Thermally enhanced cooperative energy-transfer frequency upconversion in terbium and ytterbium doped tellurite glass

Abstract Infrared-to-visible frequency upconversion through cooperative energy-transfer and thermal effects in Tb 3+ /Yb 3+ -codoped tellurite glasses excited at 1.064 μm is investigated. Bright luminescence emission around 485, 550, 590, 625 and 655 nm, identified as due to the 5 D 4 → 7 F J ( J =6, 5, 4, 3, and 2) transitions of the terbium ions, respectively, was recorded. The excitation of the 5 D 4 emitting level of the Tb 3+ ions is assigned to cooperative energy-transfer from pairs of ytterbium ions. The effect of temperature on the upconversion process was examined and the results revealed a fourfold upconversion enhancement in the 300–500 K interval. The enhancement of the upconversion process is due to the temperature dependence of the Yb 3+ -sensitizer absorption cross-section under anti-Stokes excitation. A rate-equation model using multiphonon-assisted absorption for the ytterbium excitation combined with the energy migration effect between Yb–Yb pair and Tb 3+ ground-state depopulation via multiphonon excitation of the 7 F J excited states describes quite well the experimental results.

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