UV-visible Faraday rotators based on rare-earth fluoride single crystals: LiREF4 (RE = Tb, Dy,Ho, Er and Yb), PrF3 and CeF3

Valentyn Vasyliev*, Encarnacíon G. Villora, Masaru Nakamura, Yoshiyuki Sugahara, Kiyoshi Shimamura

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

84 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

High optical quality LiREF4 (RE = Tb3+, Dy3+, Ho 3+, Er3+ and Yb3+), PrF3 and CeF3 single crystals have been grown by the Czochralski technique. Their magneto-optical properties have been measured and analyzed in detail in the ultraviolet-visible wavelength region, and their figures of merit as Faraday rotators have been determined. CeF3 presents superior properties above 300 nm, showing a figure of merit higher than that of the reference material, terbium-gallium-garnet, which is nowadays used in the visible-near infrared. PrF3 is the best rotator for the 220-300 nm range. Towards shorter wavelength and in the vacuum ultraviolet, it is shown that the LiREF4 crystals are unique rotators. Overall, the rare-earth fluoride single crystals studied here exhibit better properties than other materials considered so far, and therefore they have potential to cover the increasing demand for new and improved Faraday rotators in the ultravioletvisible wavelength region.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14460-14470
Number of pages11
JournalOptics Express
Volume20
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Jun 18

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'UV-visible Faraday rotators based on rare-earth fluoride single crystals: LiREF4 (RE = Tb, Dy,Ho, Er and Yb), PrF3 and CeF3'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this