Preparation of Praseodymium-Doped Single Crystal Barium Fluoride Thin Film on CaF 2 by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Praseodymium(Pr)-doped BaF 2 (111) thin film was epitaxially grown on a CaF 2 (111) substrate by chemical vapor deposition. Fluorinated metal β-diketone chelates; Ba(dfhd) 2 and Pr(ppm) 3 were used as the source materials. The Pr doping could be controlled by changing the Pr source temperature and the pressure in the Pr source container. Pr was incorporated into BaF 2 films at concentrations of up to 10 mol% without any marked deterioration in the crystal quality. The fluorescence spectra showed that a distinct Pr 3+ emission ( 3 P 0 → 3 H 4 ) occurred at 481 nm which was strongly dependent on the Pr content without emission quenching.