Pechini sol-gel deposition and luminescent properties of SrLa1-xRExGa3O7 (RE = Eu, Tb) phosphor films

SrLa1-xRExGa3O7 (RE = EU3+, Tb3+) phosphor films were deposited on quartz glass substrates by a simple Pechim sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), atomic force microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence spectra, and lifetimes were used to characterize the resulting films. The results of XRD indicated that the films began to crystallize at 700 degrees C and crystallized fully at 900 degrees C. The results of FNR spectra were in agreement with those of XRD. Uniform and crack-free films annealed at 900 degrees C were obtained with average grain size of 80 nm, root mean square roughness of 46 nm and thickness of 130 nm The RE ions showed their characteristic emission in crystalline SrLa1-xRExGa3O7 films, i.e., Eu3+ D-0-F-7(J) (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4), Tb3+5D4 -(7) F-J (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) emissions, respectively. The optimum concentrations (x) of Eu3+ and Tb3+ were determined to be 50, and 80 mol% in SrLa(1-x)RE(x)GGa(3)O(7) films, respectively.

Facile synthesis and photoluminescent properties of redispersible CeF3, CeF3 : Tb3+, and CeF3 : Tb3+/LaF3 (core/shell) nanoparticles

CeF3, CeF3:Tb3+, and CeF3:Tb3+/LaF3 (core/shell) nanoparticles were prepared by the polyol method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), UV-vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, and lifetimes. The results of XRD indicate that the obtained CeF3, CeF3:Tb3+, and CeF3:Tb3+/LaF3 (core/shell) nanoparticles crystallized well at 200 degrees C in diethylene glycol (DEG) with a hexagonal structure. The TEM images illustrate that the CeF3 and CeF3:Tb3+ nanoparticles are spherical with a mean diameter of 7 nm. The growth of the LaF3 shell around the CeF3:Tb3+ core nanoparticles resulted in an increase of the average size (11 nm) of the nanopaticles as well as in a broadening of their size distribution. These nanocrystals can be well-dispersed in ethanol to form clear colloidal solutions. The colloidal solutions of CeF3 and CeF3:Tb3+ show the characteristic emission of Ce3+ 5d-4f (320 nm) and Tb3+ D-5(4)-F-7(J) (J = 6-3, with D-5(4)-F-7(5) green emission at 542 nm as the strongest one) transitions, respectively. The emission intensity and lifetime of the CeF3:Tb3+/LaF3 (core/shell) nanoparticles increased with respect to those of CeF3:Tb3+ core particles.

A hydrogel based zinc(ii) sensor for use in fluorescent multi-well plate analysis

A polymeric hydrogel containing a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) based probe for Zn(ii) has been formulated into the wells of a 96-well plate. Upon addition of Zn(ii) ions to selected wells, the fluorescence of the gel was observed to increase in a concentration dependent manner in the 0.25-1.75 mM range. The millimolar binding constant observed for this probe is higher than that reported for other Zn(ii) probes in the literature and offers the possibility to determine the concentration of this ion in environments where the Zn(ii) concentration is high. The combination of the multi-well plate set-up with fluorescence detection offers the possibility of high-throughput screening using low sample volumes in a timely manner. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported example of a polymeric hydrogel sensor for zinc with capability for use in fluorescence multi-well plate assay.

