Non-radiative relaxation processes of the Pr3+ ion

Conclusions The³P₀→¹D₂ non-radiative decay rates A_NR of Pr³⁺ and the transition probabilities A_VIB for the vibronic³H₄→³P₀ excitation transitions of Pr³⁺ were measured at 4.2 K in several host lattices. Besides the well-known dependence on the number of phonons involved in the radiationless transition, the multiphonon relaxation rates are observed to be greatly enhanced by increasing covalency and/or decreasing Pr-ligand distances. The enhanced multiphonon relaxation is ascribed to a stronger electron-phonon coupling. The increase in the electron-phonon coupling strength is confirmed by the increase of the vibronic transition probabilities A_VIB in the same sequence as the A_NR rates. The observed host lattice dependence of A_NR can be qualitatively accounted for by a non-linear multiphonon relaxation mechanism. Under certain conditions (viz. low-lying 4f5d states, and a force constant stronger in the 4f5d than in the 4f² states) fast³P₀→¹D₂ non-radiative relaxation via intersystem crossing through the 4f5d state becomes the dominant relaxation mechanism, even at 4.2 K. Debye Institute, Utrecht University P. O. Box 80000, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands. Published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 63–71, July–August, 1995.