Controllable optical modulation of blue/green up-conversion fluorescence from Tm3+ (Er3+) single-doped glass ceramics upon two-step excitation of two-wavelengths
Abstract Optical modulation is a crucial operation in photonics for network data processing with the aim to overcome information bottleneck in terms of speed, energy consumption, dispersion and cross-talking from conventional electronic interconnection approach. However, due to the weak interactions between photons, a facile physical approach is required to efficiently manipulate photon-photon interactions. Herein, we demonstrate that transparent glass ceramics containing LaF3: Tm3+ (Er3+) nanocrystals can enable fast-slow optical modulation of blue/green up-conversion fluorescence upon two-step excitation of two-wavelengths at telecom windows (0.8–1.8 μm). We show an optical modulation of more than 1500% (800%) of the green (blue) up-conversion fluorescence intensity, and fast response of 280 μs (367 μs) as well as slow response of 5.82 ms (618 μs) in the green (blue) up-conversion fluorescence signal, respectively. The success of manipulating laser at telecom windows for fast-slow optical modulation from rear-earth single-doped glass ceramics may find application in all-optical fiber telecommunication areas.
Abstract Optical modulation is a crucial operation in photonics for network data processing with the aim to overcome information bottleneck in terms of speed, energy consumption, dispersion and cross-talking from conventional electronic interconnection approach. However, due to the weak interactions between photons, a facile physical approach is required to efficiently manipulate photon-photon interactions. Herein, we demonstrate that transparent glass ceramics containing LaF3: Tm3+ (Er3+) nanocrystals can enable fast-slow optical modulation of blue/green up-conversion fluorescence upon two-step excitation of two-wavelengths at telecom windows (0.8–1.8 μm). We show an optical modulation of more than 1500% (800%) of the green (blue) up-conversion fluorescence intensity, and fast response of 280 μs (367 μs) as well as slow response of 5.82 ms (618 μs) in the green (blue) up-conversion fluorescence signal, respectively. The success of manipulating laser at telecom windows for fast-slow optical modulation from rear-earth single-doped glass ceramics may find application in all-optical fiber telecommunication areas.
Optical dephasing of Pr3+ and Tm3+ ions doped in transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics was studied with the two-pulse photon echo technique. It was found that the dephasing time of rare earth ions is dramatically less in nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix than in bulk crystals. A quasi-linear temperature dependence obtained at low temperatures proved that the long-range interaction of the ions inside the nanocrystals with the two level systems of the glass matrix dominates the optical dephasing. The local thermal effect in glass ceramics containing nanocrystals elevates the local temperature, which results in the reduction of optical dephasing time. For Tm(3+)-doped glass ceramics, the elevation of local temperature induced by the irradiation of excitation laser even quenched the photon echo signals in the experimental study.
Efficient three-step sequential three-photon near-infrared (NIR) quantum cutting in Tm3+-doped transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics has been demonstrated, where an absorbed blue photon could be cut into three NIR photons at 1190, 1460, and 1800 nm with quantum yield greater than unity. On the basis of static and dynamic photoemission, monitored excitation, and time-resolved fluorescence spectra, we investigate in detail the underlying optoelectronic mechanism. Further development of an efficient triply-cutting material might open up a path towards ultra-efficient photonic devices, which enables more photons emitted than absorbed in the excitation process.
Abstract Controlling the up-conversion luminescence of rare-earth ions in real-time, in a dynamical and reversible manner, is very important for their application in laser sources, fiber-optic communications, light-emitting diodes, color displays and biological systems. In previous studies, the up-conversion luminescence control mainly focused on the weak femtosecond laser field. Here, we further extend this control behavior from weak to intermediate femtosecond laser fields. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that the up-conversion luminescence in Dy 3+ ion doped glass can be artificially controlled by a π phase step modulation, but the up-conversion luminescence control behavior will be affected by the femtosecond laser intensity, and the up-conversion luminescence is suppressed by lower laser intensity while enhanced by higher laser intensity. We establish a new theoretical model (i.e. the fourth-order perturbation theory) to explain the physical control mechanism by considering the two- and four-photon absorption processes, and the theoretical results show that the relative weight of four-photon absorption in the whole excitation process will increase with the increase in laser intensity, and the interference between two- and four-photon absorptions results in up-conversion luminescence control modulation under different laser intensities. These theoretical and experimental works can provide a new method to control and understand up-conversion luminescence in rare-earth ions, and also may open a new opportunity to the related application areas of rare-earth ions.
We present a theoretical scheme for laser cooling in Tm3+-doped oxy-fluoride glass ceramic (GC). Tm3+-doped GC has a unique combination of high chemical and mechanical stability related to the oxide glass and low phonon energy of the fluoride nanocrystals, which trap a majority of Tm3+ ions. This unique property of GC makes it attractive for a number of applications. The effective embedding of rare-earth ions in the crystalline phase with low phonon energy provides high quantum efficiency for the F43→H63 transition in the Tm3+ ions participating in the cooling cycle.
In this paper, we investigate simultaneous 853 nm + 1533 nm amplification, and wavelength conversion between 1533 nm and 853 nm in Er3+-doped fluoride fiber. Based on our simulation results, simultaneous 853 nm (4S3/2→4I13/2 transition) + 1533 nm (4I13/2→4I15/2 transition) amplification, and wavelength conversion between 1533 nm and 853 nm can be realized in Er3+-doped fluoride fibers with the excitation of a 974 nm laser diode, respectively. Furthermore, we investigate the interactions between 853 nm and 1533 nm amplifications, and discuss their effects on simultaneously 853 nm + 1533 nm amplifier. The crosstalk between 853 nm and 1533 nm signals is very weak because of relatively long lifetime (~10 ms) of the 4I13/2 level. By introducing a cavity for 853 nm or 1533 nm lasing into the system, the possibility of wavelength conversion from 1533 nm to 853 nm or from 853 nm to 1533 nm in Er3+-doped fluoride fiber excited at 974 nm is clarified, which can be used as the wavelength converter or optical switch between public (the third window: ~1533 nm) and local (the first window: ~853 nm) networks in future networks.
In this work, we have investigated experimentally and theoretically the process of frequency upconversion at low temperatures in rare earth doped vitreous samples. A sample of chalcogenide glass doped with erbium ions (Er3+) was pumped with a laser source at 1.54 μm. We have observed, at room temperature, three different emission bands around 530 nm, 555 nm and 670 nm, originating from the excited state erbium levels 2H11/2, 4S3/2 and 4F9/2 to the 4I15/2 ground-state, respectively. A cryogenic system cooled the sample down to 4 K, and we have recorded many spectra in this range of temperature. We have observed relative increase in the intensity of the green fluorescence, which comes from the level 4S3/2, and also the vanishing emission of the 530 nm line around 210 K. For all emission lines, the frequency upconversion process has been accounted for with three photons absorbed from the pumping source, but saturation effects were observed above 10 mW of incident power. We have made a theoretical treatment of the experimental data and a numeric simulation, which has revealed that the observed behaviors are related to processes that involve step-wise photon absorption and phonon assisted nonradiative decay, both dependent on the temperature and phonon energy of the sample. We also present, in the third chapter, an analytic treatment of pulse propagation in nonlinear media. We have used a variational approach to predict the behavior of an optical pulse propagating in the vicinity of a two-photon resonance, where the third order nonlinearities may be enhanced and limits optical devices development. A possible solution for the problem is the propagation of a pulse with suitable profile and frequency chirp resulting in a balancing of the nonlinear effects.