Synthesis and Spectroscopic Properties of Neodymium doped Lead Chloride

Recently, great attention has been focused on the development of new solid-state laser materials for potential near infrared (NIR) and middle-infrared (MIR) laser applications. Lead halide based materials have recently emerged as new non-hygroscopic laser hosts with low maximum phonon energies. The low-phonon energies lead to small non-radiative decay rates and efficient infrared emission from rare earth dopants. In this work, the crystal growth and infrared spectroscopic properties of Nd doped lead chloride, PbCl$_{2}$, are discussed. Following optical pumping at 753 nm and 808 nm, Nd:PbCl$_{2}$ exhibited several near-infrared emission bands between 800 and 1600 nm as well as a broad MIR emission centered at 5.1$\mu $m ($^{4}$I$_{11/2}\rightarrow ^{4}$I$_{9/2})$. The optical absorption, Judd-Ofelt (JO) parameters, and spontaneous emission probabilities of several Nd$^{3+}$ transitions have been measured and calculated. Based on the JO analysis, the radiative quantum efficiency of the 5.1$\mu $m emission was determined to be $\sim$13{\%}. The peak emission cross-section of 5.1 $\mu $m emission was estimated to be $\sim $0.4x10$^{-20}$cm$^{2}$, which is comparable to the other infrared laser transitions.