Reconfigurable transmitters for software-defined radios

Flexible radio transmitters based on the Software-Defined Radio (SDR) concept are gaining an increased research importance due to the unparalleled proliferation of new wireless standards operating at different frequencies, using dissimilar coding and modulation schemes, and targeted for different ends. In this new wireless communications paradigm, the physical layer of the radio transmitter must be able to support the simultaneous transmission of multi-band, multi-rate, multi-standard signals, which in practice is very hard or very inefficient to implement using conventional approaches. Nevertheless, the last developments in this field include novel all-digital transmitter architectures where the radio datapath is digital from the baseband up to the RF stage. Such concept has inherent high flexibility and poses an important step towards the development of SDR-based transmitters. However, the truth is that implementing such radio for a real world communications scenario is a challenging task, where a few key limitations are still preventing a wider adoption of this concept. This thesis aims exactly to address some of these limitations by proposing and implementing innovative all-digital transmitter architectures with inherent higher flexibility and integration, and where improving important figures of merit, such as coding efficiency, signal-to-noise ratio, usable bandwidth and in-band and out-of-band noise will also be addressed. In the first part of this thesis, the concept of transmitting RF data using an entirely digital approach based on pulsed modulation is introduced. A comparison between several implementation technologies is also presented, allowing to state that FPGAs provide an interesting compromise between performance, power efficiency and flexibility, thus making them an interesting choice as an enabling technology for pulse-based all-digital transmitters. Following this discussion, the fundamental concepts inherent to pulsed modulators, its key advantages, main limitations and typical enhancements suitable for all-digital transmitters are also presented. The recent advances regarding the two most common classes of pulse modulated transmitters, namely the RF and the baseband-level are introduced, along with several examples of state-of-the-art architectures found on the literature. The core of this dissertation containing the main developments achieved during this PhD work is then presented and discussed. The first key contribution to the state-of-the-art presented here consists in the development of a novel ΣΔ-based all-digital transmitter architecture capable of multiband and multi-standard data transmission in a very flexible and integrated way, where the pulsed RF output operating in the microwave frequency range is generated inside a single FPGA device. A fundamental contribution regarding the simultaneous transmission of multiple RF signals is then introduced by presenting and describing novel all-digital transmitter architectures that take advantage of multi-gigabit data serializers available on current high-end FPGAs in order to transmit in a time-interleaved approach multiple independent RF carriers. Further improvements in this design approach allowed to provide a two-stage up-conversion transmitter architecture enabling the fine frequency tuning of concurrent multichannel multi-standard signals. Finally, further improvements regarding two key limitations inherent to current all-digital transmitter approaches are then addressed, namely the poor coding efficiency and the combined high quality factor and tunability requirements of the RF output filter. The followed design approach based on poliphase multipath circuits allowed to create a new FPGA-embedded agile transmitter architecture that significantly improves important figures of merit, such as coding efficiency and SNR, while maintains the high flexibility that is required for supporting multichannel multimode data transmission.

Lanthanide oxide and phosphate nanoparticles for thermometry and bimodal imaging

Nesta tese relatam-se estudos de fotoluminescência de nanopartículas de óxidos e fosfatos dopados com iões trivalentes de lantanídeos, respectivamente, nanobastonetes de (Gd,Eu)2O3 e (Gd,Yb,Er)2O3 e nanocristais de (Gd,Yb,Tb)PO4, demonstrando-se também aplicações destes materiais em revestimentos inteligentes, sensores de temperatura e bioimagem. Estuda-se a transferência de energia entre os sítios de Eu3+ C2 e S6 dos nanobastonetes Gd2O3. A contribuição dos mecanismos de transferência de energia entre sítios para o tempo de subida 5D0(C2) é descartada a favor da relaxação directa 5D1(C2) 5D0(C2) (i.e., transferência de energia entre níveis). O maior tempo de decaimento do nível 5D0(C2) nos nanobastonetes, relativamente ao valor medido para o mesmo material na forma de microcristais, é atribuído, quer à existência de espaços livres entre nanobastonetes próximos (factor de enchimento ou fracção volúmica), quer à variação do índice de refracção efectivo do meio em torno dos iões Eu3+. A dispersão de nanobastonetes de (Gd,Eu)2O3 em três resinas epoxi comerciais através da cura por UV permite obter nanocompósitos epoxi- (Gd,Eu)2O3. Relatam-se estudos cinéticos e das propriedades térmicas e de fotoluminescência destes nanocompósitos. Estes, preservam as típicas propriedades de emissão do Eu3+, mostrando o potencial do método de cura por UV para obter revistimentos inteligentes e fotoactivos. Considera-se um avanço significativo a realização de uma nanoplataforma óptica, incorporando aquecedor e termómetro e capaz de medir uma ampla gama de temperaturas (300-2000 K) à escala nano, baseada em nanobastonetes de (Gd,Yb,Er)2O3 (termómetros) cuja superfície se encontra revestida com nanopartículas de ouro. A temperature local é calculada usando, quer a distribuição de Boltzmann (300-1050 K) do rácio de intensidades da conversão ascendente 2H11=2!4I15=2/4S3=2!4I15=2, quer a lei de Planck (1200-2000 K) para uma emissão de luz branca atribuída à radiação do corpo negro. Finalmente, estudam-se as propriedades de fotoluminescência correspondentes às conversões ascendente e descendente de energia em nanocristais de (Gd,Yb,Tb)PO4 sintetizados por via hidrotérmica. A relaxividade (ressonância magnética) do 1H destes materiais são investigadas, tendo em vista possíveis aplicações em imagem bimodal (luminescência e ressonância magnética nuclear).

