to be 2.33 × 10−20 cm2 and 0.86 × 10−20 cm2 for σ and π polarization, respectively. The spontaneous transition rates, branching ratios and the radiative lifetime of the 4G 5/2 multiplet, were calculated. The Judd-Ofelt theory has been applied to evaluate the Ω t (t = 2, 4, 6) intensity parameters. The highest stimulated emission cross-sections for the 4G 5/2 → 6H 7/2 transition around 594 nm were calculated to be 1.67 × 10−21 cm2 for σ polarization and 1.15 × 10−21 cm2 for π polarization, with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 7.68 nm and 7.27 nm, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime of the 4G 5/2 manifold was 1.84 ms. All the results show that Sm:LMA crystal would be a promising orange-red solid state laser material. • The most intensive absorption line of Sm3+ ion, suitable for 405 nm InGaN laser diode. • The rigidity of Sm:LMA crystal is higher than some host crystals. • The value Ω 2 of Sm:LMA crystal is comparable to Sm:LiYF 4. • The large parameter σ em τ of Sm3+ in LMA is beneficial for the solid state laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]