Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review Letters

Temperature dependence of optical linewidths and specific heat of rare-earth-doped silicate glasses

Thomas Schmidt, J. Baak, D. A. van de Straat, Hans B. Brom, Silvia Volker

Published Nov 1, 1993• 32 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Optical dephasing and specific heat measurements were performed on two rare-earth-doped silicate glasses. The effective homogeneous linewidth of the optical transition, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}$ was compared to the two-level-system (TLS) contribution to the specific heat, ${\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}$, between 0.4 and 12 K. Both ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}$ and ${\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}$ vary as ${\mathit{T}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}$ with the same value of \ensuremath{\alpha} for a given rare-earth/glass sample, but with different \ensuremath{\alpha} for the two samples (\ensuremath{\alpha}=1.3 for the ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$/glass, \ensuremath{\alpha}=1.0 for ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$/glass). From the ratio of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}$ to ${\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}$ for each glass, it appears that the coupling strengths to the TLS for each rare-earth optical transition are similar, but that the density of TLS differ due to their different compositions.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.71.3031

Related papers

Dephasing mechanisms of optical transitions in rare-earth-doped transparent ceramics

Nathalie Kunkel, John G. Bartholomew, Sacha Welinski +3 more

We identify and analyze dephasing mechanisms that broaden the optical transitions of rare-earth ions in randomly oriented transparent ceramics. The study examines the narrow $^{7}F_{0}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}^{5}D_{0}$ transition of ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$ dopants in a series of ${\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ ceramic samples prepared under varying conditions. We characterize the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the homogeneous linewidth, as well as long-term spectral diffusion on time scales up to 1 s. The results highlight significant differences between samples with differing thermal treatments and ${\mathrm{Zr}}^{4+}$ additive concentrations. In particular, several distinct magnetic interactions from defect centers are observed, which are clearly distinguished from the broadening due to interactions with two-level systems and phonons. By minimizing the broadening due to the different defect centers, linewidths of the order of 4 kHz are achieved for all samples. The linewidths are limited by temperature-dependent interactions and by an interaction that is yet to be identified. Although the homogeneous linewidth can be narrowed further in these ceramic samples, the broadening is now comparable to the linewidths achieved in rare-earth-ion--doped single crystals. Thus, this work emphasizes the usefulness of studying ceramics to gain insights into dephasing mechanisms relevant to single crystals and suggests that ceramics may be an interesting alternative for applications in classical and quantum information processing.

Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Nov 1, 2016•30 citations

Temperature dependence of the homogeneous width of Eu3+ spectral lines in silicate glass measured by accumulated photon echoes

Ryuzi Yano, Masaharu Mitsunaga, Naoshi Uesugi +1 more

The temperature-dependent homogeneous width of the $^{5}$${\mathit{D}}_{0\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{7}$${\mathit{F}}_{0}$ transition of ${\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}$ in a pure silicate glass fiber has been measured by accumulated photon echoes between 1.6 and 44 K. The temperature dependence of the homogeneous width shows a crossover from T-linear (T7 K) to ${\mathit{T}}^{2}$ (T>7 K). The whole temperature dependence of the homogeneous width between 1.6 and 44 K can be explained by the configurational changes of the glass which is modeled by two-level systems (TLS's) and a Raman process involving low-frequency vibrational modes of the silicate glass (the rotations of ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{4}$ tetrahedra). The T-linear temperature dependence is attributed to the TLS process. The anomalous ${\mathit{T}}^{2}$ dependence down to 10 K cannot be explained by only one process, but can be explained by the contributions of both the TLS process and the Raman process. Above 40 K, the Raman process becomes the dominant dephasing mechanism.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Oct 1, 1994•23 citations

Exceptionally narrow homogeneous linewidth in erbium-doped glasses

Y. Sun, R. L. Cone, Laurent Bigot +1 more

We show that rare-earth (RE-) doped glasses can have homogeneous linewidths as narrow as 287 kHz at (4)He temperatures. This is far narrower than others reported in glasses in the same temperature range and is suitable for precise spectral hole burning and spatial-spectral holographic applications. It is known that cw spectral hole burning linewidth measurements of RE ions in glasses are hindered by the presence of spectral diffusion but, even in glasses, application of a magnetic field can freeze out RE spin-spin interactions responsible for spectral diffusion and isolate the remaining contribution of two-level systems (TLSs). The Er(3+):2G2S glasses have unusually low TLS contributions, making it possible to study the real homogeneous linewidth using photon echo measurements. The contribution from TLSs is only 170 T(1.3) kHz when subjected to a field of 5 T.