Infrared luminescence, thermoluminescence and defect centres in Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl(2)O(4) phosphor

Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl(2)O(4) phosphors were prepared by solution combustion synthesis and the identification of Er and Yb were done by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) studies. A luminescence at 1.5 mu m, due to the (4)I(13/2) ->(4)I(15/2) transition, has been studied in the NIR region in Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl(2)O(4) phosphors upon 980 nm CW pumping. Er-doped ZnAl(2)O(4) exhibits two thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) peaks around 174A degrees C and 483A degrees C, while Yb co-doped ZnAl(2)O(4) exhibits TSL peaks around 170A degrees C and 423A degrees C. Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies were carried out to identify defect centres responsible for TSL peaks observed in the phosphors. Room temperature ESR spectrum appears to be a superposition of two distinct centres. These centres are assigned to an O(-) ion and F(+) centre. O(-) ion appears to correlate with the 174A degrees C TSL peak and F(+) centre appears to relate with the high temperature TSL peak at 483A degrees C in ZnAl(2)O(4):Er phosphor.

Spectroscopic features of erbium-doped CaM2O6 (M = Nb, Ta) single crystal fibers grown by the laser-heated pedestal growth technique

Erbium-doped single crystal fibers, with low phonon energy and fairly high absorption and emission cross sections are interesting laser active media, for compact, near-infrared and/or upconversion lasers. In this work, high optical quality Er3+-doped CaNb2O6 and CaTa2O6 single crystal fibers were successfully grown by the versatile laser-heated pedestal growth technique, and characterized from the structural and spectroscopic points of view. The results indicate that these crystal fiber compositions, which had not been explored so far, offer potential applications, not only as laser active media, but also in other optical devices. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photophysics and photostability of adenine in aqueous solution: A theoretical study

The sequential Monte Carlo/CASPT2 approach was employed to investigate deactivation and emission processes from the lowest-lying pi pi * and n pi * excited states of 9H-adenine in aqueous solution. It is found that conical intersections connecting the pi pi* and n pi* states with the ground state are also present in solution, whereas the barriers for the deactivation paths are significantly smaller on solvated conditions. The large destabilization of the n pi* state found in solution possibly prevents its involvement in the deactivation photophysics and explains the change from a bi- to a mono-exponential decay for the molecule in the gas phase and solution, respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Graphene quantum dots induce apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammatory response via p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-κB mediated signaling pathways in activated THP-1 macrophages.

The biomedical application of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) is a new emerging area. However, their safety data are still in scarcity to date. Particularly, the effect of GQDs on the immune system remains unknown. This study aimed to elucidate the interaction of GQDs with macrophages and the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that GQDs slightly affected the cell viability and membrane integrity of macrophages, whereas GQDs significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and apoptotic and autophagic cell death with an increase in the expression level of Bax, Bad, caspase 3, caspase 9, beclin 1, and LC3-I/II and a decrease in that of Bcl-2. Furthermore, low concentrations of GQDs significantly increased the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-8, whereas high concentrations of GQDs elicited opposite effects on the cytokines production. SB202190, a selective inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), abolished the cytokine-inducing effect of GQDs in macrophages. Moreover, GQDs significantly increased the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and p65, and promoted the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Taken together, these results show that GQDs induce ROS generation, apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammatory response via p38MAPK and NF-κB mediated signaling pathways in THP-1 activated macrophages.

