title: First-principles calculations for the cooperative transitions of Yb3+ dimer clusters in Y3Al5O12 and Y2O3 crystals.
abstract: A first-principles multielectron method is applied to the calculations for the cooperative transitions of trivalent ytterbium ions (Yb3+) in yttrium aluminum garnet (Y3Al5O12; YAG) and yttrium sesquioxide (Y2O3) crystals. The method is based on a molecular-orbital method, in which the overlap between the Yb 4f and the oxygen 2p orbitals is directly considered through a self-consistent procedure. A Yb2(3+) two-ion model and a (Yb2O14)22- dimer cluster embedded in the point charges of the YAG lattice are compared. The 4f-2p overlaps in the cluster model is needed to explain the cooperative transition probability originating from electric dipole transitions. A (Yb2O10)14- dimer molecule in Y2O3 lattice produces larger electric dipole transition probabilities than the case of YAG. The smaller coordination number in Y2O3 produces the larger 4f-2p overlaps, which result in the larger transition probabilities.
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, 2-1 Gakuen, Sanda 669-1337, Japan. takugo@e-mail.jp
authors.forename: Takugo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishii