Influence of erbium doping on phase transition and optical properties of strontium barium niobate

The optical properties of erbium impurities in strontium barium niobate are investigated measuring optical absorption and emission in the visible and near infrared spectral region. For the main fluorescence band at 1.55 μm, an anomalous dependence of the fluorescence decay time on dopant concentration is found which, however, can be consistently explained by reabsorption effects. A Judd–Ofelt analysis of the absorption spectra together with an appropriate analysis of the reabsorption yields a radiative quantum efficiency of approximately 60%. In addition, erbium dopants are shown to efficiently influence the phase transition temperature of strontium barium niobate.