Abstract

Optical Spectra of Transparent Rare Earth Compounds investigates the optical spectra of transparent rare earth (RE) compounds such as europium chalcogenides. Emphasis is placed on the underlying physics in selected examples, and theoretical results are usually presented without proof in a form that allows their application to the interpretation of experimental data.
This book is comprised of 11 chapters and begins with an overview of the spectra of RE ions in ionic crystals, paying particular attention to the sharpness of many lines in the absorption and emission spectra. How these very narrow lines arise, what interactions determine their energy, and how they can be used to investigate particular properties of the solid state are explained in detail. Subsequent chapters explore the energy structure of RE free ions in solids; trivalent RE ions in a static crystal field and in a phonon field; magnetic interactions and hyperfine interactions; and Jahn-Teller systems. The absorption spectra of europium chalcogenides are also considered, along with REs in glasses and RE lasers.
This monograph is written primarily for solid state physicists and those who need an overall view of the basic features of rare earth spectra in transparent solids, such as new workers.