Cooperative Quantum Cutting of Nano-Crystalline BaF2：Tb^3＋, Yb^3＋ in Oxyfluoride Glass Ceramics

We report on cooperative quantum cutting in Tb^3＋- Yb^3＋ codoped glass ceramics. Precipitation of BaF2 nanocrystals is confirmed by XRD and HRTEM analysis. Near-infrared emission due to transition of Yb^3＋ ions under 485 nm excitation indicates cooperative energy transfer from Tb^3＋ to Yb^3＋. The quantum efficiency of this process reaches 145%. The realization of quantum cutting in glass ceramics may have promising applications in solar cells.     

Upconversion properties of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-Nb2O5-Li2O glasses

The Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped TeO2-Nb2O5-Li2O glass is prepared by conventional melting method, and its upconversion spectra are measured. The intense green upconversion luminescence upon excitation with a 976 nm laser diode is observed with the naked eyes. The dependence of luminescence intensity on the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is discussed in detail, and the relationship between the ratio of green luminescence intensity to red luminescence intensity and the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is also studied, The luminescence intensity increases with the ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ increasing. The ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ plays a more important role than the concentration of Er^3＋ in determining the upconversion luminescence intensity. The ratio of green luminescence intensity to red luminescence intensity reaches a maximum when ratio of Yb^3＋/Er^3＋ is 3. Thus the glass could be one of the potential candidates for LD pumping solid-state lasers.     

Research on upconversion codoped oxyfluoride luminescence in new Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ borosilicate glass ceramics

The upconversion luminescence of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ ions is researched in a novel transparent oxyfluoride borosil- icate glass and glass ceramics under 980-nm excitation. Fluoride nanocrystals Ba2YF7 are successfully precipitated in glass matrix, which is affirmed by the X-ray diffraction results. Compared with the parent glasses, significant enhancement of upconversion luminescence is observed in the Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ codoped transparent glass-ceramics, which may be due to the variation of coordination environment around Er^3＋ and Yb^3＋ ions after crystallization. The possible upconversion mechanism is also discussed.     

Spectroscopic investigation of a new crystal： Nd^3＋,Yb^3＋：YVO4

The absorption and emission spectra of the YVO4 single crystal co-doped with 1 at.% Nd^3＋ and 1 at.% Yb^3＋ are investigated. The efficient Nd^3＋ → Yb^3＋ energy transfer and the back transfer （Yb^3＋ → Nd^3＋） are observed at room temperature. The fluorescence lifetime of the 4F3/2 level of Nd^3＋ in Nd,Yb：YVO4 is measured under 808 nm laser light excitation. The efficiency of Nd^3＋ → Yb^3＋ energy transfer in YVO4 is determined to be about 34%.     

Upconversion Luminescence Dynamics in Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Codoped Nanocrystalline Yttria

The upconversion luminescence and dynamics in Er^3＋ /Yb^3＋ codoped nanocrystalline yttria （7-65 nm） are studied under 980-nm pulsed laser excitation, It is found that the red emission of ^4F9/2-^4I15/2 and the green emission of ^2H11/2/^4S3/2 in nanoparticles with lower concentration of Yb^3＋ result from a two-photon excitation, In nanocrystals with higher Yb^3＋ concentration, the red emissions from a two-photon excitation, while the green emissions from a three-photon excitation, The luminescence dynamics indicates that as the particle size decreases, both the rise and the decay time constants become shorter, As the size decreases to several nanometres, the rise process nearly disappears, suggesting that the upconversion luminescence originates mainly from self-excitation of Er^3＋, instead of the energy transfer of Yb^3＋→ Er^3＋.     

Determination of energy constants for Yb3＋/Er3＋ transfer and upconversion codoped phosphate glass

The energy transfer and cooperation upconversion processes are investigated in Yb3＋/Er3＋ codoped phos- phate glass. Based on the measured curves of output power versus incident power, the laser and spectroscopic parameters of the glass are fitted and analyzed. We focus on the resonant energy transfer constant k from Yb3＋ to Er3＋ as well as the cooperation upconversion coefficient Cup from 4113/2 of Era＋. The fitted k and Cup can give almost the same results for different thicknesses of glass disk with the same dop- ing concentrations. The determination of these parameters is helpful for the development of Yb3＋/Er3＋ codoped laser glass.     

