Effect of annealing treatment on spectroscopic properties of a Nd3+-doped PbWO4 single crystal

We measured the concentration of Nd3+ in PbWO4 Crystal by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and determined the segregation coefficient to be 0.688. The polarized absorption spectra, polarized fluorescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curves of both the as-grown and the annealed Nd3+:PbWO4 crystals were measured at room temperature. The effect of the annealing treatment on the spectroscopic properties of Nd3+:PbWO4 crystal was discussed. The experimental results show that the annealing treatment is an effective method for improvement of the spectroscopic and laser performances of Nd3+:PbWO4 crystal. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.