Energy transfer and thermalization in LiYF4:Tm, Ho

Abstract.

Energy transfer processes are very important in solid-state laser systems because they can cause an enhancement of the luminescence emission resulting in a reduction of the laser threshold. In this work, a detailed investigation to understand the basic processes of energy transfer between Tm and Ho ions in LiYF₄, a solid-state laser crystal, was made. Data includes absorption, luminescence excitation and response to pulsed excitation. Dynamics of the energy transfer was analyzed by considering the kinetic evolution of the emissions of both ions. It was found that the energy transfer process between the ³ F ₄ spectral manifold of Tm and the ⁵ I ₇ spectral manifold of Ho results in thermal equilibration of these two manifolds.