Time-resolved site-selection spectroscopy studies of NdAl3(BO3)4 crystals

A pulsed, tunable dye laser was used to selectively excite Nd³⁺ ions in nonequivalent crystal field sites in NdAl₃(BO₃)₄ crystals and energy transfer between ions in different types of sites was studied by monitoring the time evolution of the fluorescence spectrum. The results show that the energy transfer rate varies as t^{$\text{-1}\text{2}$} and increases with temperature. The predictions of various models of phonon-assisted energy transfer are compared to the results.