The role of Nb in intensity increase of Er ion upconversion luminescence in zirconia

It is found that Nb co-doping increases the luminescence and upconversion luminescence intensity in rare earth doped zirconia. Er and Yb-doped nanocrystalline samples with or without Nb co-doping were prepared by sol-gel method and thermally annealed to check for the impact of phase transition on lu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2014-06, Vol.115 (21)
Main Authors: Smits, K., Sarakovskis, A., Grigorjeva, L., Millers, D., Grabis, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANNEALING
Applied physics
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CRYSTALS
DOPED MATERIALS
Doping
Erbium
ERBIUM IONS
LUMINESCENCE
Metal ions
Microscopes
Morphology
NANOSTRUCTURES
Niobium
NIOBIUM ADDITIONS
Optical properties
Oxygen
Phase composition
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
Phase transitions
Rare earth elements
Sol-gel processes
STABILIZATION
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
SURFACES
TIME RESOLUTION
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Upconversion
Vacancies
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Ytterbium
YTTERBIUM ADDITIONS
Zirconium dioxide
ZIRCONIUM OXIDES
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Summary:It is found that Nb co-doping increases the luminescence and upconversion luminescence intensity in rare earth doped zirconia. Er and Yb-doped nanocrystalline samples with or without Nb co-doping were prepared by sol-gel method and thermally annealed to check for the impact of phase transition on luminescence properties. Phase composition and grain sizes were examined by X-ray diffraction; the morphology was checked by scanning- and high-resolution transmission electron microscopes. Both steady-state and time-resolved luminescence were studied. Comparison of samples with different oxygen vacancy concentrations and different Nb concentrations confirmed the known assumption that oxygen vacancies are the main agents for tetragonal or cubic phase stabilization. The oxygen vacancies quench the upconversion luminescence; however, they also prevent agglomeration of rare-earth ions and/or displacement of rare-earth ions to grain surfaces. It is found that co-doping with Nb ions significantly (>20 times) increases upconversion luminescence intensity. Hence, ZrO2:Er:Yb:Nb nanocrystals may show promise for upconversion applications.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4882262