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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)

Optical bistability in colloidal solution of Er-Yb doped LaF3 nanocrystals

E. Pobegalov, Peter M. Agruzov, Igor V. Il'ichev, Alexander V. Shamray

Published May 1, 2011• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper, we report the investigation of the optical bistability and hysteresis in the device based on phase conjugated mirror in colloidal solution of LaF3: Er,Yb nanocrystals. Oleic acid (OA)-modified LaF3: Er,Yb nanocrystals have been prepared by a phase transfer and separation mechanism occurring at the interfaces of the liquid, solid and solution phases present during the synthesis [1]. We chose 20% (molar ratio) Yb3+ions as codoping concentration in the preparation of the nanocrystals. The obtained nanocrystals was redistributed in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) which was used as the solvent based on following three factors: (1) it does not exhibit absorption bands in NIR region because of its low fundamental vibration energy, (2) it eliminates any residual H2O that serves as an effective quencher for NIR emission, and (3) it has a relatively high refractive index compared with other non-polar solvents and therefore minimizes loss of light due to Rayleigh scattering.

DOI
10.1109/cleoe.2011.5942851

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In this paper, we report the investigation of the optical bistability and hysteresis in the device based on phase conjugated mirror in colloidal solution of LaF3: Er,Yb nanocrystals. Oleic acid (OA)-modified LaF3: Er,Yb nanocrystals have been prepared by a phase transfer and separation mechanism occurring at the interfaces of the liquid, solid and solution phases present during the synthesis [1]. We chose 20% (molar ratio) Yb3+ions as codoping concentration in the preparation of the nanocrystals. The obtained nanocrystals was redistributed in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) which was used as the solvent based on following three factors: (1) it does not exhibit absorption bands in NIR region because of its low fundamental vibration energy, (2) it eliminates any residual H2O that serves as an effective quencher for NIR emission, and (3) it has a relatively high refractive index compared with other non-polar solvents and therefore minimizes loss of light due to Rayleigh scattering.
We experimentally demonstrate optical bistability in Er3+-Yb3+ phosphate glass microspheres at 295 K. Bistability is associated with both Er3+ fluorescence and lasing behavior, and chromatic switching. The chromatic switching results from an intrinsic mechanism exploiting the thermal coupling of closely spaced energy levels, and occurs simultaneously with the intensity switching. A contrast ratio of 2.8 has been obtained for chromatic switching. The intensity switching shows ratios of 21 for 520 nm and 11 for 660 nm fluorescence emissions, and 11 for IR lasing at 1.5 μm. Concurrent with these observations, we investigate a temperature-dependent absorption of pump power, which exhibits bistable behavior. The influences of the host matrix on lasing and fluorescence mechanisms are highlighted.
Intrinsic bistability in active optical compounds doped with rare-earth ions has attracted widespread interest because of its relevance for optical signal switching and routing. In this paper, room temperature strong bistability effect of Ybsensitized Tm upconversion emission is reported in zirconium dioxide nanocrystal host matrix under infrared diode laser irradiation. The distinct optical bistability behavior is simultaneously observed in three emission bands of Tm ion around 480, 650/680 and 800 nm which are assigned to the radiative transitions of 1G4→3H6, 1G4→3F4/3F2,3→3H6, and 3H4→3H6, respectively. The bistability loops exhibit uniformly clockwise cycle characterized by a relatively lower trace of emission intensity at decreasing pump power than the trace at increasing pump power. Multiphoton upconversion processes are analyzed to determine the Yb→Tm energy transfer mechanism. Such strong bistability effect is associated with thermally enhanced nonradiative decay and reduced luminescence quantum yield due to the strong pump-induced local thermal loading.
