Nd 3+-doped RE 3 Ga 5 O 12 (RE = Gd, Y, and Lu) nano-crystalline garnets of 40-45 nm in size have been synthesized by a sol-gel method. With the decrease of the RE atom size, the chemical pressure related to the decreasing volumes of the GaO 4 tetrahedral, GaO 6 octahedral and REO 8 dodecahedral units drive the nano-garnets toward a more compacted structure, which is evidenced by the change of the vibrational phonon mode frequencies. The chemical pressure also increases the crystal-field strength felt by the RE 3+ ions while decreases the orthorhombic distortion of the REO 8 local environment. These effects alter the absorption and emission properties of the Nd 3+ ion measured in the near-infrared luminescence range from 0.87 to 1.43 μm associated with the 4 F 3/2 → 4 I J (J = 9/2, 11/2, 13/2) transitions. The 4 F 3/2 luminescence decay curves show non-exponential behavior due to dipole-dipole energy transfer interactions among Nd 3+ ions that increases with pressure.

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