Excited-state absorption in an yttrium aluminium garnet crystal doped with V3+ ions

The differential absorption spectra of an V³⁺:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ crystal were investigated by a picosecond pump-and-probe method. An analysis of the results led to the conclusion that the induced absorption bands observed in the 850 — 890 and 650 — 770 nm ranges were due to, respectively, the ¹E(¹D) → ¹T₁(¹G) and ¹E(¹D) → ¹E(¹G), ¹T₂(¹G) transitions in a tetrahedrally coordinated V³⁺ ion. The lifetime of the ¹E(¹D) level was estimated to be ~130 ps. Bleaching of the ³A₂ → ³T₁(³P) absorption band of the tetrahedral V³⁺ ion was also observed.