Energy Levels and Crystal-Field Calculations of Neodymium in Yttrium Aluminum Garnet

Experimental and theoretical studies of the Nd³⁺ spectrum in yttrium aluminum garnet are reported in the present article. From the crystal-field calculations on various J manifolds, it is concluded that the crystal field is approximately tetragonal. The agreement between observed and calculated splitting patterns for J manifolds in which J mixing is small is satisfactory. Our best evaluation of the crystal-field parameters yields: A₂⁰=270 cm^-1, A₄⁰=-250 cm^-1, A₄⁴=1250 cm^-1, A₆⁰=92 cm^-1, and A₆⁴=-965 cm^-1.