Dephasing mechanisms of optical transitions in rare-earth-doped transparent ceramics

Nathalie Kunkel, John Bartholomew, Sacha Welinski, Alban Ferrier, Akio Ikesue, and Philippe Goldner
Phys. Rev. B 94, 184301 – Published 1 November 2016

Abstract

We identify and analyze dephasing mechanisms that broaden the optical transitions of rare-earth ions in randomly oriented transparent ceramics. The study examines the narrow F07D05 transition of Eu3+ dopants in a series of Y2O3 ceramic samples prepared under varying conditions. We characterize the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the homogeneous linewidth, as well as long-term spectral diffusion on time scales up to 1 s. The results highlight significant differences between samples with differing thermal treatments and Zr4+ additive concentrations. In particular, several distinct magnetic interactions from defect centers are observed, which are clearly distinguished from the broadening due to interactions with two-level systems and phonons. By minimizing the broadening due to the different defect centers, linewidths of the order of 4 kHz are achieved for all samples. The linewidths are limited by temperature-dependent interactions and by an interaction that is yet to be identified. Although the homogeneous linewidth can be narrowed further in these ceramic samples, the broadening is now comparable to the linewidths achieved in rare-earth-ion–doped single crystals. Thus, this work emphasizes the usefulness of studying ceramics to gain insights into dephasing mechanisms relevant to single crystals and suggests that ceramics may be an interesting alternative for applications in classical and quantum information processing.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 15 August 2016
  • Revised 7 October 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.184301

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied PhysicsQuantum Information, Science & Technology

Authors & Affiliations

Nathalie Kunkel1,2,*, John Bartholomew1,†, Sacha Welinski1, Alban Ferrier1,3, Akio Ikesue4, and Philippe Goldner1

  • 1PSL Research University, Chimie ParisTech, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
  • 2Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with Focus on Novel Materials, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching, Germany
  • 3Sorbonnes Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, 75005 Paris, France
  • 4World Laboratory, Mutsuno, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya 456-0023, Japan

  • *Corresponding author: nathalie.kunkel@lrz.tu-muenchen.de
  • Present address: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 18 — 1 November 2016

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review B

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×