Zeeman-Hyperfine measurements of a pseudo-degenerate quadruplet in CaF$_2$ : Ho$^{3+}$

We report Zeeman infra-red spectroscopy of electronic-nuclear levels of $^5I_8\to{}^5I_7$ transitions of Ho$^{3+}$ in the $C_{4v}$(F$^-$) centre in CaF$_2$ with the magnetic field along the $\langle$111$\rangle$ direction of the crystal. Transitions to the lowest $^5I_7$ state, an isolated electronic doublet, and the next group of states, a pseudo-quadruplet consisting of a doublet and two nearby singlets, exhibit strongly non-linear Zeeman splittings and intensity variations. Simulated spectra based upon a crystal-field analysis give an excellent approximation to the data, illustrating the strong predictive ability of the parametrised crystal-field approach. Anti-crossings in the hyperfine splittings, the basis of quantum information storage in rare-earth doped insulating dielectrics, are also predicted.