AbstractWe report on the preparation and optical spectroscopy of diffusion doped Cr: ZnSe and Cr: CdTe windows for applications in mid-infrared (MIR) solid-state lasers. Cr doping was achieved in both materials through a thermal diffusion process controlled by temperature (750°-850 °C) and time (∼0.25-6 days). Commercial CrSe powder (99.5% purity) was used as the dopant source. All samples exhibited the characteristic spectroscopic features of tetrahedrally coordinated Cr2+ ions with absorption bands centered between 1700-1900 nm and MIR emission bands extending from 2000-3200 nm. Various samples of Cr: ZnSe and Cr: CdTe were prepared with Cr2+ peak absorption coefficients from ∼0.1 cm-1 to ∼29 cm-1. The calculated Cr2+ concentration ranged from ∼1×1017cm-3 to 3×1019cm-3 using absorption-cross sections of 1.1×10-18 cm2 for Cr: ZnSe and 2.2×10-18 cm2 for Cr: CdTe. The room temperature decay times for Cr: ZnSe and Cr: CdTe were measured to be between 5-6 μs and 3-4 μs, respectively. Quenching of the Cr emission was observed for Cr concentrations above ∼1×1019 cm-3 for Cr: ZnSe and ∼0.5×1019 cm-3 for Cr: CdTe. The absorption and MIR emission properties of diffusion doped Cr: ZnSe and Cr: CdTe windows as a function of Cr concentration will be discussed.
