DOI: 10.1364/jot.93.000073 ISSN: 1070-9762
Saturation effect in the luminescence lifetime decay of the excited state of Yb
3+
ions in yttrium oxide optical ceramics with zirconium oxide addition
Vladimir V. Osipov, Albert N. Orlov, Vasilii V. Lisenkov, Vladislav A. Shitov, Roman N. Maksimov
Subject of study.
The effect of the thickness of Yb:Y
2
O
3
+ZrO
2
optical ceramics on the luminescence decay kinetics of the excited
2
F
5/2
state of Yb
3+
ions is investigated.
Aim of study.
The aim is to establish the relationship between the luminescence lifetime of the excited state of Yb
3+
ions in yttrium oxide optical ceramics with zirconium oxide addition and the ceramic thickness.
Method.
A wedge-shaped sample is selected for the experimental investigation of the effect of the transparent-ceramic thickness on the photoluminescence-decay kinetics, which substantially simplifies the study. The theoretical interpretation of the experimental results is based on the Biberman–Holstein integro-differential equation.
Main results.
The saturation of the photoluminescence-decay time in 5Yb:Y
2
O
3
+ZrO
2
optical ceramics as a function of sample thickness is experimentally observed. The saturation value of the luminescence-decay time reaches 1270 µs at a sample thickness of 1.2 mm. A qualitative explanation of the luminescence-lifetime saturation effect is presented on the basis of the Biberman–Holstein integro-differential equation.
Practical significance.
Saturation of the luminescence lifetime of the excited
2
F
5/2
state of Yb
3+
ions in 5Yb:Y
2
O
3
+ZrO
2
optical ceramics as a function of sample thickness is revealed. To achieve high laser conversion efficiency in 5Yb:Y
2
O
3
+ZrO
2
optical ceramics, the selection of sample thicknesses that do not lead to the saturation of the luminescence-decay time is recommended.