Impurity concentration and temperature dependence of the refractive indices of Er^3+doped ceramic Y_2O_3

The refractive indices and thermo-optic coefficients for varying concentrations of Er3+ doped polycrystalline yttria were measured at a variety of wavelengths and temperatures. A Lorenz oscillator model was employed to model the room temperature indices and thermo-optic coefficients were calculated based on temperature dependent index measurements from 0.45 to 1.064 microns. Some consequences relating to thermal lensing are discussed.