Abstract
Results of the growth and annealing processes of Ho3+:CaNb2O6 crystal with high oxygen defects were reported. The spectroscopic properties of Ho3+:CaNb2O6 were also analysed, and the decay curves of the bulk and powder samples in correspondence with the emission 5I7→5I8 at 2·0 μm were recorded. The effects of radiative trapping on the final results were also indicated, and the final value of the fluorescence lifetimes of 5I7→5I8 transition is calculated to be 5·19 ms. CaNb2O6 crystal was shown to be a prospective material for an infrared laser medium at 2·0 μm.
This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 50902129, 61078076 and 91122033), Innovation Foundation Projects of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. CXJJ-11-M48), Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. KJCX2-EW-H03), Science and Technology Plan Major Projects of Fujian Province (grant no. 2010I0015), major projects of FJIRSM (grant no. SZD09001) and Fund of Research Center of Laser Technology Integration and Application Engineering Technology of Haixi Industrial Technology Research Institute (grant no. 2009H2009).