Spectroscopic characterization and temperature-dependent upconversion behavior of Er3+/Gd3+ co-doped Y2O3

In this paper, Y2O3: Er3+/Gd3+ microcrystal materials have been prepared by sol-gel method. The upconversion(UC) emission spectrum of the sample was measured under the pump excitation of 980 nm. The sensing characteristics were studied as a function of temperature in range of 293–473 K for optical temperature measurement. The maximum sensor sensitivity derived from the ratio of fluorescence intensity of the green UC emissions was approximately 0.0067 K−1. The result demonstrates that Y2O3: Er3+/Gd3+ material can be applied in terms of temperature sensing.