Figure 1 illustrates the lower energy levels of Tm3+ that become populated when the 3H4 level is pumped near 800 nm. Populations of the first three excited states can be monitored by observing infrared fluorescence near 1,400 nm from the 3H4, near 1,200 nm from the 3H5, and near 1,800 nm from the 3 F4. Two non-resonant phonon-assisted CH5183284 mw cross-relaxation mechanisms involving the pumped 3H4 state and the ground 3H6 state are also illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1 Tm 3+ energy levels. Transitions

for pumping, cross-relaxation, and fluorescence within Proteasome inhibitor the lower energy levels of Tm3+. The ‘two for one’ cross-relaxation process labelled C1 that feeds the 3F4 state is well known for Tm3+ and has been used in YAG [7] and YLF [8] host crystals to sensitize 2-μm sources for diode pumping. Diode-pumped lasers near 2 μm using singly doped Tm3+:YAG and co-doped Tm3+-Ho3+:YAG are in wide use. However, incorporating Tm3+ into a host crystal with reduced multi-phonon relaxation rates enables emission from the 3H5 state that is fed by the cross-relaxation process labelled C2. In contrast, for conventional Tm3+, 2-μm laser material multi-phonon

quenching of the 3H5 leads to strong heat generation and distortions. Reduced multi-phonon quenching in low phonon energy materials also results in additional energy transfer processes when Tm3+ is co-doped with other species of rare earth ions. crotamiton This paper discusses two results that arise from Tm3+ cross-relaxation in low phonon GDC-0449 clinical trial energy host crystals: (1) In singly doped crystals with Tm3+, the C2 process is a phonon-assisted cross-relaxation channel that is endothermic and converts lattice phonons into infrared emission. This raises the possibility of a fundamentally new way of achieving solid-state optical cooling. (2) In crystals co-doped with Tm3+ and Pr3+, cross-relaxation results in efficient energy transfer to the lower energy levels of the Pr3+ ions that fluoresce in the mid-infrared.

The result is an optically pumped phosphor that converts 800-nm diode light into mid-IR emission between 4 and 5.5 μm. While these two results have different motivations, the underlying physical mechanisms are the same. Both results involve sensitized luminescence using diode-pumped Tm3+ ions in host crystals with reduced multi-phonon relaxation rates. The purpose of this paper is to show how crystals with low phonon energies enable these novel energy transfer processes. Methods Sensitized luminescence In an insulator, excited-state ions can transfer energy non-radiatively to ions of the same species or of a different species through a distance-dependent electric dipole-dipole interaction [9].