Erbium- and ytterbium-doped sol-gel SiO2-HfO2 crack-free thick films onto silica on silicon substrate

Aware of the difficulties in applying sol-gel technology on the preparation of thin films suitable for optical devices, the present paper reports on the preparation of crack-free erbium- and ytterbium-doped silica: hafnia thick films onto silica on silicon. The film was obtained using a dispersion of silica-hafnia nanoparticles into a binder solution, spin-coating, regular thermal process and rapid thermal process. The used methodology has allowed a significant increase of the film thickness. Based on the presented results good optical-quality films with the required thickness for a fiber matching single mode waveguide were obtained using the erbium- and ytterbium-activated sol-gel silica:hafnia system. The prepared film supports two transversal electric modes at 1550 nm and the difference between the transversal electric mode and the transversal magnetic mode is very small, indicating low birefringence. Photoluminescence of the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition of erbium ions shows a broad band centered at 1.53 mu m with full width at a half maximum of 28 nm. Up-conversion emission was carried out under different pump laser powers, and just one transition at red region was observed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crystallization of fluorindate and fluorogallate glasses

Crystallization of binary InF3-MF2 and GaF3-MF2 (where M = Ba, Sr and Ca) glasses was studied. Characteristic temperatures and kinetic parameters E (activation energy) and n (Avrami exponent) were obtained. Stability against devitrification is discussed in terms of the above cited parameters and also of some others parameters proposed in literature. Optical properties (IR and upconversion emissions) are reported in different crystallized samples containing Nd3+. The main observation is that up conversion emission presents an enhanced sensibility to crystallization when compared to conventional emission. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Blue upconversion enhancement by a factor of 200 in Tm 3+-doped tellurite glass by codoping with Nd 3+ ions

We investigated near-infrared-to-blue upconversion from thulium (Tm 3+) doped in tellurite glasses upon continuous wave excitation near 800 nm. We observed an enhancement of over two orders of magnitude of the upconverted emission at ∼480nm when neodymium (Nd 3+) ions were codoped with Tm 3+ ions. For comparison, using a Tm 3+:Nd 3+ codoped fluorozirconate glass as a reference material we observed a 40-fold enhancement of the blue emission. Analysis of the blue emission for samples with different doping levels of Nd 3+ ions showed that energy transfer between Nd 3+ and Tm 3+ is the mechanism responsible for the enhancement in upconversion. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Upconversion ultraviolet random lasing in Nd 3+ doped fluoroindate glass powder

An upconversion random laser (RL) operating in the ultraviolet is reported for Nd 3+ doped fluoroindate glass powder pumped at 575 nm. The RL is obtained by the resonant excitation of the Nd 3+ state 2G 7/2 followed by energy transfer among two excited ions such that one ion in the pair decays to a lower energy state and the other is promoted to state 4D 7/2 from where it decays emitting light at 381 nm. The RL threshold of 30 kW/cm 2 was determined by monitoring the photoluminescence intensity as a function of the pump laser intensity. The RL pulses have time duration of 29 ns that is 50 times smaller than the decay time of the upconversion signal when the sample is pumped with intensities below the RL laser threshold. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

Giant enhancement of phonon-assisted one-photon excited frequency upconversion in a Nd3+-doped tellurite glass

Changing the sample's temperature from 200 K to 535 K, we observed 670-fold enhancement of a phonon-assisted upconversion emission at ≈754 nm obtained from a Nd3+-doped tellurite glass excited by 5 ns laser pulses at 805 nm. A rate-equation model, including the relevant energy levels and temperature dependent transition rates, is proposed to describe the process. The results fit well with the data when one considers the nonradiative transitions contributing for the 754 nm luminescence are promoted by an effective phonon mode with energy of 700 cm-1. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

Upconversion luminescence in Er3+ doped Ga10Ge 25S65 glass and glass-ceramic excited in the near-infrared

The infrared-to-visible frequency upconversion was investigated in Er 3+-doped Ga10Ge25S65 glass and in the transparent glass-ceramic obtained by heat-treatment of the glass above its glass-transition temperature. Continuous-wave and pulsed lasers operating at 980 nm and 1480 nm were used as excitation sources. The green (2H 11/2 → 4I15/2; 4S3/2 → 4I15/2) and red (4F9/2 → 4I15/2) photoluminescence (PL) signals due to the Er3+ ions were characterized. The PL decay times were influenced by energy transfer among Er3+ ions, by cross-relaxation processes and by energy transfer from the Er3+ ions to the host material. The PL from the Er3+ ions hosted in the crystalline phase was distinguished only when the glass-ceramic was excited by the 1480 nm pulsed laser. The excitation pathways responsible for the green and red PL bands are discussed to explain the differences between the spectra observed under continuous-wave and pulsed excitation. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.