3d Ions in Solids and Microscopic Crystal Field Effects: Theoretical Analysis and Relations with Experimental Spectroscopic Data

The transition metal ions with unfilled 3d electron shell are important activator ions for solid-state lasing and solid-state lighting. Since their spectroscopic properties depend significantly on the nearest environment, studies of the microscopic crystal field effects (influence of variation of the impurity center geometry) acquire additional importance. In the present paper, methods of calculating the crystal field strength 10Dq and its dependence on the interionic distances R are described. Relation between the 10Dq(R) functions and experimentally observed quantities such the Stokes shift is highlighted. The results of performed 10Dq(R) calculations for several crystals doped with various 3d ions are summarized and discussed.