© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

Terms Privacy Legal Notice

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

Significant Suppression of Spontaneous Emission in SiO2 Photonic Crystals Made with Tb3+-Doped LaF3 Nanoparticles

Marie Aloshyna, Sri Sivakumar, Venkataramanan Mahalingam, Alexandre G. Brolo, Frank C. J. M. van Veggel

Published Feb 20, 2007• 75 citations

Abstract

SiO 2 inverse opals made with LaF 3:Tb 3+ nanoparticles were fabricated. The spontaneous emission lifetime of the 5 D 4 → 7 F 4 transition of Tb 3+ ions at 542 nm embedded in the SiO 2 inverse opal structure was determined. In contrast to an average lifetime of 2.8 ms in photonic crystals when the photoluminescence of the Tb 3+ envelop was located outside the photonic stop band, a lifetime of 4.0 ms was observed when the Tb 3+ photoluminescence fully overlaps with the photonic stop band in the inverse opal. The obtained results demonstrate that the photonic structure affects the spontaneous emission significantly, resulting in a 40% increase of the luminescence lifetime of Tb 3+ ions. In other words, the density of optical states is reduced at the emission frequency of Tb 3+ (i.e., 542 nm) which reduces the radiative rate constant.

DOI: 10.1021/jp067244b

Related papers

Photoluminescence Properties of SiO2:Tb3+ Inverse Opal with Tunable Photonic Band Gap

Zhen Dong Liu, Bo Li, Ji Zhou

Temperature tunable photonic crystals were fabricated based on liquid-infiltrated inverse opal films which were prepared by Tb3+doped SiO2with a sol-gel method. The photoluminescence was investigated with the photonic band gap shift tuned by temperature. The results show that obvious suppression of spontaneous emission occurs when the photonic band gap overlaps with the Tb3+emission band, while enhancement of the emission is observed if the emission band shifts at the edge of the band gap.

Applied Mechanics and Materials•May 1, 2013•2 citations

Terbium-doped colloidal photonic crystal

Nikolai V. Gaponenko, V. M. Shelekhina, O. A. Prokhorov +2 more

Sol-gel process is shown as a promising synthetic route to develop the 3D photonic crystals doped with the optically active terbium. Using silica and Tb-doped titania sols the colloidal crystal with photonic stop band ranging from 480 to 550 nm have been developed, thus fitting the 5D4 yields 7F6 and 5D4 yields 7F5 transition of Tb3+ ions. Pronounced inhibition of optical transitions of Tb3+ ions was observed. The structures fabricated are considered as promising probes to examine the influence of photonic stop band on modification of the spontaneous emission spectra of phosphors.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Jun 28, 2001•1 citation

Luminescent photonic crystals

Sergey O. Klimonsky, Alexander S. Sinitskii, Vera V. Abramova +6 more

Angular distribution of photoluminescence of trivalent rare earth ions embedded inside three-dimensional opal and inverse opal photonic crystals is experimentally shown to be strongly modulated for the emission frequencies near the first and higher photonic stop-bands. Numerical simulations of fractional density of optical states also predict highly directional emission from photonic crystals with an ideal structure. Experimental results are shown to be in a good agreement with calculated angular dependencies of luminescence. However, better agreement between experimental and theoretical data requires smoothing of calculated dependencies, which can be attributed to the presence of structural imperfections in real photonic crystal samples.

CAOL . International Conference on Advanced Optoelectronics and Lasers•Sep 1, 2008•0 citations

Eu 3+ emission in an anisotropic photonic band gap environment

Sergei G Romanov, Aleksandr V. Fokin, R.M. De La Rue

Eu 3+ ions have been incorporated into the silica skeleton of synthetic opal. The effect of the anisotropic photonic band gap structure upon the emission characteristics has been studied in the case where the emission bandwidth is narrower than the stop-band. Either suppression or enhancement of the spontaneous emission at the wavelength of the radiative transition has been observed, depending on the relative position of the emission band and the stop-band.

