Abstract

Rare earth (RE) ions are ideal configurational probes of chemical and biological molecular systems because of their sharp 4<i>f</i>-4<i>f</i> transitions, even in complex coordinational configurations. The sharp spectral characterizations of RE ions in various host materials have been exhaustively investigated by time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, although the time resolution used so far has usually been greater than nanoseconds. Recently, the use of picosecond Raman spectroscopy in the study of liquids has been reviewed. In this communication, we report the results of an experimental study of an RE ion in the solid state, to illustrate the use of a simple picosecond time-resolved spectroscopic technique. The temporal resolution permits the study of Raman and luminescence spectra under the same excitation conditions. In subsequent studies the technique will be applied to more complex biological materials, with the use of lanthanide ion probes.

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