Judd-Ofelt parametrization from emission spectra: The case study of the Eu^{3+ 5}D₁ emitting level

Traditional applications of the Judd-Ofelt (JO) theory to the analysis of the Eu³⁺ optical spectra make use of the emission transitions originating from the ⁵D₀ manifold. In the present paper, we report an alternative method of evaluating the JO intensity parameters from the Eu³⁺ emission spectra based on the ⁵D₁ → ⁷F_0,1 transitions. The reduced matrix elements of the unit tensor operators are re-calculated for the ⁵D_0,1,2 → ⁷F_0,1,…,6 Eu³⁺ transitions in the intermediate coupling approximation using the average electrostatic and spin-orbit coupling parameters. The suggested method was tested by analyzing the emission spectra of the Eu³⁺ doped GdAlO₃, LaF₃, NaYF₄, Y₂O₃, ZrO₂, YNbO₄, ZBLA and PIGLZ hosts. It is shown that the developed method is more accurate for the hosts with relatively high ⁵D₁ level population, which emphasizes its high potential and applicability. In addition to the JO analysis, the CIE chromaticity coordinates are calculated for the investigated spectra.