Colloidal ZnO nanostructures and functional coatings: A survey

The past research work devoted to ZnO nanocolloidal sol-gel route is reviewed. It highlights the cluster chemistry of alcoholic ZnAc₂ solutions and the results of ZnO colloid growth investigations performed worldwide. Moreover, the role of doping and co-doping in the processing of functional ZnO coatings is discussed. The possibilities of tuning the optical properties are also reported with a particular attention to luminescence. The last part of this paper deals with electrical and photoelectrochemical properties of ZnO nanocrystals and their aggregates. This contribution is dedicated to the 80th birthday of Prof. Arnim Henglein from the Hahn-Meitner-Institut in Berlin and to the memory of Prof. Jacques Mugnier from the Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 in France.     

Luminescence enhancement by hydrogenation of Si:Er,O

Erbium (Er)- and oxygen (O)-doped Cz–Si was additionally doped with hydrogen, using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show a large enhancement especially for samples treated with solid phase epitaxy before hydrogenation and annealing at 900°C later. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements give evidence for an enhanced diffusion of O and Er at this temperature towards the surface. Etching shows that the PL does not stem from the heavily doped surface layer but from a deeper region with lower Er concentration. This conclusion is supported by the appearance of the so-called “cubic” centre with low solubility. Comparing the PL yield of the hydrogenated samples to that of samples with similar Er volume concentration but without hydrogenation still gives a large enhancement. We thus conclude that hydrogen can enhance the solubility of the cubic centre in Si:Er,O.     

Investigation on nonradiative decay of I13/2→I15/2 transition of Er-doped oxide glasses

Nonradiative decay of ⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2 transition of Er³⁺ has been investigated in a series of oxide glasses. For Er³⁺-doped glass samples, the Judd-Ofelt analysis on absorption spectra was performed and the fluorescence lifetime was determined by extrapolating to zero Er³⁺ concentration limit. Infrared spectra were measured in order to investigate the influence of OH⁻ groups in different glasses. The effects of glass matrix on the decay rate were discussed from the viewpoint of phonon energy, variations of effective fields, and OH⁻ groups. Compared to other glasses, phosphate glass presents low quantum efficiency and large nonradiative decay rate due to its high phonon energy and hygroscopic behavior.     

Cs[Er6C]I12 und Cs2Lu[Lu6C]Cl18: Beispiele für quaternäre reduzierte Halogenide der Lanthanide mit isolierten „Clustern”︁

CS[Er₆C]I₁₂ and cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]CI₁₈: Examples for Quaternary Reduced Halides of the Lanthanides with Isolated “Clusters” Cs[Er₆C]I₁₂ and Cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]Cl₁₈ were obtained as byproducts through metallothermic reductions of ErI₃ and LuCl, with cesium in the presence of carbon in sealed tantalum containers at temperatures ranging from 700 to 940 °C. Cs₂Lu[Lu₆C]Cl₁₈ (isostructural with Cs₂Zr[Zr₆H]Cl₁₈, R 3 , a = 981.7 pm, c = 2723.2 pm, Z = 3, R = 0.082, R, = 0.053) contains octahedral [Lu₆C] clusters which are slightly compressed along the threefold axis and edge-bridged by twelve chloride anions to form [Lu₆C]Cl₁₂ units. Six additional Cl in exo positions of the cluster provide octahedral coordination for the seventh Lu³⁺. Cs⁺ occupies anticuboctahedral interstices within the Cl⁺ layers as a part of the (hexagonal) closest packed arrangement. Cs[Er₆C]I₁₂ (trigonal, R 3, a = 1112.0pm, c = 2063.8pm, Z = 3, R = 0.094, R, = 0.068) exhibits [Er₆C]I₁₂ units as well and shows the structural framework of Sc[Sc₆N]Cl₁₂. Instead of Sc³⁺ in octahedral holes, cesium occupies a regular iodide position within the ccp sheets forming [CsI₃] layers. Both halides are compared with other compounds of the lanthanides containing isolated [M₆X₁₂] clusters. The extreme electron deficiency is discussed.     

