Investigations of the spin-Hamiltonian parameters for Er3+ ions in AlN crystal

The spin-Hamiltonian parameters (g factor g _//, g _⊥ and hyperfine structure constants A _//, A _⊥) for Er³⁺ ion at the trigonal Al³⁺ site of AlN crystal are calculated by diagonalising the 52 × 52 energy matrix. The matrix are related to the ground mutiplet ⁴I_15/2 and the first to third excited multiplets ⁴I_13/2, ⁴I_11/2 and ⁴I_9/2 for 4f¹¹ ions in trigonal crystal field under an external magnetic field. The crystal-field parameters used in the matrix are obtained from the superposition model and the local lattice relaxation due to the substitution of Er³⁺ for Al³⁺ is considered. The calculated spin-Hamiltonian parameters are in reasonable agreement with the experimental values and the signs of hyperfine structure constants are suggested. The results are discussed.