The processes of electron transfer from a divalent lanthanide acceptor (Eu, Sm, Yb) to a trivalent lanthanide donor (Nd, Sm, Dy, Tm, Yb) and reverse thermal transfer are studied in barium fluoride crystals. Electron phototransfer at room temperatures is accompanied by a counter-movement of the charge-compensating interstitial fluorine. In the process of photobleaching at low temperatures, the divalent lanthanide donor turns out to be near the interstitial fluorine, which causes its 4f-5d absorption bands to shift to the red. The magnitude of the shift increases with decreasing size of the lanthanide in the series (Nd, Sm, Dy, Tm, Yb). Detailed mechanisms of photo and thermal electron transfer between heterogeneous lanthanides in BaF2 crystals are analyzed.
Calcium Fluoride and Barium Fluoride Crystals in Optics