Modified Judd-Ofelt technique and application to optical transitions in Pr3+-doped glass

Abstract

An extension of the Judd-Ofelt technique [B. R. Judd, Phys. Rev. 127, 750 (1962)] is introduced in which measured fluorescence branching ratios are incorporated into the calculation of the Judd-Ofelt parameters. It is found that including branching ratio measurements into the analysis allows the Judd-Ofelt parameters to be reliably calculated with fewer ground-state absorption measurements than would otherwise be necessary. The method is applied to Pr 3+:ZBLAN glass, an important material for 1.3 μm optical amplifiers. A closed-form expression is also derived for determining the Judd-Ofelt parameters from ground-state absorption data.