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Nanophosphors are widely used, especially in biological applications in the first and second biological windows. Currently, nanophosphors doped with lanthanide ions (Ln3+) are attracting much attention. However, doping the matrix with lanthanide ions is associated with a narrow luminescence bandwidth. This paper describes the structural and luminescence properties of co-doped LaPO4 nanophosphors, fabricated by the co-precipitation method. X-ray structural analysis, scanning electron microscope measurements with EDS analysis, and luminescence measurements (excitation 395 nm) of LaPO4:Eu3+/Nd3+ and LaPO4:Eu3+/Nd3+/Yb3+ nanophosphors were made and energy transfer between rare-earth ions was investigated. Tests performed confirmed the crystal structure of the produced phosphors and deposition of rare-earth ions in the structure of LaPO4 nanocrystals. In the range of the first biological window (650–950 nm), strong luminescence bands at the wavelengths of 687 nm and 698 nm (5D0 → 7F4:Eu3+) and 867 nm, 873 nm, 889 nm, 896 nm, and 907 nm (4F3/2 → 4I9/2:Nd3+) were observed. At 980 nm, 991 nm, 1033 nm (2F5/2 → 2F7/2:Yb3+) and 1048 nm, 1060 nm, 1073 nm, and 1080 nm (4F3/2 → 4I9/2:Nd3+), strong bands of luminescence were visible in the 950 nm–1100 nm range, demonstrating that energy transfer took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the synthesis and characterization of Li2MgGeO4:Ho3+ ceramics were reported. The X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the studied ceramics belong to the monoclinic Li2MgGeO4. Luminescence properties were analyzed in the visible spectral range. Green and red emission bands correspondent to the 5F4,5S2→5I8 and 5F5→5I8 transitions of Ho3+ were observed, and their intensities were significantly dependent on activator concentration. Luminescence spectra were also measured under direct excitation of holmium ions or ceramic matrix. Holmium ions were inserted in crystal lattice Li2MgGeO4, giving broad blue emission and characteristic 4f-4f luminescent transitions of rare earths under the selective excitation of the ceramic matrix. The presence of the energy transfer process between the host lattice and Ho3+ ions was suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic glasses co-doped with rare-earth ions have a key potential application value in the field of optical communications. In this paper, we have fabricated and then characterized multicomponent TiO2-modified germanate glasses co-doped with Yb3+/Ln3+ (Ln = Pr, Er, Tm, Ho) with excellent spectroscopic properties. Glass systems were directly excited at 980 nm (the 2F7/2 → 2F5/2 transition of Yb3+). We demonstrated that the introduction of TiO2 is a promising option to significantly enhance the main near-infrared luminescence bands located at the optical telecommunication window at 1.3 μm (Pr3+: 1G4 → 3H5), 1.5 μm (Er3+: 4I13/2 → 4I15/2), 1.8 μm (Tm3+: 3F4 → 3H6) and 2.0 μm (Ho3+: 5I7 → 7I8). Based on the lifetime values, the energy transfer efficiencies (ηET) were estimated. The values of ηET are changed from 31% for Yb3+/Ho3+ glass to nearly 53% for Yb3+/Pr3+ glass. The investigations show that obtained titanate–germanate glass is an interesting type of special glasses integrating luminescence properties and spectroscopic parameters, which may be a promising candidate for application in laser sources emitting radiation and broadband tunable amplifiers operating in the near-infrared range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, the Tb3+/Eu3+ co-activated sol-gel glass-ceramic materials (GCs) containing MF3 (M = Y, La) nanocrystals were fabricated during controlled heat-treatment of silicate xerogels at 350 °C. The studies of Tb3+ → Eu3+ energy transfer process (ET) were performed by excitation and emission spectra along with luminescence decay analysis. The co-activated xerogels and GCs exhibit multicolor emission originated from 4fn–4fn optical transitions of Tb3+ (5D4 → 7FJ, J = 6–3) as well as Eu3+ ions (5D0 → 7FJ, J = 0–4). Based on recorded decay curves, it was found that there is a significant prolongation in luminescence lifetimes of the 5D4 (Tb3+) and the 5D0 (Eu3+) levels after the controlled heat-treatment of xerogels. Moreover, for both types of prepared GCs, an increase in ET efficiency was also observed (from ηET ≈ 16% for xerogels up to ηET = 37.3% for SiO2-YF3 GCs and ηET = 60.8% for SiO2-LaF3 GCs). The changes in photoluminescence behavior of rare-earth (RE3+) dopants clearly evidenced their partial segregation inside low-phonon energy fluoride environment. The obtained results suggest that prepared SiO2-MF3:Tb3+, Eu3+ GC materials could be considered for use as optical elements in RGB-lighting optoelectronic devices operating under near-ultraviolet (NUV) excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports on the fabrication and analysis of near-infrared and mid-infrared luminescence spectra and their decays in fluoroindate glasses co-doped with Yb3+/Ho3+. The attention has been paid to the analysis of the Yb3+→ Ho3+ energy transfer processed ions in fluoroindate glasses pumped by 976 nm laser diode. The most effective sensitization for 2 μm luminescence has been obtained in glass co-doped with 0.8YbF3/1.6HoF3. Further study in the mid-infrared spectral range (2.85 μm) showed that the maximum emission intensity has been obtained in fluoroindate glass co-doped with 0.1YbF3/1.4HoF3. The obtained efficiency of Yb3+→ Ho3+ energy transfer was calculated to be up to 61% (0.8YbF3/1.6HoF3), which confirms the possibility of obtaining an efficient glass or glass fiber infrared source for a MID-infrared (MID-IR) sensing application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]