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Applied Physics Letters

Sensitive detection of excited energy levels in rare-earth optical materials by a magneto-optical resonant excitation technique

Xiaodie Chen, Junpei Zhang, Hongwei Dai, Hui Cheng, Chuyi Huang, Salman Ahmed, Junbo Han

Published Sep 8, 2020• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An optical method for the sensitive detection of excited energy levels in rare-earth luminescent materials is developed based on the magnetic field induced photoluminescence (PL) enhancement phenomenon observed in Er3+:YVO4 crystals. Since the PL intensity of rare-earth luminescent materials is sensitive to the excitation efficiency, continuous tuning of the excitation laser wavelength under a magnetic field could result in a mapping of PL enhancement peaks vs excitation wavelength. This enables us to figure out the fine energy levels and the corresponding Lander g factors of materials, such as Er3+:YVO4 crystal as an example. Comparison between this method and the Zeeman splitting technique demonstrates that the proposed technique is a powerful solution to detect the fine energy structures and Lander g factors of rare-earth luminescent materials.

DOI
10.1063/5.0016068

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Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jun 26, 2019•23 citations
An optical method for the sensitive detection of excited energy levels in rare-earth luminescent materials is developed based on the magnetic field induced photoluminescence (PL) enhancement phenomenon observed in Er3+:YVO4 crystals. Since the PL intensity of rare-earth luminescent materials is sensitive to the excitation efficiency, continuous tuning of the excitation laser wavelength under a magnetic field could result in a mapping of PL enhancement peaks vs excitation wavelength. This enables us to figure out the fine energy levels and the corresponding Lander g factors of materials, such as Er3+:YVO4 crystal as an example. Comparison between this method and the Zeeman splitting technique demonstrates that the proposed technique is a powerful solution to detect the fine energy structures and Lander g factors of rare-earth luminescent materials.
A bright green photoluminescence (PL) from 4S3∕2 → 4I15∕2 emission band in Er3+:YVO4 single crystal has been observed with the excitation of an argon laser at 488.0 nm. More than two orders of PL enhancement have been obtained under the effect of magnetic fields, and the enhancement factor f reaches 170 when the applied magnetic field is 7.7 T under the sample temperature of 4.2 K. Unusually, the PL enhancements only happen at some certain magnetic fields (Bcs), and a decrease of sample temperature will lead to the increase of f and decrease of Bc. The results confirm that this PL enhancement originates from the resonance excitation of the electron transitions induced by the cross of the laser energy and the absorption energy modulated by both the magnetic field and temperature. This special PL enhancement in Er3+:YVO4 single crystal can be applied in the calibration of pulsed high magnetic field, detection of material fine energy structures, and modulation of magneto-optical devices.
Magnetic field-modulated luminescence in lanthanide-doped nanomaterials offers crucial insights for advancing magneto-optical technologies, yet the fundamental mechanisms governing luminescence are still not fully understood. Here, we report Zeeman-effect-induced luminescence suppression in Er3+-doped GdF3 nanoparticles under dual-wavelength excitation (808 nm broadband and 527 nm narrowband) at moderate magnetic fields (up to 1.3 T). Under 808 nm excitation, upconversion emissions (528, 546, and 656 nm) dominated by two-photon absorption exhibit >79% intensity suppression (0.89 T), attributed to energy mismatch caused by Zeeman splitting of sublevels. In contrast, under 527 nm excitation, downconversion emissions (656, 842, and 983 nm) show uniform suppression (∼66% at 1.3 T) due to magnetic field-induced splitting of the 2H11/2 energy level. A simplified model elucidates how Zeeman splitting alters absorption resonance, with theoretical calculations aligning closely with experimental trends. This study reveals the physical mechanisms of magnetic field modulation using dual-wavelength excitation, providing a foundation for expanding magneto-optical technologies in imaging and sensing applications.
Strong green and middle infrared (MIR) photoluminescence (PL) has been observed in Er3+: GdVO4 crystal excited by a 488 nm argon laser. Nearly 25 times of magnitude increase of PL intensity has been obtained for both green and MIR emissions under moderate low magnetic field of 4 T. The temperature- and magnetic field- dependent PL demonstrated that both excitation and emission energy transitions have made contributions to the PL enhancement, and stronger PL enhancement usually happens at the transitions with energy levels possessing larger population of electrons. The results are important and encouraging since it not only reveals the originations of the magnetic induced PL enhancement, but also drag people closer to the utilization of magnetic induced PL modulations under moderate low magnetic field.
Abstract Resolved hyperfine structure and narrow inhomogeneously broadened lines in the optical spectra of a rare-earth-doped crystal are favorable for the implementation of various sensors. Here, a well-resolved hyperfine structure in the photoluminescence spectra of LiYF 4 :Ho single crystals and the anticrossings of hyperfine levels in a magnetic field are demonstrated using a self-made setup based on a Bruker 125HR high-resolution Fourier spectrometer. This is the first observation of the resolved hyperfine structure and anticrossing hyperfine levels in the luminescence spectra of a crystal. The narrowest spectral linewidth is only 0.0022 cm −1 . This fact together with a large value of the magnetic g factor of several crystal-field states creates prerequisites for developing magnetic field sensors, which can be in demand in modern quantum information technology devices operating at low temperatures. Very small random lattice strains characterizing the quality of a crystal can be detected using anticrossing points.
A method of high-resolution time-resolved optical spectroscopy using oscillations of the photon echo intensity in the presence of a perturbation, which splits the optical frequencies of the transitions of two or more ion subgroups, has been proposed and demonstrated. This method has been applied to systems in which the Zee-man effect is manifested. The transition frequencies of ions are switched by a pulsed magnetic field. Oscillations of the photon echo intensity were observed in LiLuF4:Er3+ and LiYF4:Er3+. The first minimum corresponding to the accumulated phase of the electric dipole moment π/2 is reached in the pulsed magnetic field with an amplitude of ∼2 G at a duration of 30 ns. The Zeeman splitting in this field is ∼10 MHz, which is much less than the laser spectral width (0.15 Å ∼ 9 GHz). The g factor of the 4 F 9/2(I) excited state of the Er3+ ion in the LiLuF4 matrix has been determined in zero magnetic field. The comparison with the g-factor value found from the measurement of the absorption spectrum in a magnetic field of 8 kG has been performed.
We report on a high-resolution optical and magneto-optical spectroscopy, luminescence, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of yttrium orthophosphate single crystals doped with erbium, which are promising telecom-wavelength materials for applications in quantum electronics and quantum information processing. An observation of the hyperfine structure in optical spectra of 167Er^{167}\mathrm{Er}167Er isotope in Er:YPO4{\mathrm{Er}:\mathrm{YPO}}_{4}Er:YPO4​ is presented. Energies and symmetries of 40 crystal-field levels of Er3+{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}Er3+ in Er:YPO4{\mathrm{Er}:\mathrm{YPO}}_{4}Er:YPO4​ and ggg factors of some of them were determined and successfully modeled on the basis of crystal-field calculations. The obtained set of crystal-field parameters was used in modeling the hyperfine structure observed in the optical and EPR spectra of Er:YPO4{\mathrm{Er}:\mathrm{YPO}}_{4}Er:YPO4​ single crystals.