Abstract
We demonstrated an efficient sequential two-step near-infrared (NIR) quantum splitting (QS) in a Ho3+ singly doped β-NaYF4. An incident high-energy ultraviolet (UV)-to-visible photon in the wavelength range of 300−560 nm, which enables the Ho3+:5F4,5S2 states excited, could be efficiently split into two NIR photons at 1015 and 1180 nm. Underlying mechanisms for the sequential two-step NIR-QS process are analyzed in terms of the diffuse reflection spectrum, static and dynamic photoemission spectra and monitored excitation spectra. Internal quantum yield is obtained up to 110% on the basis of experimental and theoretical calculation results.
Highlights
The efficient visible quantum splitting (QS) reported recently in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)excited LiGdF4:Eu3+ has been considered as an exciting scenario to the design of superior luminescent materials and devices.[1]
In the case of QS, following high-energy photons excitation, more low-energy photons are emitted than those involved in the excitation process, and, in principle, quantum yield (QY) would exceed 100%
We demonstrated a sequential two-step NIR-QS in a Ho3+-doped β-NaYF4 which is distinct from the aforementioned visible QS and NIR downconversion of RE3+–Yb3+
Summary
The efficient visible quantum splitting (QS) reported recently in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV)excited LiGdF4:Eu3+ has been considered as an exciting scenario to the design of superior luminescent materials and devices.[1]. If the case of splitting a high-energy ultraviolet (UV) or visible photon into two (or more) near-infrared (NIR) photons is achieved efficiently, a novel application for QS will be developed in the exciting field of solid state lasing, solar energy conversion and photonics.[10] Most recently, NIR downconversion phenomena have been widely witnessed in the RE3+-Yb3+ (RE= Tb, Pr, Tm, Nd, Er, and Ho) co-doped luminescent materials.[11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18] in the most of the case, the NIR emission might originate from Yb3+ through first-order energy transfer from RE3+ donor ions rather than QS. There is still a general lack of understanding of NIR-QS luminescence mechanisms, and very few related studies are available.[19,20]
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