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PL, magneto‐PL and PLE of the trimetallic nitride template fullerene Er 3 N@C 80
Author(s) -
Jones Mark A. G.,
Morton John J. L.,
Taylor Robert A.,
Ardavan Arzhang,
Briggs G. Andrew D.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.200669162
Subject(s) - fullerene , endohedral fullerene , ion , nitride , isotropy , materials science , field (mathematics) , spectral line , magnetic field , chemistry , molecular physics , physics , nanotechnology , optics , mathematics , organic chemistry , layer (electronics) , quantum mechanics , astronomy , pure mathematics
Er 3 N@C 80 exhibits sharp optical emission lines in the near‐infrared attributed to fluorescence from the Er 3+ ion. Here we demonstrate that high magnetic fields cause this spectrum to split, corresponding to transitions from the lowest field‐split Kramers doublet of the 4 I 13/2 manifold to the four lowest field‐split levels of the 4 I 15/2 manifold. The internal structure of these fullerenes can be spatially aligned with a preferred orientation under high magnetic field; the effect of alignment is to reduce the broadening associated with the isotropic spatial averaging characteristic of powder or frozen‐solution spectra. Using a tunable 1.5 μm laser, we directly observe non‐cage‐mediated optical interactions with the Er 3+ ion. This spectroscopic method provides the opportunity to map the energy level structure of the incarcerated ion and to coherently control its quantum state. These qualities suggest that rare‐earth endohedral fullerenes have characteristics that could be employed as a readout pathway for fullerene‐based quantum information processing. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)