AC thermal imaging of a microwire with a fluorescent nanocrystal: Influence of the near field on the thermal contrast

Abstract

Intense 1.54 m fluorescence of Er 3 + / Yb 3 + codoped phosphate glass and the three-photon phenomenon of near infrared upconversion luminescence Physical characteristics and infrared fluorescence properties of sol-gel derived Er 3+ -Yb 3+ codoped TiO 2We have studied the temperature dependence of the visible fluorescence lines of 250 nm large PbF 2 nanocrystals codoped with Er 3+ and Yb 3+ ions. By gluing such a particle at the end of a sharp atomic force microscope tip, we have developed a scanning thermal microscope able to observe the heating of electrically excited micro-and nanowires. By modulating the electrical current that flows in the structure, the resulting temperature variations modulate the particle fluorescence giving rise to the thermal contrast. We will show that the fluorescence is affected both by the near-field optical distribution and by temperature variations. We will show that it is possible to get rid of these optical effects and to keep the thermal contribution by comparing the images to reference images obtained when the device is not driven by a current. The determination of the temperature of the devices is performed by analyzing the thermal quenching of the fluorescent particle and is in good agreement with numerical simulations. The spatial resolution is in the range of the fluorescent particle size ͑smaller than 500 nm͒, and the temperature sensitivity is smaller than 5 K.

Thermometry at the nanoscale

“…-doped NPs; [36][37][38][39][40][41] Nanoscale IR thermometers from metal NPs based on blackbody radiation; 42 Scanning thermal microscopes based on Ln 3+ -doped NPs; 12,[43][44][45] Nanoscale thermocouples fabricated from point contact junctions; 23,46,47 Liquid-and solid-in-tube nanothermometers fabricated from nanotubes and based on temperature-dependent thermal expansion of liquids (e.g. gallium inside CNTs 48,49 or Pb-filled ZnO nanotubes 50 ); Coulomb blockade nanothermometers from nanosized superconductor-insulator-metal tunnel junctions based on the Coulomb blockade of tunneling; 51,52 Complex structured nanothermometers from MEMS based on temperature-dependent resonator quality factor 53 or Fermilevel shift.…”

“…200 A number of developments based on new cantilevers and new AFM-based temperature measuring techniques have been stated in recent years. 43,45,[201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208][209][210] Sadat et al 23 have reported a thermometric AFM-based technique which does not require integrated temperature sensors in AFM probes. The technique allows direct mapping of topography and temperature fields of metal surfaces with $0.01 degree temperature resolution and <100 nm spatial resolution.…”

Lanthanide–Organic Framework Nanothermometers Prepared by Spray‐Drying

“…Among phosphors, such as organic dyes, [ 3 ] polymers, [ 4 ] semiconductor nanocrystals, [ 5 ] lanthanide (Ln)-based materials are the most versatile thermal probes used in luminescent nanothermometers. [ 6 ] Several examples of such materials demonstrating their application in sensing or mapping at the submicrometer scale were reported: Er 3+ / Yb 3+ co-doped fl uoride glass [ 7 ] or PbF 2 nanoparticles, [ 8 ] glued at the extremity of an atomic force microscope scanning tip, NaYF 4 :(Er 3+ ,Yb 3+ ) [ 9 ] and Ln-doped NaGdF 4 core-shell nanoparticles; [ 10 ] Y 2 O 3 :Eu 3+ , [ 11 ] Y 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce 3+ , [ 12 ] and Mo sensitized rareearth oxide nanoparticles; [ 13 ] and siloxane-based nanoparticles incorporating a Eu 3+ tris(β-diketonate) complex. [ 14 ] The temperature determination is usually based on the change of the luminescence intensity or decay times.…”

A cryogenic luminescent ratiometric thermometer based on a lanthanide phosphonate dimer

“…1,2 On the other hand, the peculiar emission features typical of lanthanide (Ln 3+ ) ions, such as long lifetimes, large Stokes/anti-Stokes shifts, narrow bandwidth emissions, high luminescence quantum yields and ligand-dependent sensitization, have been used in non-invasive thermometry. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] In the last decade, a step-forward in the field was the introduction of reliable and robust selfreference thermometers based on the intensity ratio of two f-f transitions (e.g., 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 , Eu 3+ , and 5 D 4 → 7 F 5 , Tb 3+ ) using nanoparticles, 14,15 nanobeads incorporating magnetic heathers and thermometers, 16 organic-inorganic hybrid films, 17 and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). [18][19][20][21] The most attractive feature of such molecular thermal probes is its intrinsic possibility of engineering the operating temperature range and sensitivity using a judicious choice of lanthanide ions, host matrix and/or ligands.…”