Ce:LiCAF
Ce:LiCAF is perhaps the most extensively studied as a laser and amplifier material because of the absence of color center formation and solarization effects, therefore enabling high-power UV emission. Efficient UV generation through lasing techniques and/or amplification heavily relies on crystal quality and pumping configuration. The gain spectra of Ce:LiCAF is in the range 280–320 nm and is characteristic of the Ce3+ 5d1–4f1 interconfigurational transition. Ce3+-doped colquiriite LiCaA1F6 single crystals (LiCAF:Ce) are not only excellent u.v. fluorescers, but they also exhibit broadband tunable gain in u.v. under pulsed pumping at 266nm. UV solid-state laser materials that are continuously tunable over 4000cm−1, such as and Ce:LiCAF, could service numerous scientific, engineering, and medical applications. This material may also be suited to remote-sensing applications, since molecules such as ozone and aromatic-based compounds have characteristic absorption bands in the UV. For example, the UV tunability provided by Ce:LiCAF could serve as the basis for a UV differential-absorption lidar system that would have the versatility of continuously variable wavelengths. The reliability, compactness, nontoxicity, and high efficiencies offered by solid-state lasers provide many advantages over other tunable coherent ultraviolet sources, such as frequency-doubled dye lasers. Applications in inhospitable environments may also be rendered more practical with an all-solid-state UV source.
Parameter
| Orientation Tolerance | 5ˊ |
| Parallelism | <10〞 |
| Perpendicularity | 5ˊ |
| Chamfer | 0.1mm@45° |
| Surface Quality | 10/5 or better |
| Wavefront Distortion | λ/8 @632.8 nm |
| Surface Flatness | λ/10 @632.8 nm |
| Clear Aperture | >95% |
| Diameter Tolerance | +0/-0.05mm |
| Length Tolerance | ±0.1mm |
| Coatings | As per requirement |
| Dopant Concentration Tolerance | 0.10% |
| Crystal Structure | Trigonal |
| Space Group | P31C |
| Lattice Constants | a=4.9808, c=9.6052Å@1mol%CeF3 |
| Density (g/cm3) | 2.94 |
| Melting Point | 766°C |
| Thermal Conductivity(W·m-1·K-1) | 3.09-2.9 |
| Thermal Expansion(10-6K-1) | 24.3(∥a), 2.7(∥c) |
| Absorption Peak Wavelength(nm) | 640 |
| Absorption Cross-section(10-18cm2)@266nm | 7.3(π), 5.8(σ) |
| Absorption Coefficient@266nm | 4cm-1 |
| Refractive Index | n=1.41 |
| Laser Wavelength(nm) | 266 |
| Fluorescence Lifetime(μs) | 25 |
| Spontaneous Emission Constant(10-10cm·s-2) | 0.2 |
| Emission Cross-section(10-18cm2)@290nm | 9.6(π), 6.2(σ) |
| Laser Threshold(μJ) | 15-25 |
| Estimated Pumping Efficiency | 50(π), 33(σ) |
| ESA Cross-section(10-18cm2)@266nm | 5.5π), 6.2(σ) |
| Gain Cross-section(10-18cm2)@290nm | 6.0(π), 4.0(σ) |
| Saturation Fluence(mJ/cm2) | 115 |
Feature
- The gain spectra of Ce:LiCAF are in the range 280–320 nm
- Characteristic of the Ce3+5d1–4f1 interconfigurational transition
- Absence of solarization effects
- Transparency, tolerance to laser-induced damage
- o be directly pumped
- Can be directly pumped at 266 nm by the fourth harmonic generation of Nd:YAG laser
- Broad UVtunability (from 280 to 325 nm)
Application
- Scintillator
- Tunable ultraviolet lasers
- Remote-sending applications
- Ultrafast pulse generation and amplification
- Power UV laser amplifiers
Literature
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