Structural characterization and X-ray analysis by Williamson–Hall method for Erbium doped Aluminum Nitride nanoparticles,synthesized using inert gas condensation technique

We have synthesized AlN nanoparticles (NPs) doped in-situ with Er (AlN:Er) using inert gas condensation technique. Using x-ray diffraction (XRD) peak broadening analysis with the Williamson–Hall (W–H) Uniform Deformation Model (UDM) the crystallite size of the NPs and the strain in NPs were found to be 80±38 nm and 3.07×10⁻³±0.9×10⁻³ respectively. In comparison, using the Debye–Scherrer's (DS) formula, we have inferred that the crystallite size of the NPs was 23±6 nm and the average strain was 4.3×10⁻³±0.4×10⁻³. The scanning electron microscopy images show that the NPs are spherical and have an average diameter of ∼300 nm. The crystallite size is smaller than the size of the NPs revealing their polycrystalline behavior. In addition, the NPs strain, stress and energy density were also calculated using W–H analysis combined with the Uniform Deformation Stress Model (UDSM) and the Uniform Deformation Energy Density Model (UDEDM). Suggested by the spherical geometry and polycrystalline nature of the AlN NPs, the strain computed from UDM, UDSM and UDEDM were in agreement confirming an isotropic mechanical nature of the particle. Luminescence measurements revealed the temperature dependence of the optical emission of the Er³⁺ ions, confirming the use of AlN:Er NPs for nano-scale temperature sensing.     

新型三段高性能的长波段掺铒光纤超荧光光源的研究

提出了一种第一段无泵浦、第二段前向泵浦和第三段后向泵浦的三段级联掺铒光纤超荧光光纤光源的新结构.数值分析了泵浦光波长、铒光纤长度以及泵浦比例对新结构性能的影响.结果表明可以找到一组适合制作成本低廉、输出功率高、谱平坦的长波段掺铒光纤超荧光光源.     

Near-infrared emission bands of Er-doped YAP and LSO crystals

The ground state absorption (GSA), photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra for Er(1.0 at%):YAP and Er(0.5 at%):LSO were measured at room temperature. Based on the GSA spectra, the radiative transition rates and luminescence branch ratios of erbium ions were determined by the Judd-Ofelt (J-O) method. In the range of 1400-1700 nm Er(1.0 at%):YAP has intense absorption at 1509 nm (0.96×10⁻²⁰ cm²), which is almost two times larger than the peak absorption of Er(0.5 at%):LSO. From the PL and PLE spectra, four intense emission bands around 850 nm (⁴S_3/2→⁴I_13/2), 980 nm (⁴I_11/2→⁴I_15/2), 1230 nm (⁴S_3/2→⁴I_11/2) and 1520 nm (⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2) were observed. The stimulated emission cross-sections of the four bands were calculated by the Fuchtbauer-Ladenberg (F-L) equation. The results suggest that Er(1.0 at%):YAP has potential to realize laser oscillation at 858 nm because of the relatively large simulated emission cross-section (1.76×10⁻²⁰ cm²). The temperature dependences of the PL spectra for the two crystals were also investigated in the range of 290-12 K. The ∼1520 nm emission presents continuous increase with temperature, while the emissions around 850, 1230 and 980 nm firstly increase with temperature, then reach their own largest values at the transition temperatures (about 100 K), and finally decrease with temperature. These results were well interpreted by the temperature dependence of multi-phonon process.     

Erbium doped fiber ring laser for optical wavelength conversion

We experimentally investigate the gain saturation effect of a piece of 8 m long Erbium doped fiber (EDF), we introduce a theoretical model for the EDF ring loop, and our simulation results show very good cross-gain modulation (XGM) and wavelength conversion. We also experimentally investigate the XGM in an EDF ring loop system. Based on the study of the XGM in the EDF ring loop system, a wavelength conversion is designed with the EDF ring loop system. The EDF ring loop systems as a wavelength conversion is experimentally demonstrated by converting a sinusoidal modulated optical signal at wavelength of 1551 nm to an optical signal at wavelength of 1553.3 nm.     

Visible and NIR luminescence of nanocrystalline β-Ga2O3:Er prepared by solution combustion synthesis

In this paper we report on facile solution combustion synthesis of erbium doped β-Ga₂O₃ with urea as fuel. The product was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction and TEM showed that the material is nanostructured. Luminescence properties of β-Ga₂O₃:Er are studied with excitation in near infrared (Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm) and visible (argon laser at 514.5 nm). A strong NIR emission of Er³⁺ in the window of minimal optical loss in silica based optical fibers, due to the ⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2 transition at 1.55 μm has been observed. Codoping with Yb³⁺ significantly increases the intensity of that important emission.     

两段级联掺铒光纤放大器的优化研究

基于Giles模型,研究了980 nm和1480 nm泵浦的两段级联掺铒光纤放大器(EDFA)的设计,得出了掺铒光纤(EDF)的最佳长度和光隔离器的最佳位置随泵浦功率和信号功率的变化关系.比较980 nm和1480 nm泵浦的两段级联EDFA,可以发现,前者的最佳EDF长度短,而光隔离器最佳位置距EDFA输入端远.