Enhanced photoluminescence of Nd2O3 nanoparticles modified with silane-coupling agent: Fluorescent resonance energy transfer analysis

A liquid laser medium with a lifetime of 492 mu s and a fluorescent quantum efficiency of 52.5% has been presented by stably dispersing dimethyl dichorosilane-modified Nd2O3 nanoparticles in dimethylsulfoxide. Its optical properties and mechanism were investigated and explained by fluorescence resonance energy transfer theory. The calculation result shows that the quenching of Nd-III F-4(3/2)-> I-4(11/2) transition via O-H vibrational excitation can be eventually neglected. The main reason is that the silane-coupling agent molecules remove the -OH groups on Nd2O3 nanoparticles and form a protective out layer. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Optical responses of ZnSe quantum dots in silica gel glasses

The characteristic features of the absorption and photoluminescence spectra of ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) inside a silica matrix derived from a sol-gel method were studied at room temperature. Compared with the bulk materials, the absorption edges of ZnSe QDs in silica gel glass were shifted to higher energies and the spectra exhibited the discrete excitonic features due to the quantum confinement effects. Besides the band-edge emission, photoluminescence at ultraviolet excitation also showed the emissions related to the higher excitonic states. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Micro Fabry-Perot interferometers in silica fibers machined by femtosecond laser

Micro Fabry-Perot (F-P) interferometers (MFPIs) are machined in a single-mode fiber (SMF) and a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) by using a near-infrared femtosecond laser, respectively. The strain and temperature characteristics of the two MFPIs with an identical cavity length are investigated and the experimental results show that the strain sensitivity of the PCF-based MFPI is smaller than that of the SMF-based MFPI due to their different waveguide structures, while the two MFPIs have close temperature sensitivities which are much smaller than that of an in-line SMF etalon sensor reported previously. These MFPIs in silica fibers are compact, stable, inexpensive, capable for mass-production and easy fabrication, offering great potentials for wide sensing applications. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres for chemical and optical sensing

In-fibre chemical and optical sensors based on silver nanocrystals modified microstructured polymer optical fibres (MPOFs) were demonstrated. The silver nanocrystals modified MPOFs were formed by direct chemical reduction of silver ammonia complex ions on the templates of array holes in the microstructure polymer optical fibres. The nanotube-like and nanoisland-like Ag-modified MPOFs could be obtained by adjusting the conditions of Ag-formation in the air holes of MPOFs. SEM images showed that the higher concentration of the reaction solution (silver ammonia 0.5 mol/L, glucose 0.25 mol/L), gave rise to a tubular silver layer in MPOF, while the lower concentration (silver ammonia 0.1 M, glucose 0.05 M) produced an island-like Ag nanocrystal modified MPOF. The tubular Ag-MPOF composite fibre was conductive and could be directly used as array electrodes in electrochemical analyses. It displayed high electrochemical activity on sensing nitrate or nitrite ions. The enhanced fluorescence of dye molecules was observed when the island-like Ag-modified MPOF was inserted into a fluorescent dye solution. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multiple energy transfers in rare earth complex-doped SiO2 spheres

Silica spheres doped with Eu(TTFA)(3) and/or Sm(TTFA)(3) were synthesized by using the modified Stober method. The transmission electron microscope image reveals that the hybrid spheres have smooth surfaces and an average diameter of about 210 nm. Fluorescence spectrometer was used to analyze the fluorescence properties of hybrid spheres. The results show that multiple energy transfer processes are simultaneously achieved in the same samples co-doped with Eu (TTFA)(3) and Sm(TTFA)(3), namely between the ligand and Eu3+ ion, the ligand and Sm3+ ion, and Sm3+ ion and Eu3+, ion. Energy transfer of Sm3+-> Eu3+, in the hybrid spheres leads to fluorescence enhancement of Eu3+ emission by approximately an order of magnitude. The lifetimes of the hybrid spheres were also measured.

Preparation and optical property of a novel hydrophobic anti-reflection coating for KDP crystal

A novel inorganic-organic hybrid hydrophobic anti-reflection silica film used for laser crystal was obtained by sol-gel process. The film consisted of silica sols mixed with a small amount of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polystyrene (PS). The optical transparency, hydrophobic property and surface morphology of the film were characterized by UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer; contact angle instrument and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results showed that the anti-reflection coating had good hydrophobility and optical transparency from 400 nm to 1200 nm. The contact angle reached to 130-140 degrees. SEM images indicated the hydrophobic films modified with PMMA or PS had compact structure compared to the pure silica sol film. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

基于silica波导光栅的单纤三向器的混合集成研究

通过有源实时监控系统,采用手动和自动相结合的方法,将光纤、silica基阵列波导光栅(AWG)、1310 nm激光器(LD)平台和1490 nm、1550 nm探测器(PD)平台用紫外同化胶混合集成为一新型单纤三向器.在耦合集成过程中,LD在15 mA偏置电流下,三向器的上行出纤功率大约为-4 dBm,LD和波导的耦合效率大约40%;当三向器输入1 550 nm光功率为1 mW,PD在2.6 V反向偏压下,下行输出光电流大约为76 μA,波导和PD的耦合效率大约为42%.三向器中采用了对管PD集成方法.