PHOTOLUMINESCENCE OF LITAO3-PR

Single crystals of LiTaO3 doped with praseodymium were grown by the Cz ochralski method from congruent melt and their optical properties were examined. It has been found that the Pr3+ ions in LiTaO3 occupy sever al nonequivalent sites differing in the crystal field strength. In add ition, the structural disorder associated with Li deficiency gives ris e to strong inhomogeneous broadening of both the optical absorption an d emission lines. In contrast to isostructural LiNbO3:Pr, the relaxati on of the excited P-3(0) level of praseodymium is governed by radiativ e transitions, which terminate on excited multiplets and make the LiTa O3:Pr3+ crystals promising for four-level lasing in the visible range. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.