Optical characterization of Pr $^{3 +}$ -doped yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystals

The optical absorption and fluorescence of Pr

^{3 +}

ions in yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystals are investigated. Fluorescence emissions from the

^{1} D_{2}

level are clearly dominant and low intensity emission lines from the

^{3} P_{0}

and

^{1} G_{4}

states are also observed. Analysis with the Judd-Ofelt theory of the absorption intensities has been made assuming that only

\sim 40

% of the praseodymium ions contribute to the optical absorption bands. Quantum efficiency values of

η (^{3} P_{0}) \sim 0.2

and

η (^{1} D_{2}) \sim

1 are obtained at room temperature.

^{1} D_{2}

fluorescence quenching has been observed in heavily-doped samples due to cross relaxation processes among neighboring Pr

^{3 +}

ions. Analysis using the Inokuti-Hirayama model shows that electric dipole-dipole interactions are mainly responsible for the quenching effect. Pr

^{3 +}

ions are present in seven and sixfold configurations with a statistical distribution. The energy position of the

4 f 5 d

configuration is very different for each center. The fluorescence dynamics is explained by a mechanism involving thermally assisted population of the

^{3} P_{1, 2} +^{1} I_{6}

upper levels and fast relaxation to the

^{1} D_{2}

level via states of the excited

4 f 5 d

configuration.

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Optical characterization of Pr3+-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia single crystals