Broadband infrared luminescence from transparent glass-ceramics containing Ni2+-doped beta-Ga2O3 nanocrystals

Transparent Ni2+-doped beta-Ga2O3 glass-ceramics were synthesized. The nanocrystal phase in the glass-ceramics was identified to be beta-Ga2O3 and its size was about 3.6 nm. It was confirmed from the absorption spectra that the ligand environment of Ni2+ ions changed from the trigonal bi-pyramid fivefold sites in the as-cast glass to the octahedral sites in the glass-ceramics. The broadband infrared emission centering at 1270 nm with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of more than 250 nm was observed. The fluorescence lifetime was about 1.1 mu s at room temperature. The observed infrared emission could be attributed to the T-3 (2g) (F-3) -> (3)A (2g) (F-3) transition of octahedral Ni2+ ions. It is suggested that the Ni2+-doped transparent beta-Ga2O3 glass-ceramics with broad bandwidth and long lifetime have a potential as a broadband amplification medium.

Upconversion luminescence and optical power limiting effect based on two- and three-photon absorption processes of ZnO crystal

Near-infrared to UV and visible upconversion luminescence was observed in single-crystalline ZnO under an 800 nm infrared femtosecond laser irradiation. The optical properties of the crystal reveal that the UV and VIS emission band are due to the exciton transition (D0X) bound to neutral donors and the deep luminescent centers in ZnO, respectively. The relationship between the upconversion luminescence intensity and the pump power of the femtosecond laser reveals that the UV emission belongs to three-photon sequential band-to-band excitation and the VIS emission belongs to two-photon simultaneous defect-absorption induced luminescence. A saturation phenomenon and polarization-dependent effect are also observed in the upconversion process of ZnO. A very good optical power limiting performance at 800 nm has been demonstrated. The two- and three-photon absorption coefficients of ZnO crystal were measured to be 0.2018 cm GW(-1) and 7.102 x 10(-3) cm(3) GW(-2), respectively. The two- and three-photon cross sections were calculated to be 1.189 x 10(-51) cm(4) s and 1.040 x 10(-80) cm(6) s(2), respectively. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiphoton-excited upconversion luminescence of Nd : YVO4

Fluorescence spectra of Nd: YVO4 under excitation of a continuous wave (CW) diode laser and a femtosecond laser at 800nm were investigated. It was found that Nd: YVO4 shows different upconversion and downconversion luminescencent behaviors when excited by the diode laser and the femtosecond laser. The dependence of the upconversion luminescence intensity on the pump power of the femtosecond laser was discussed. The populations of the upper energy levels for upconversion and downconversion luminescence were calculated based on the Bloch equations. The calculations agree well with the experimental results. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.