Optical properties of a Cr3+-doped fluorophosphate glass investigated by steady state and time-resolved laser spectroscopy

The optical properties of trivalent-chromium-doped fluorophosphate glass (21.74 Al(PO 3 ) 3 -57.8 BaF 2 -19.96 AlF 3 (wt.%)) have been investigated in the 4.2-300 K temperature range using steady state and time-resolved laser spectroscopy. The luminescence of Cr 3+ shows a strong thermal quenching which can be analysed in terms of the quantum mechanical single-configurational coordinate model. In order to establish a correlation between the glass matrix composition and the spectral and temperature behaviour of the Cr 3+ photoluminescence, detailed time-resolved measurements have been performed. When compared with fluoride glasses, the results attained for the emission wavelength dependence of the lifetimes and excitation spectra show an enhancement of the site-dependent effects.