Photon trapping in ruby and lanthanide-doped materials: Recollections and revival

• After some recollections of phonon and photon trapping in ruby, a critical review of this effect of renewed interest in trivalent lanthanide-doped materials is presented showing that the two independent derivations taking their roots in the work of Milne for gases and of Birks for organic scintillators are practically described by an analogous phenomenological equation when re-absorption is weak. The problem of obtaining "extrinsic" quantum efficiency larger than one is briefly discussed.

Keyword

Lanthanides

Phonon trapping

Photon

Ruby

Self-quenching

NATURAL SCIENCES

NATURVETENSKAP

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)