Tunable Visible Light and Energy Transfer Mechanism in Tm3+ and Silver Nanoclusters within Co-Doped GeO2-PbO Glasses

This study introduces a novel method for producing Ag nanoclusters (NCs) within GeO2-PbO glasses doped with Tm3+ ions. Sample preparation involved the melt-quenching method, employing adequate heat treatment to facilitate Ag NC formation. Absorption spectroscopy confirmed trivalent rare-earth ion in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Micromachines (Basel) 2023-11, Vol.14 (11), p.2078
Main Authors: Nishimura, Marcos Vinicius de Morais, Amaro, Augusto Anselmo, Bordon, Camila Dias da Silva, Dipold, Jessica, Wetter, Niklaus Ursus, Kassab, Luciana Reyes Pires
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption spectroscopy
Annealing
Color
Continuous radiation
Energy transfer
Excitation
germanate glasses
Germanium oxides
Heat treatment
Investigations
Lead oxides
Light
Light sources
melt-quenching technique
Nanoclusters
Optical properties
Photovoltaic cells
Production methods
Rare earth elements
rare-earth ions
silver nanoclusters
Solar cells
Temperature
Thulium ions
Tunable lasers
tunable luminescence
Viscosity
Visible spectrum
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study introduces a novel method for producing Ag nanoclusters (NCs) within GeO2-PbO glasses doped with Tm3+ ions. Sample preparation involved the melt-quenching method, employing adequate heat treatment to facilitate Ag NC formation. Absorption spectroscopy confirmed trivalent rare-earth ion incorporation. Ag NC identification and the amorphous structure were observed using transmission electron microscopy. A tunable visible emission from blue to the yellow region was observed. The energy transfer mechanism from Ag NCs to Tm3+ ions was demonstrated by enhanced 800 nm emission under 380 and 400 nm excitations, mainly for samples with a higher concentration of Ag NCs; moreover, the long lifetime decrease of Ag NCs at 600 nm (excited at 380 and 400 nm) and the lifetime increase of Tm3+ ions at 800 nm (excitation of 405 nm) corroborated the energy transfer between those species. Therefore, we attribute this energy transfer mechanism to the decay processes from S1→T1 and T1→S0 levels of Ag NCs to the 3H4 level of Tm3+ ions serving as the primary path of energy transfer in this system. GeO2-PbO glasses demonstrated potential as materials to host Ag NCs with applications for photonics as solar cell coatings, wideband light sources, and continuous-wave tunable lasers in the visible spectrum, among others.
ISSN:2072-666X
2072-666X
DOI:10.3390/mi14112078