NALA(MOO4)2 AS A LASER HOST MATERIAL

Crystallographic and optical properties of NaLa(MoO4)2 are presented. The positions of the Stark levels are reported for the [LS]J manifolds of Nd3+ and Er3+ up to the absorption edge in this host material. A least-squares fit to the data was performed to obtain the crystal-field parameters. For Nd3+ the following crystal-field parameters were obtained: B20 = 519, B40 = -695, B44 = 964, B60 = -190, and B64 = 673 + i384 cm-1, with a root-mean-square (rms) deviation of 7.7 cm-1. For Er3+ we obtained B20 = 422, B40 = -507, B44 = 839, B60 = -116, and B64 = 409 + i158 cm-1, with a rms deviation of 4.8 cm-1. Intensity calculations based on fits to the experimental data yield line-to-line and multiplet branching ratios. The results of this investigation indicate that Er3+:NaLa(MoO4)2 and Nd3+:NaLa(MoO4)2 show promise as diode-pumped laser materials.