Optical linewidths of rare-earth materials

Rare-earth ions in materials are currently used in telecommunications and some materials show promise in quantum communications technologies. However, the intrinsic width of the optical transitions are important for determining material performance. In this project, students would use computational methods to predict the optical linewidth of various materials doped with erbium (which is used in optical communications), and see if there is a correlation with experimental data. Where outliers are found would indicate where materials could be improved and would highlight where more experimental studies should be directed.