ABSTRACT
The intensities of electronic Raman-scattering transitions between the ground state and the first excited state of the (2)F(7/2) manifold of Ce(3+) in both the C(2) and C(3i) sites of Y(2)O(3) are measured as a function of excitation frequency in the region of the lowest 4f ? 5d intermediate-state resonance with a wavelength-tunable pulsed dye laser. As the dye laser is tuned through the center of the resonance, we observe a 2-order-of-magnitude enhancement in electronic Raman-transition intensity over that for nonresonant excitation. The electronic Raman excitation profiles (resonance enhancement as a function of frequency) in the 15 949- to 23 810-cm(-1) (627-420-nm) range provide spectrally resolved information about the lowest 4f ? 5d transitions of both the C(2) and C(3i) centers that could not be obtained from the strongly overlapping absorption spectra.
