Polarization-dependent extraordinary optical transmission from upconversion nanoparticles

Abstract

Enhanced upconversion (UC) emission was experimentally demonstrated using gold double antenna nanoparticles coupled to nanoslits in gold films. The transmitted red emission from UC ytterbium and erbium co-doped sodium yttrium fluoride (NaYF4:Yb(3+)/Er(3+)) nanoparticles (UC NPs) at ∼665 nm (excited with a 980 nm diode laser) was enhanced relative to the green emission at ∼550 nm. The relatively enhanced UC NP emission could be tuned by the different polarization-dependent extraordinary optical transmission modes coupled to the gold nanostructures. Finite-difference time-domain calculations suggest that the preferential enhanced UC emission is related to a combination of different surface plasmon mode excitation coupling to cavity Fabry-Perot interactions. A maximum UC enhancement of 6-fold was measured for nanoslit arrays in the absence of the double antennas. In the presence of the double nanoantennas inside the nanoslits, the UC enhancement was between 2- and 4-fold, depending on the experimental conditions.

Effects of Ce3+ Doping in Green-Red Emitting Upconversion Nanoparticles

“…Upconversion is a non‐linear optical process which two or more low‐energy near infrared (NIR) photons are absorbed to generate a higher‐energy photon ,. Due to such unique anti‐Stocks luminescent property, lanthanide rare‐earth doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) exhibited great potential values in the past years in many application fields such as bio‐imaging, optical sensing, lasing, full‐color display, photo dynamic therapy, drug releasing, super‐resolution imaging and anti‐counterfeiting …”

Tailoring Lanthanide Upconversion Luminescence through Material Designs and Regulation Strategies

“…In this context, some other groups also reported the polarized UCL from NaYF 4 , LiYF 4 , and LiLuF 4 UCNPs. [ 107–111 ] To make use of polarized UCL, Paloma et al. reported using microsized upconverting particles (UCP) to monitor the suspending medium in real‐time via single‐particle spectroscopy.…”

“…In this context, some other groups also reported the polarized UCL from NaYF 4 , LiYF 4 , and LiLuF 4 UCNPs. [107][108][109][110][111] To make use of polarized UCL, Paloma et al reported using microsized upconverting particles (UCP) to monitor the suspending medium in real-time via singleparticle spectroscopy. [112] Single UCP was optically trapped and maintained at a certain position, followed by the excitation of linearly polarized 980 nm laser (Figure 10b).…”

An overview of boosting lanthanide upconversion luminescence through chemical methods and physical strategies

“…Inspired by this pioneering work, several other research groups have also reported the polarized UCL in anisotropic NaYF 4 , LiYF 4 , and LiLuF 4 UCNPs with polarized morphologies like rod, disk and rhombus. [104][105][106][107][108] Moreover, such polarized UCL can also be realized and extended to the macroscale level. By using a shear-driven method, He and coworkers prepared orientationally aligned NaYF 4 :Yb/Gd/Er nanorod arrays, which were characterized with a nematic liquid crystal phase.…”

“…Inspired by this pioneering work, several other research groups have also reported the polarized UCL in anisotropic NaYF 4 , LiYF 4 , and LiLuF 4 UCNPs with polarized morphologies like rod, disk and rhombus. 104–108…”