Phonon-Terminated Coherent Emission from V2+ Ions in MgF2

Infrared fluorescence and phonon-terminated stimulated emission from V2+ ions in MgF2 is reported. Fluorescence is produced in transitions from the first excited state 4T2(4F) to the ground state 4A2(4F). Stimulated emission occurs in the vibronic sideband at 1.1217 μ (8915 cm−1) and lies 1166 cm−1 from the no-phonon line. A gain curve calculated from the optical spectra predicts an oscillation frequency in reasonable agreement with the observed frequency, with a cross section for stimulated emission of 8×10−21 cm2. From the effect of excited state absorption on the gain profile it is concluded that the excited state absorption cross section at the maser frequency is <3×10−21 cm2.