Li S T, Liu G K, Zhao W
Chemistry Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
Opt Lett. 1999 Jun 15;24(12):838-40. doi: 10.1364/ol.24.000838.
Persistent spectral hole burning (PSHB) is demonstrated in the (7)F(0)-->(5)D(0) optical transition of Eu(3+) doped into crystals of BaFCl. For Eu(3+) ions at two different lattice sites, persistent holes can be burned at temperatures below 77 K. The characteristics of the hole-burning process suggest that the observed PSHB effect is due to laser-excitation-induced site-to-site conversion. One type of Eu(3+) site is converted into another type of defect site. This process is not optically reversible, and holes can be erased only when the temperature increases to 150 K.