Electron spin echo study of erbium-doped SiO2 glass co-doped with F, N
S. B. Orlinskii
1,
Rafail M. Rakhmatullin1
(
),
A. V. Kholodkov2,
K. M. Golant2
1Kazan State University, MRS Laboratory, 18 Kremlevskaya,
Kazan, Tatarstan 420008, Russia.
2Fiber Optics Research Center at GPI RAS, Moscow, Russia.
Silica glasses doped with rare earth ions are well known for their use as
fiber optics lasers and amplifiers. The performance of fiber optics devices
greatly depends on the spatial distribution of doped ions in the glass. One of
the most powerful instruments to probe local arrangements and the spatial
distribution of paramagnetic ions in solids is pulse EPR technique. In this
work we present preliminary results of the electron spin echo study of
erbium-doped SiO2 glass co-doped with F, N. The samples were synthesized by
means of plasma chemical deposition. Experiments were carried out using a
home-built ESE spectrometer operating at a frequency of 9.4 GHz at the
temperature range between 1.6 K and 4.2 K. The echo-detected spectra were
recorded using a two-pulse echo sequence 2p/3-t-2p/3-echo. The time delay t
was kept fixed while sweeping the magnetic field. The phase relaxation times
are measured with a two-pulse echo sequence and the spin-lattice relaxation
times are measured with a saturation pulse followed by two-pulse echo
sequence. We studied 3 different types of Er3+ -doped SiO2 glasses: co-doped
with F, co-doped with N and co-doped with F, N. In all samples we have found
at least 4 types of paramagnetic centers. In echo-detected spectra at the
magnetic field corresponding g ~ 2, we observed broad and narrow lines. We
suppose these two lines are due to defects in glass structure. At the
temperatures 1.6-2K we observed a broad line that is quite differ from the
lines at g ~ 2. We attribute it to single Er3+ ions. The lines near zero
magnetic fields we attribute to pairs and clusters of Er3+ ions. The electron
spin echo envelope modulation due to F and N nuclei was observed in studied
samples. Our study leads us to conclusion that SiO2 glass co-doped only with F
contains less number of clusters than ones co-doped with N or co-doped with N
and F.