Erbium

Erbium is a <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD">chemical element</a>; it has <a href="/facts/Symbol_(chemistry)/2Fe1VAL0">symbol</a> Er and <a href="/facts/Atomic_number/bgAr581S">atomic number</a> 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements. It is a <a href="/facts/Lanthanide/rt3XIRCl">lanthanide</a>, a <a href="/facts/Rare-earth_element/PQSUQumk">rare-earth element</a>, originally found in the <a href="/facts/Gadolinite/kahQI57c">gadolinite</a> mine in <a href="/facts/Ytterby/6CaEoUjc">Ytterby</a>, <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>, which is the source of the element's name.
Erbium's principal uses involve its pink-colored Er3+ ions, which have optical fluorescent properties particularly useful in certain laser applications. Erbium-doped glasses or crystals can be used as optical amplification media, where Er3+ ions are optically pumped at around 980 or 1480 nm and then radiate light at 1530 nm in stimulated emission. This process results in an unusually mechanically simple <a href="/facts/Laser/jk6PTvvT">laser</a> <a href="/facts/Optical_amplifier/1Fj9Pfes">optical amplifier</a> for signals transmitted by fiber optics. The 1550 nm wavelength is especially important for <a href="/facts/Optical_communications/gshoNBto">optical communications</a> because standard single mode <a href="/facts/Optical_fibers/5ruuIFbj">optical fibers</a> have minimal loss at this particular wavelength.
In addition to optical fiber amplifier-lasers, a large variety of medical applications (e.g. dermatology, dentistry) rely on the erbium ion's 2940 nm emission (see <a href="/facts/Er%3aYAG_laser/NWXt9jkJ">Er:YAG laser</a>) when lit at another wavelength, which is highly absorbed in water in tissues, making its effect very superficial. Such shallow tissue deposition of laser energy is helpful in <a href="/facts/Laser_surgery/LJsjmA6t">laser surgery</a>, and for the efficient production of steam which produces enamel ablation by common types of <a href="/facts/Dental_laser/j9FqN6dv">dental laser</a>.

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Erbium