A novel strong green phosphor： K3Gd（PO4）2：Ce^3＋, Tb^3＋ for a UV-excited white light-emitting-diode

A series of K3Gd1-x-y（PO4）2：xCe^3＋, yTb^3＋ phosphors are synthesized by the solid-sate reaction method. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence spectra are utilized to characterize the structures and luminescence properties of the as-synthesized phosphors. Co-doping of Ce^3＋ enhances the emission intensity of Tb^3＋ greatly through an efficient energy transfer process from Ce^3＋ to Tb^3＋. The energy transfer is confirmed by photoluminescence spectra and decay time curves analysis. The efficiency and mechanism of energy transfer are investigated carefully. Moreover, due to the non- concentration quenching property of K3Tb（PO4）2, the photoluminescence spectra of K3Tb1-x（PO4）2：xCe^3＋ are studied and the results show that when x = 0.11 the strongest Tb^3＋ green emission can be realized.     

Photoluminescence characteristics and energy transfer between Bi~（3＋） and Eu~（3＋） in Na_2O–CaO–GeO_2–SiO_2 glass

We report the photoluminescence（PL） of Eu^3＋-doped glass with Bi^3＋as a sensitizer. The specific glass system with the strong enhancement of the red emission of Eu3＋is obtained by adding a small number of Bi3＋ions instead of increasing the Eu^3＋ concentration. The emission band of Bi3＋overlaps with the excitation band of Eu^3＋ and the lifetime decay curves,resulting in a very efficient energy transfer from Bi^3＋ to Eu^3＋. The probability of energy transfer is strongly dependent on Bi^3＋ concentration. In addition, the intensity of 4f–4f transition is much stronger than that of a charge-transfer（CT） band in the excitation spectrum, which indicates that the Na2O–Ca O–Ge O2-Si O2 glass is a suitable red-emitting phosphor with high stability as a candidate for light-emitting diodes（LEDs）.     

Luminescence Spectra of YGG：RE^3＋, Bi^3＋ （RE = Eu and Tb） and Energy Transfer from Bi^3＋ to RE^3＋

We investigate the luminescence properties of Bi^3＋ and RE^3＋ （RE = Tb or Eu） in a Y3Ga5O12 （YGG） host system. The additional doping of Bi^3＋ can enhance the luminescence of Th^3＋ or Eu^3＋ in this host. Energy transfer from Bi^3＋ to Tb^3＋ and Eu^3＋ is observed and the mechanism of energy transfer is investigated. Mechanism of energy transfer can be explained as electric multipole interaction since the Bi^3＋ emission band and Tb^3＋ or Eu^3＋ excitation band overlaps and the Bi^3＋ emission intensity decreases while the intensity of Tb^3＋ or Eu^3＋ increases with the increase of Tb^3＋ or Eu^3＋ concentration. Therefore, Bi^3＋ ion is a kind of efficient sensitizer to the Tb^3＋ and Eu^3＋ activators in the Y3Ga5O12 host.     

Spectroscopic characteristics of Yb^3＋：LiLa（WO4）2 crystal

The spectroscopic characterization and fluorescence dynamics of Yb^3＋：LiLa（WO4）2 crystal are investigated. The Yb^3＋：LiLa（W04）2 crystal exhibits a broad absorption and emission spectral bands, large absorption and emission cross sections, and moderate fluorescence lifetime. Blue light emission around 480 nm is observed at 10 K and is demonstrated through cooperative upconversion from the deexcitation of excited Yb^3＋-Yb^3＋ pairs.     

Upconversion luminescence of Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋ codoped oxyfluoride glasses

Novel oxyfluoride glasses are developed with the composition of 30SiO2-15Al2O3-28PbF2-22CdF2-0.1TmF3 - xYbF3 - （4.9 - x） AlF3（x=0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0） in tool fraction, Furthermore, the upconversion luminescence characteristics under a 970nm excitation are investigated. Intense blue, red and near infrared luminescences peaked at 453nm, 476nm, 647nm and 789nm, which correspond to the transitions of Tm^3＋： ^1D2 →^3F4, ^1G4 →^3H6, ^1G4 →^3F4, and ^3H4 →^3H6, respectively, are observed. Due to the sensitization of Yb^3＋ ions, all the upconversion luminescence intensities are enhanced considerably with Yb^3＋ concentration increasing. The upconversion mechanisms are discussed based on the energy matching rule and quadratic dependence on excitation power. The results indicate that the dominant mechanism is the excited state absorption for those upconversion emissions.     