This paper reports on the characterization of nanocrystalline powders of ytterbium doped YLiF4 for applications in optical refrigeration. Here we used powders with nanocrystals of Yb 3+ concentrations of (10, 15, 20) mol % and lengths (70, 66, 96) nm. Our preliminary spectroscopic measurements did not show an enhancement in the absorption at the long-wavelength tail of the spectra of the nanocrystalline powder when compared with bulk Yb:YLiF4, indicating that the increase of the phonon-assisted excitation is not large enough to play a significant role in cooling in the present conditions. One advantage of nanocrystalline powders over bulk crystals is the possibility of enhancing the absorption by the realization of cavity-less pump recycling through photon localization [1]. While photon localization also increases the reabsorption of the fluorescence depending on the quantum efficiency of the material and can mitigate cooling, it allows the use of crystals of low enough concentrations to avoid deleterious effects such as ion-ion energy transfer followed by quenching. The pump intensity enhancement favors upconversion luminescence to visible wavelengths, which can be used for optical refrigeration and extends the scope of the application for the material. We observed both green and blue emission from the samples and investigate the processes which lead to it. We present the experimental investigation of the nanocrystals’ absorption and emission spectra and the first excited state lifetime measurements, which are used to estimate the nanocrystal’s photoluminescence quantum efficiency.
This research is an outgrowth of earlier experiments that demonstrated bistable luminescence in heavy metal halide crystals doped with trivalent ytterbium ions. This type of instability has importance as a fundamentally new physical phenomenon with a potential application for fast all-optical switching as well as a limitation on compact solid state laser performance. In this thesis, the investigation of luminescent instabilities is extended to bistable energy transfer processes in crystals and to the observation of bistable blackbody emission in rare earth nanopowders. High resolution laser spectroscopy was used to study bistable luminescence and energy transfer in Yb,Er:CsCdBr3 crystals at cryogenic temperatures. For the first time, it was found that bistable behavior associated with Yb 3+ ions was transferred to Er 3+ through resonant energy transfer. Bistability of the resulting sensitized luminescence caused sufficiently dramatic changes in the crystal dynamics so as to change the color of emission from yellow to green. This color changing phenomenon is fully explained in the present work and is referred to as chromatic switching. Temperature is a critical variable that is known to govern luminescent instabilities in all current theories. Therefore, in a search for new systems with luminescent instabilities at high temperatures, materials with extreme thermal properties were investigated as part of this research. Yb,Er:Y 2O3 nanopowders were selected for this purpose. Nanopowders exhibit greatly reduced thermal conductivity and were verified during the course of this work to cause enhanced absorption as the result of multiple scattering. Significant spectral differences between Yb,Er:Y2O 3 nanopowders and single crystals also emerged. Measurements of erbium upconversion luminescence versus pump intensity in resonance with the ytterbium absorption transition revealed striking new optical phenomena: strong luminescent quenching, intense bistable blackbody emission, and the formation of single crystal micro-tubes directly from powder samples. A simple theoretical model was successfully developed to explain all these optical effects by a detailed balance approach to thermal transport that explicitly included erbium and ytterbium atomic level occupation probabilities, blackbody radiation and radiation trapping. Calculations of nanopowder sample luminescence accurately reproduced experimentally observed quenching, the onset of blackbody emission, bistability and details of hysteresis loops. The model also predicted that absorbed powers of less than 15 mW could melt yttria nanopowders (melting point = 2410°C), again in agreement with experiments. This work is expected to enable new approaches to laser processing of ceramics and laser machining of reflective metals, notably aluminum, using low power lasers.
Intrinsic optical bistability (IOB) in Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped laser crystal under 650 nm laser excitation is theoretically studied. Based on the theory of nonlinear coupled rate equations, we numerically analyze IOB evolutions of the populations at Tm3+/Yb3+ energy levels, and the influence of system parameters on IOB and the dynamic operation of bistable hysteresis loop. The simulation result shows the fluorescence IOB in visible-infrared spectra of Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped laser crystal under photon avalanche pumping scheme. It is found that IOB phenomena can be largely enhanced by optimizing the Tm3+/Yb3+ concentration ratio, choosing low phonon-energy crystal host and using crystal cooling technology, and also by tuning the pump laser to match the resonant frequency of Tm3+ excited-state absorption transition. Through tuning the pump laser wavelength and adjusting the rate of change in pump intensity, the controllable IOB switching can be achieved.