Growth and optical properties of a new stoichiometric laser crystal Pr(BO2)3

摘要： Single crystal Pr(BO2)3 with a centimeter size was grown successfully by a flux method using 3Li2CO3-2H3BO3 as a flux. The absorption spectrum, emission spectrum, and luminescence lifetime of Pr(BO2)3 crystal were measured. The Pr(BO2)3 crystal has a relatively large absorption cross section and full widths at half maximum (FWHM), which is advantageous for the crystal to absorb enough energy from the pumping source. The spectrum parameters were calculated based on Judd–Ofelt (J-O) theory, and the effective J-O parameters were determined as: Ω2=37.47×1020 cm2, Ω4=6.80×1020 cm2, and Ω6=1.05×1020 cm2. Furthermore, the emission cross sections for the 3P0→3F2 transition at 650 nm was calculated to be 13.6×10-19 cm2. The fluorescence lifetime of 3P0 level was obtained to be 4.5 ns. The Raman spectrum of the crystal was also analyzed in detail. Physical properties such as thermal and chemical stability, hardness, and cleavage properties were explored. The refractive index and electronic structure were calculated by the first-principles method.