Near-infrared downconversion in Eu2＋ and Pr3＋ co-doped KSrPO4 phosphor

A novel near-infrared (NIR) downconversion (DC) phosphor KSrPO4 :Eu2+ , Pr3+ is synthesized by the conventional high temperature solid-state reaction. The Eu2+ acts as an efficient sensitizer for Pr3+ in the KSrPO4 host. With broad-band near-ultraviolet light excitation induced by the 4f→5d transition of Eu2+ , the characteristic NIR emission of Pr3+ , peaking at 974 nm and 1019 nm due to 3P0 → 1G4 and 1G4 → 3H4 transitions, is generated as a result of the energy transfer from Eu2+ to Pr3+ . The luminescence spectra in both the visible and the NIR regions and the decay lifetime curves of Eu2+ prove the energy transfer from Eu2+ to Pr3+ . This Eu2+ and Pr3+ co-doped KSrPO4 phosphor may be a promising candidate to modify the spectral mismatch behavior of crystalline solar cells and sunlight.     

Spectroscopic properties and mechanism of Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing BaF2 nanocrystals

Transparent Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics containing BaF2 nanocrystals are prepared. Under excitation of a 980-nm laser diode （LD）, compared with the glass before heat treatment, the Tm^3＋/Er^3＋/yb^3＋ co-doped oxyfluorogermanate glass ceramics can emit intense blue, green and red up-conversion luminescence and Stark- split peaks; X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） results show that BaF2 nanocrystals with an average diameter of 20 nm are precipitated from the glass matrix. Stark splitting of the up-conversion luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics indicates that Tm^3＋, Er^3＋ and （or） Yb^3＋ ions are incorporated into the BaF2 nanocrystals. The up-conversion luminescence intensities of Tm^3＋, Er^3＋ and the splitting degree of luminescence peaks in the glass ceramics increase significantly with the increase of heat treat temperature and heat treat time extension. In addition, the possible energy transfer process between rare earth ions and the up-conversion luminescence mechanism are also proposed.     

Influences of Mg^2＋ ion on dopant occupancy and upconversion luminescence of Ho^3＋ ion in LiNbO3 crystal

The effects of a Mg^2＋ ion on the dopant occupancy and upconversion luminescence of a Ho^3＋ ion in LiNbO3 crystal are reported. The birefringence gradient of the crystal is measured to investigate the optical homogeneity. The X-ray powder diffraction spectrum and the upconversion luminescence are used to investigate defect structure and spectroscopic properties of Mg,Ho：LiNbO3. Under 808-nm excitation, blue, red, and very intense yellow-green bands are observed. Based on the energy levels of Ho^3＋ in LiNbO3, and the pump intensity dependence of the observed emission, an excitation scheme is presented. The upconversion emission spectra reveal an enhancement of upconversion intensity when the Mg^2＋ ions are introduced into Ho：LiNbO3. The main upconversion mechanism is discussed in this work.     

White light generation of glass ceramics containing Ba_2LaF_7：Eu~（2＋）,Tb~（3＋） and Sm~（3＋） nanocrystals

The Eu 2＋ /Tb 3＋ /Sm 3＋ co-doped oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing Ba2LaF7 nanocrystals are prepared in the reducing atmosphere.The X-ray difiraction results show that Eu 2＋ ,Tb 3＋ and Sm 3＋ ions are enriched into the precipitated Ba2LaF7 nanophase after the annealing process.It deduces efficient energy transfers from Eu 2＋ to Tb 3＋ and Sm 3＋ and intenses warm white luminescence of the glass ceramics. Comparing with the glass,the luminescence quantum yield of the glass ceramics is also enlarged by about 3 times.This demonstrates the potential white light-emitting diode application of the glass ceramics produced in this letter.     

