Optical properties and persistent spectral hole burning of Eu3+ in Ge-Ga-S glass with alkali halides

Abstract

Optical properties of Eu3+ in glassy Ge-Ga-S-MX (MX = alkali halide) materials were investigated, An efficient persistent spectral hole burning (PSHB) was also observed suggesting the potentials of these materials for high-density optical storage media. Several hole properties such as hole growth rates, burning power dependency, relaxation process and multi-hole formation were investigated to understand the hole burning mechanism. Reduction of Eu3+ to Eu2+ following the absorption of the pumping light was the most probable mechanism for the hole burning. Dependence of the spectroscopic properties on composition and temperature was related to the local phonon modes effectively coupled to the Eu3+ ion. Local structure surrounding rare-earth ions was investigated using the phonon side bands and site-dependent spectroscopy.