Optical Absorption Spectra of H2O Ice Doped with Ytterbium Chloride YbCl3

Near-infrared absorption spectra of a frozen dilute solution of ytterbium chloride have been obtained at 77 K, 20 K, and 4.2 K. They contain two broad lines revealing a Stark splitting of 60 cm-1 of the excited 2F5/2, level of the Yb3+ ion. Such spectra indicate that in frozen solutions of ytterbium chloride the Yb3+ ions have crystalline or quasi-crystalline surroundings which are similar for most ions; different possibilities are discussed.