Infrared-to-green upconversion luminescence and mechanism of Ho3+, Nd3+ and Yb3+ ions in oxyfluoride glass ceramics

New oxyfluoride glasses and glass ceramics co-doped with Nd^{3+}, Yb^{3+} and Ho^{3+} were prepared. The upconversion of infrared radiation into green fluorescence has been studied for Nd^{3+}, Yb^{3+} and Ho^{3+} in the transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics. At room temperature very strong green upconversion luminescence due to the Ho^{3+}: ({}^5F_4, {}^5S_2)→{}^5I_8 transition under 800 nm excitation was observed in the glass ceramics. The intensity of the green upconversion luminescence in a 1mol% YbF_3-containing glass ceramic was found to be about 120 times stronger than that in the precursor oxyfluoride glass. The reason for the highly efficient Ho^{3+} upconversion luminescence in the oxyfluoride glass ceramics is discussed. The upconversion mechanism is also investigated.     

Er^3＋/Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋ tridoped oxyfluoride glass ceramics with efficient upconversion white-light emission

A novel Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋ triply-doped glass ceramics containing BaF2 nano-crystals are successfully prepared. Fluoride nanocrystals BaF2 are successfully precipitated in glass matrix, which is affirmed by the X-ray diffraction results. The intense blue （476 nm）, green （543 nm）, and red （656 nm） emissions of the glass ceramics are simultaneously observed at room temperature under 980-am excitation, and the emission luminescence intensity increases significantly compared with the precursor glass, which is attributed to the low phonon energy of fluoride nanocrystals when rare-earth ions are incorporated into the precipitated BaF2 nanocrystals. Under 980-nm excitation at 400 mW, the international commission on illumination （CIE） chromaticity coordinate （X = 0.278, Y = 0.358） of the tridoped oxyfluoride glass ceramics＇ upconversion emissions is close to the standard white-light illumination （X = 0.333, Y= 0.333）. The results indicate that Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋ triply doped glass ceramics can act as suitable materials for potential three-dimensional displays applications.     

Emission enhancement in Er^3＋/Pr^3＋-codoped germanate glasses and their use as a 2.7-μm laser material

Emission enhancement at 2.7 μm is observed in Er^3＋/Pr^3＋--codoped germanate glasses when pumped by a 980-nm laser diode. Significant reductions in 1.5-μm emission and upeonversion intensity indicate efficient energy transfer between Er^3＋ and Pr^3＋; the energy transfer efficiency is as high as 77.4%. The mechanisms of energy transfer are discussed in detail. The calculated emission cross-section of Er^3＋/Pr^3＋- codoped germanate glass is 8.44× 10 ^-21 cm^2, which suggests that Er^3＋/Pr^3＋-codoped germanate glass can be used to achieve efficient 2.7-μm emission.     

Kinetics study of ultrafast electron transfer from sensitized dyes to silver halide microcrystals

Spectral sensitization micromechanism of cyanine dyes J-aggregate adsorbed on the tabular and cubic AgBr microcrystals with different dye concentrations is studied by using picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, and the dependences of electron transfer and spectral efficiency sensitization on different conditions are analysed in detail. With the steady spectroscopy, the wavelengths of absorption and fluorescence of J-aggregate adsorbed on AgBr microcrystals are found to shift to red relative to dye monomer. The spectrum of fluorescence has a red shift relative to the absorption peak. With the time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, the fluorescence decay curves of cyanine dyes J-aggregate adsorbed on the tabular and cubic AgBr grains are found to be fitted well by a double-exponential decay function. The fitting curves consist of a fast and a slow component. Because of the large amplitude of the fast component, this fast decay should be attributable mainly to the electron transfer from J-aggregate of dye to a conduction band of AgBr.     

Ultraviolet and visible upconversion dynamics in Er^3＋：YAlO3 under ^2H11/2 excitation

The luminescence of Er^3＋：YAlO3 in ultraviolet visible and infrared ranges under the 518 nm excitation of the multiples ^2H11/2 have been investigated. Ultraviolet （275 nm and 318 nm）, violet （405 nm and 413 nm） and blue （474 nm） upconversion and infrared downconversion luminescence has been observed. By means of measuring the fluorescence decay curves and using the theory of rate equations, the luminescence kinetics was studied in detail and the processes of energy transfer upconversion （ETU） and excitation state absorption （ESA） were proposed to explain the upconversion phenomena.