Applied Physics Letters•Mar 27, 2000•75 citations

Modified spontaneous emission spectra of laser dye in inverse opal photonic crystals

Henry P. Schriemer, Henry M. van Driel, A. Femius Koenderink +1 more

We have observed strongly modified spontaneous-emission spectra from laser dye in photonic crystals made of inverse opals in titania $({\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}).$ We identify stop bands with large relative widths of $15%,$ comparable to the dyes' emission spectrum, and $75%$ attenuation of the emission strength. For a wide range of angles, two stop bands are simultaneously manifested; their angle-dependent frequencies display an avoided crossing that is corroborated by reflectivity experiments. The edges of the stop bands agree well with band-structure calculations, but differ from simple Bragg diffraction as a result of multiple wave coupling. The strongly reduced dispersion of the Bloch modes likely causes a significant change in the density of states.

Physical Review A•Dec 13, 2000•99 citations

Highly modified spontaneous emissions in YVO4:Eu3+ inverse opal and refractive index sensing application

Yongsheng Zhu, Wen Xu, Hanzhuang Zhang +5 more

Here, we present strong modification of photonic crystals on the spontaneous emissions of Eu3+ ions in YVO4:Eu3+ inverse opal. It is interesting that due to the effect of local field, the 5D0-7FJ radiative lifetimes of Eu3+ ions in the PCs are all prolonged ∼2.5 times in contrast to the grinded reference (REF) in air, consistent with the empty cavity model. The photonic stop band and the radiative lifetime are both highly sensitive to the refractive index of the infiltrated solutions, in accordance with the real cavity model.

Applied Physics Letters•Feb 20, 2012•33 citations

SiO 2 inverse opals made with LaF 3:Tb 3+ nanoparticles were fabricated. The spontaneous emission lifetime of the 5 D 4 → 7 F 4 transition of Tb 3+ ions at 542 nm embedded in the SiO 2 inverse opal structure was determined. In contrast to an average lifetime of 2.8 ms in photonic crystals when the photoluminescence of the Tb 3+ envelop was located outside the photonic stop band, a lifetime of 4.0 ms was observed when the Tb 3+ photoluminescence fully overlaps with the photonic stop band in the inverse opal. The obtained results demonstrate that the photonic structure affects the spontaneous emission significantly, resulting in a 40% increase of the luminescence lifetime of Tb 3+ ions. In other words, the density of optical states is reduced at the emission frequency of Tb 3+ (i.e., 542 nm) which reduces the radiative rate constant.

Sol-gel process is shown as a promising synthetic route to develop the 3D photonic crystals doped with the optically active terbium. Using silica and Tb-doped titania sols the colloidal crystal with photonic stop band ranging from 480 to 550 nm have been developed, thus fitting the 5D4 yields 7F6 and 5D4 yields 7F5 transition of Tb3+ ions. Pronounced inhibition of optical transitions of Tb3+ ions was observed. The structures fabricated are considered as promising probes to examine the influence of photonic stop band on modification of the spontaneous emission spectra of phosphors.

Angular distribution of photoluminescence of trivalent rare earth ions embedded inside three-dimensional opal and inverse opal photonic crystals is experimentally shown to be strongly modulated for the emission frequencies near the first and higher photonic stop-bands. Numerical simulations of fractional density of optical states also predict highly directional emission from photonic crystals with an ideal structure. Experimental results are shown to be in a good agreement with calculated angular dependencies of luminescence. However, better agreement between experimental and theoretical data requires smoothing of calculated dependencies, which can be attributed to the presence of structural imperfections in real photonic crystal samples.

We have observed strongly modified spontaneous-emission spectra from laser dye in photonic crystals made of inverse opals in titania

({\mathrm{TiO}}_{2}).

We identify stop bands with large relative widths of

15%,

comparable to the dyes' emission spectrum, and

75%

attenuation of the emission strength. For a wide range of angles, two stop bands are simultaneously manifested; their angle-dependent frequencies display an avoided crossing that is corroborated by reflectivity experiments. The edges of the stop bands agree well with band-structure calculations, but differ from simple Bragg diffraction as a result of multiple wave coupling. The strongly reduced dispersion of the Bloch modes likely causes a significant change in the density of states.

Here, we present strong modification of photonic crystals on the spontaneous emissions of Eu3+ ions in YVO4:Eu3+ inverse opal. It is interesting that due to the effect of local field, the 5D0-7FJ radiative lifetimes of Eu3+ ions in the PCs are all prolonged ∼2.5 times in contrast to the grinded reference (REF) in air, consistent with the empty cavity model. The photonic stop band and the radiative lifetime are both highly sensitive to the refractive index of the infiltrated solutions, in accordance with the real cavity model.