Spectra and energy levels of Nd3+ in LaSc3(BO3)4

We report a detailed spectroscopic analysis of Nd3+(4f3) as a dopant in single crystals of LaSc3(BO3)4 (LSB). Absorption spectra were obtained between 570 and 1750 nm at temperatures as low as 8 K. Fluorescence spectra and lifetimes were obtained at similar temperatures from F3/24 to I9/24, I11/24, and I13/24 multiplet manifolds. The observed spectra are similar to spectra reported earlier for Nd3+ as a dopant in the alpha phase of LSB. The observed crystal-field splitting of the LJ2S+1 multiplet manifolds of Nd3+ was modeled using a Hamiltonian, which includes atomic and crystal field terms. A least-squares fitting between 57 calculated-to-observed energy (Stark) levels gave a root mean square deviation of 8 cm−1 for the 13 lowest-energy multiplet manifolds. With wave functions obtained from the modeling studies, multiplet-to-multiplet and line-to-line branching ratios were calculated as well as the radiative lifetime for emission from F3/24. The results are compared with experimental values obtained in the present study and also with results reported for Nd3+ in the beta phase of LSB.