Crystal Growth and Spectroscopic Characterisation of BiB3O6:RE3+ (RE3+ = Pr3+, Nd3+, Gd3+, Er3+, Tm3+)

Large single crystals of optical quality of BiB₃O₆:RE³⁺ (RE³⁺ = Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺, Gd³⁺, Er³⁺, Tm³⁺) were grown from nearly stoichiometric melts using the top‐seeding growth technique to dimensions up to 12 x 12 x 18 mm³. Absorption spectra were measured in the wavelength range from 10000 cm^‐1 to 30000 cm^‐1 with an absorption spectrometer to estimate the doping concentration of RE³⁺. For the determination of the phonon energies and the quenching behaviour of the host lattice IR and Raman spectra were recorded.