TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENCE OF THE FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME IN PR3+ZBLAN GLASS FOR FIBER OPTIC THERMOMETRY

An analysis of the fluorescence decay behavior of Pr3+ in ZBLAN glass, at different concentrations, has been undertaken, for applications of the material to fiber optic thermometry. The study has shown that wit h the temperature increase, the measured lifetimes of the fluorescence emission from the Pr3+ doped glass are also seen to increase slowly. The results obtained are found not to support a simple two-level model based on the thermalization of the states involved but a new three-le vel model that has been introduced can explain the observed results in a very satisfactory way. The application of the work in optical therm ometry is discussed and comparisons with other systems are made. (C) 1 997 American Institute of Physics.