Nuclear-quadrupole optical hole burning in the stoichiometric material EuP_5O_14

Hole burning, which is attributed to optical pumping of nuclear-quadrupole levels, has been observed in the stoichiometric rare-earth compound, EuP5O14 . The long lifetime of these holes (-60 min) implies slow nuclear-spin flip-flop rates. The small magnetic moment of Eu3+ has prevented conventional magnetic-resonance measurements on Eu3+ compounds, but hole burning provides a sensitive method for the optical detection of nuclear-magnetic resonance and nuclear-quadrupole resonance. We have used hole burning and optically detected nuclear-quadrupole resonance to determine quadrupole splittings in the ground (7Fo) and excited (5Do) states.