Pr3+-doped fluoride glasses

Fluoride-based glasses are potential host materials for fiber lasers, amplifiers and solid state three-dimensional (3D) displays. Fluorozirconate (ZrF 4 -BaF 2 -LaF 3 -AlF 3 -NaF), fluoride phosphate (AlF 3 -SrF 2 -CaF 2 - MgF 2 -P 2 O 5) and fluoroin­ date (InF 3 -ZnF 2 -BaF 2 - GaF 3 -PbF 2 -REF 3 -S rF 2 -NaF-CaF 2) glasses were investigated in terms of their absorption and crystallization properties to compare their potential to be used as optical devices. Phonon sideband (PSB) measurements were employed to determine the local vibration behavior of the rare earth (RE) ion sites. A modified Judd-Ofelt treatment allows the description of transition probabilities between Pr 3+ energy levels, including error estimates for the fitted parameters Ω,. In the investigated fluoroindate glasses melted in vitreous carbon crucibles using a reactive atmosphere, processing fanlike crystals composed of Sr and RE fluorides caused manufacturing problems.