Optics Letters•Nov 9, 2006•22 citations

Measurement of optical homogeneous linewidths in a glass with picosecond accumulated photon echoes

Robert M. Shelby

Picosecond accumulated photon echoes have been used to study optical dephasing in the (4)I(9/2)?(2)G(7/2), (4)G(5/2) transition of Nd(3+) in silicate glass. The homogeneous width exhibited a T(2.2)temperature dependence similar to that of other rare-earth systems previously studied by fluorescence line narrowing. The wavelength dependence of the echo-decay curves shows that relaxation among crystal-field states takes place in a few picoseconds.

Optics Letters•Feb 1, 1983•66 citations

Determination of spectral linewidths by Voigt profiles in Yb3+ -doped fluorozirconate glasses

Gang Lei, J. E. Anderson, M. I. Buchwald +2 more

Homogeneous and inhomogeneous spectral linewidths of the ${(}^{2}{F}_{5/2}{)}_{1}\ensuremath{-}{(}^{2}{F}_{7/2}{)}_{1}$ transition in ${\mathrm{Yb}}^{3+}$-doped fluorozirconate glasses are determined by fitting Voigt profiles to the inhomogeneously broadened emission and absorption spectra between 10 and 300 K. The homogeneous linewidth varied as $(12\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{T}^{(1.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1)}\mathrm{MHz}$ for emission and $(10\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{T}^{1.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1}$ for absorption over the entire temperature range, similar to that of other rare-earth-doped systems previously studied by fluorescence line narrowing and photon echoes. The inhomogeneous linewidths were nearly independent of temperature, but different by $\ensuremath{\sim}30%$ between emission and absorption. The structural and dynamic properties in this disordered system are discussed.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Apr 1, 1998•55 citations

Stark-level one-phonon dephasing process of Nd3+ -doped silicate glass fiber studied with accumulated photon echoes

