OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF CR2+ IONS IN CD0.85MN0.15TE

We present a spectroscopic study of Cr2+-doped Cd0.85Mn0.15Te. The inf rared absorption is characterized by a strong, broad-band centered at 1900 nm which can be attributed to the only spin-allowed transition T- 5(2) --> E-5 within the 3d(4) shell of Cr2+ ions. Upon optical excitat ion at 1800 nm, we observed a broad luminescence centered at 2250 nm a t room temperature (E-5 --> T-5(2)). The luminescence decay time was d etermined to be 3.7 mu s at 15 K and 1.4 mu s at 300 K. The potential of Cr:Cd0.85Mn0.15Te for mid-infrared solid-state laser applications w ill be discussed.