| In this dissertation the material development and optical spectroscopy of Pr3+ activated low phonon energy halide crystals is presented for possible applications in resonantly pumped eye-safe solid-state laser gain media. In the last twenty years, the developments in fiber and diode lasers have enabled highly efficient resonant pumping of Pr3+ doped crystals for possible lasing in the 1.6--1.7 microm region. In this work, the results of the purification, crystal growth, and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic characterization of Pr3+ doped lead (II) chloride, PbCl2 and lead (II) bromide, PbBr2 are presented.;The investigated PbCl2 and PbBr2 crystals are non-hygroscopic with maximum phonon energies between ~180--200 cm-1, which enable efficient emission in the NIR spectral region (~ 1.6 microm) from the 3F3/3F4 → 3H4 transition of Pr3+ ions. The commercial available starting materials were purchased as ultra dry, high purity (~ 99.999 %) beads and purified through a combination of zone-refinement and halogenation. The crystal growth of Pr3+ doped PbCl 2 and PbBr2 was performed via vertical Bridgman technique using a two-zone furnace. The resulting Pr3+ doped PbCl 2 and PbBr2 crystals exhibited characteristic IR absorption bands in the 1.5--1.7 microm region (3H4 → 3F3/3F4), which allow for resonant pumping using commercial diode lasers. A broad IR emission band centered at ~1.6 microm was observed under ~1445 nm diode laser excitation from both Pr3+ doped halides.;This dissertation presents comparative spectroscopic results for Pr 3+:PbCl2 and Pr3+:PbBr2 including NIR absorption and emission studies, lifetime measurements, modelling of radiative and non-radiative decay rates, determination of transition cross-section, and the net effective gain cross sections. |