Ryuzi Yano, Naoshi Uesugi

Measurements of the homogeneous width of the $^{4}$ ${\mathrm{G}}_{5\mathrm{/}2}$ , $^{2}$ ${\mathrm{G}}_{7\mathrm{/}2}$ ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{4}$ ${\mathrm{I}}_{9\mathrm{/}2}$ transition of ${\mathrm{Nd}}^{3+}$ in a silicate glass fiber at low temperatures by the technique of accumulated photon echoes show that the dephasing processes are one-phonon processes between the Stark levels of ${\mathrm{Nd}}^{3+}$ . These dephasing processes differ from the commonly observed processes of rare-earth ion-doped glasses: the local-configurational-change-induced dephasing process and the Raman process with low-frequency modes. The densely distributed Stark levels of the $^{4}$ ${\mathrm{G}}_{5\mathrm{/}2}$ and $^{2}$ ${\mathrm{G}}_{7\mathrm{/}2}$ states are responsible for one-phonon processes. The transition-wavelength dependences of the homogeneous widths ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{h}}$ (4.2 K) and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{h}}$ (T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0) are explained by using the one-phonon process model.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Mar 1, 1997•6 citations
Optical dephasing and specific heat measurements were performed on two rare-earth-doped silicate glasses. The effective homogeneous linewidth of the optical transition, \ensuremathΓhom{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}\ensuremathΓhom​ was compared to the two-level-system (TLS) contribution to the specific heat, CvTLS{\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}CvTLS​, between 0.4 and 12 K. Both \ensuremathΓhom{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}\ensuremathΓhom​ and CvTLS{\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}CvTLS​ vary as T\ensuremathα{\mathit{T}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}T\ensuremathα with the same value of \ensuremath{\alpha} for a given rare-earth/glass sample, but with different \ensuremath{\alpha} for the two samples (\ensuremath{\alpha}=1.3 for the Pr3+{\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}Pr3+/glass, \ensuremath{\alpha}=1.0 for Eu3+{\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}Eu3+/glass). From the ratio of \ensuremathΓhom{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{hom}}\ensuremathΓhom​ to CvTLS{\mathit{C}}_{\mathit{v}}^{\mathrm{TLS}}CvTLS​ for each glass, it appears that the coupling strengths to the TLS for each rare-earth optical transition are similar, but that the density of TLS differ due to their different compositions.
We identify and analyze dephasing mechanisms that broaden the optical transitions of rare-earth ions in randomly oriented transparent ceramics. The study examines the narrow $^{7}F_{0}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}^{5}D_{0}$ transition of Eu3+{\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}Eu3+ dopants in a series of Y2O3{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}Y2​O3​ ceramic samples prepared under varying conditions. We characterize the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the homogeneous linewidth, as well as long-term spectral diffusion on time scales up to 1 s. The results highlight significant differences between samples with differing thermal treatments and Zr4+{\mathrm{Zr}}^{4+}Zr4+ additive concentrations. In particular, several distinct magnetic interactions from defect centers are observed, which are clearly distinguished from the broadening due to interactions with two-level systems and phonons. By minimizing the broadening due to the different defect centers, linewidths of the order of 4 kHz are achieved for all samples. The linewidths are limited by temperature-dependent interactions and by an interaction that is yet to be identified. Although the homogeneous linewidth can be narrowed further in these ceramic samples, the broadening is now comparable to the linewidths achieved in rare-earth-ion--doped single crystals. Thus, this work emphasizes the usefulness of studying ceramics to gain insights into dephasing mechanisms relevant to single crystals and suggests that ceramics may be an interesting alternative for applications in classical and quantum information processing.
The temperature-dependent homogeneous width of the 5^{5}5${\mathit{D}}_{0\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{7}$F0{\mathit{F}}_{0}F0​ transition of Eu3+{\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+}Eu3+ in a pure silicate glass fiber has been measured by accumulated photon echoes between 1.6 and 44 K. The temperature dependence of the homogeneous width shows a crossover from T-linear (T7 K) to T2{\mathit{T}}^{2}T2 (T>7 K). The whole temperature dependence of the homogeneous width between 1.6 and 44 K can be explained by the configurational changes of the glass which is modeled by two-level systems (TLS's) and a Raman process involving low-frequency vibrational modes of the silicate glass (the rotations of SiO4{\mathrm{SiO}}_{4}SiO4​ tetrahedra). The T-linear temperature dependence is attributed to the TLS process. The anomalous T2{\mathit{T}}^{2}T2 dependence down to 10 K cannot be explained by only one process, but can be explained by the contributions of both the TLS process and the Raman process. Above 40 K, the Raman process becomes the dominant dephasing mechanism.
We show that rare-earth (RE-) doped glasses can have homogeneous linewidths as narrow as 287 kHz at (4)He temperatures. This is far narrower than others reported in glasses in the same temperature range and is suitable for precise spectral hole burning and spatial-spectral holographic applications. It is known that cw spectral hole burning linewidth measurements of RE ions in glasses are hindered by the presence of spectral diffusion but, even in glasses, application of a magnetic field can freeze out RE spin-spin interactions responsible for spectral diffusion and isolate the remaining contribution of two-level systems (TLSs). The Er(3+):2G2S glasses have unusually low TLS contributions, making it possible to study the real homogeneous linewidth using photon echo measurements. The contribution from TLSs is only 170 T(1.3) kHz when subjected to a field of 5 T.
Homogeneous and inhomogeneous spectral linewidths of the ${(}^{2}{F}_{5/2}{)}_{1}\ensuremath{-}{(}^{2}{F}_{7/2}{)}_{1}$ transition in Yb3+{\mathrm{Yb}}^{3+}Yb3+-doped fluorozirconate glasses are determined by fitting Voigt profiles to the inhomogeneously broadened emission and absorption spectra between 10 and 300 K. The homogeneous linewidth varied as $(12\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{T}^{(1.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1)}\mathrm{MHz}$ for emission and $(10\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{T}^{1.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1}$ for absorption over the entire temperature range, similar to that of other rare-earth-doped systems previously studied by fluorescence line narrowing and photon echoes. The inhomogeneous linewidths were nearly independent of temperature, but different by $\ensuremath{\sim}30%$ between emission and absorption. The structural and dynamic properties in this disordered system are discussed.
Measurements of the homogeneous width of the 4^{4}4 G5/2{\mathrm{G}}_{5\mathrm{/}2}G5/2​ , 2^{2}2 G7/2{\mathrm{G}}_{7\mathrm{/}2}G7/2​ ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{4}$ I9/2{\mathrm{I}}_{9\mathrm{/}2}I9/2​ transition of Nd3+{\mathrm{Nd}}^{3+}Nd3+ in a silicate glass fiber at low temperatures by the technique of accumulated photon echoes show that the dephasing processes are one-phonon processes between the Stark levels of Nd3+{\mathrm{Nd}}^{3+}Nd3+ . These dephasing processes differ from the commonly observed processes of rare-earth ion-doped glasses: the local-configurational-change-induced dephasing process and the Raman process with low-frequency modes. The densely distributed Stark levels of the 4^{4}4 G5/2{\mathrm{G}}_{5\mathrm{/}2}G5/2​ and 2^{2}2 G7/2{\mathrm{G}}_{7\mathrm{/}2}G7/2​ states are responsible for one-phonon processes. The transition-wavelength dependences of the homogeneous widths ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{h}}$ (4.2 K) and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{h}}$ (T\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0) are explained by using the one-phonon process model.