High resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy and crystal-field analysis in Tm,Ho : BaY2F8

A Tm3+- Ho3+ -codoped single crystal of monoclinic BaY2F8 has been characterized by means of high resolution FTIR spectroscopy in the wave number range 2000-24000 cm-1 and in the temperature range 9-300 K. The energy level schemes of the two lanthanide ions as determined by the optical absorption spectra is presented, analyzed, and fitted within a single ion Hamiltonian model. The very small energy separation (about 0.6-1.6 cm-1) measured between the first and second sublevels of the ground state manifolds for both the ions is in line with the theoretical predictions. The impurity-phonon coupling is put into evidence by the thermally induced line shift and broadening, and by the detection of vibronic replicas of a few lines.