Abstract
We have employed a purely optical method to measure spin-lattice relaxation in the lower excited 4S3/2 state of Er3+ in LaF3 at helium temperatures. Above 3 K the relaxation is dominated by an Orbach process through the upper 4S3/2 state. Below 3 K the relaxation is caused by some residual mechanism that obscures the Kramers–Van Vleck direct process. By relating the Orbach relaxation measurements to the homogeneous broadening of the upper 4S3/2 level, we determine values of the transition rates between the upper and lower 4S3/2 states.
© 1978 Optical Society of America
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