Open AccessNear vacuum ultraviolet luminescence of Gd^3+ and Er^3+ ions generated by super saturation upconversion processes
Author(s) -
Guanying Chen,
Hongye Liang,
Haichun Liu,
Gabriel Somesfalean,
Zhiguo Zhang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.17.016366
Subject(s) - photon upconversion , vacuum ultraviolet , ion , saturation (graph theory) , ultraviolet , near ultraviolet , excitation , luminescence , laser , photon , materials science , optics , atomic physics , analytical chemistry (journal) , physics , optoelectronics , chemistry , mathematics , chromatography , quantum mechanics , combinatorics
Near vacuum ultraviolet (UV) upconversion (UC) emissions with a spectral resolution of 1 nm, from the (6)G(J), (6)D(J), (6)I(J), (6)P(J) levels of Gd(3+) and the (2)L(17/2), (4)D(7/2), (2)H(2)(9/2), (2)D(5/2), (4)G(7/2), (2)K(13/2), (2)P(3/2) levels of Er(3+), were observed under 974 nm laser excitation. Mechanism analyses illustrate that successive energy transfers (ETs) from Yb(3+) to Er(3+) generate UV UC radiations in Er(3+), while two resonant ETs from Er(3+) to Gd(3+) lead to UV UC radiations in Gd(3+). Power dependence analyses indicate that the expected inefficient four- and five-photon processes have been switched into efficient two-photon processes due to a super saturation UC phenomenon that employs consecutive saturations at the intermediate states.