Oxyfluoride glass-ceramics for upconversion all-optical combinational logic gate operations

Abstract

All-optical logic gates operations are highly desired for optical communications and data processing because of the high computing speed, low power consumption, and parallel processing. Here, we develop a combinational upconversion (UC) all-optical logic system based on glass-ceramic (GC) material, which uses two external near-infrared excitation sources as inputs signal and UC emission as optical outputs. The prepared transparent oxyfluoride GC containing Er:NaYF4 nanocrystals could well respond to dual-wavelength excitation, realizing the enhancement of UC luminescence intensity and the adjustment of emission color based on the synergistic effect of photons. This special UC system can be used to design a variety of all-optical logic gates and combinational logic operations through observing the two luminescence emission intensities and the ratio of these emission intensities under the dual-wavelength excitation input conditions. The results provide a path for the development of novel photonic logic devices for future optical computing technologies.