Theoretical studies of the dependence of EPR parameters on local structure for the tetragonal Er(3+) centres in YVO4 and ScVO4.

The dependences of the EPR parameters on the local distortion parameters Δθ and ΔR as well as the crystal-field parameters have been studied by diagonalizing the 364×364 complete energy matrices for a tetragonal Er(3+) centre in the YVO4 and ScVO4 crystals. The results show that the local distortion angle Δθ and the fourth-order crystal-field parameter Ā4 are most sensitive to the EPR g-factors g// and g⊥, whereas the local distortion length ΔR and the second-order parameter Ā2 are less sensitive to the g-factors. Furthermore, we found that the abnormal EPR g-factors for the Er(3+) ion in the ScVO4 may be ascribed to the stronger nephelauxetic effect and covalent bonding effect, as a result of an expanded local distortion for the Er(3+) centre in the ScVO4 crystal.

Theoretical studies of EPR spectra and defect structure for Er3+ center in lithium niobate.

The optical and EPR spectra of octahedral Er(3+) center in LiNbO(3) have been studied by diagonalizing 364 x 364 complete energy matrices. The new set of crystal-field parameters that can well account for the Stark levels and EPR parameters have been obtained for Er(3+) ions in LiNbO(3). Simultaneously, by simulating the most reliable six-order parameter B(60) obtained, we have presented the evidence that the Er(3+) ions do not occupy the actual Li(+) site, but have a displacement along the C(3)-axis away from the Li(+) center by about 0.