Electron Spin Dynamics Of Ce3+ Ions In Yag Crystals Studied By Pulse-Epr And Pump-Probe Faraday Rotation

The spin relaxation dynamics of Ce3+ ions in heavily cerium-dopedYAGcrystals is studied using pulse-electron paramagnetic resonance and time-resolved pump-probe Faraday rotation. Both techniques address the 4f ground state, while pump-probe Faraday rotation also provides access to the excited 5d state. We measure a millisecond spin-lattice relaxation time T-1, a microsecond spin coherence time T-2, and a similar to 10 ns inhomogeneous spin dephasing time T-2* for the Ce3+ ground state at low temperatures. The spin-lattice relaxation of Ce3+ ions is due to modified Raman processes involving the optical phonon mode at similar to 125 cm(-1). The relaxation at higher temperature goes through a first excited level of the 2F52 term at about h omega approximate to 228 cm(-1). Effects provided by the hyperfine interaction of the Ce3+ with the Al-27 nuclei are observed.