Lasing action and optical amplification in Nd3+ doped electrooptic lanthanum lead zirconate titanate ceramics.

Both single-pass gain and lasing action at 1064.4 nm were observed in ceramic gain media of neodymium doped lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate, which exhibits good electrooptic (EO) effect from visible through mid-wave IR band (400 nm to 5.5 µm). These works have removed roadblocks off the way leading to development of long envisioned multifunctional optical devices. The impact of the Nd3+ doping concentration on the EO effect in the Nd3+:PLZT ceramics was studied. The finding of the slowly trailing-off was satisfactorily explained with the rich vacancy-based carrier traps, which are responsible for the long persistent optoenergy storage.

Wavelength translation based on photoinduced broadband absorption in Nd3+ -doped lanthanum lead zirconate titanate ceramics.

A correlation between a photoinduced broadband absorption (BBA) and a strong long persistent optoenergy storage (LPOES), both evident in ceramic plates of neodymium-doped lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (Nd:PLZT), has been proposed and verified experimentally. As a direct evidence of the suggested correlation, a 3.0 dB gain was obtained with a preilluminated Nd:PLZT plate by simply heating up the plate to 60 degrees C. Thermal history related gain profiles taken in an Nd:PLZT plate unveiled that the intrinsically rich carrier traps in the ceramics are highly responsible for the remarkable BBA and underlying LPOES, and hence thermal to near-IR wavelength translation.