Optical properties of Pr ions in silver halide crystals in the middle infrared spectral range

The spectroscopy of AgCl_xBr_1-x crystals doped with Pr³⁺ ions was investigated in the mid-IR. The absorption, luminescence emission, and the kinetic parameters were measured over a broad temperature range. We calculated the important optical parameters for Pr:AgBr and Pr:AgCl crystals using the Judd-Ofelt approximation. These included the J-O parameters, radiative lifetimes and quantum efficiencies. The measurements and the calculations indicated the doped silver halide crystals would be good candidates for forming solid state mid-IR lasers. The doped silver halide crystal can be extruded to form optical fibers with good transmission in the mid-IR. These crystals would be excellent candidate for the fabrication of mid-IR fiber lasers.