Subnano Te Cluster in Glass for Efficient Full‐Spectrum Conversion

Abstract

Broadband near‐infrared (NIR) photonic materials have wide applications. Although extensive studies on rare‐earth, transition‐metal, and even semiconductor‐activated materials have enabled the development of a rich NIR material pool, developing broadband and efficient photonic candidates covering the NIR I and II regions from 750 to 1500 nm has been met with limited success. Here, it is reported that a subnano Te cluster with a characteristic configuration different from that of the ion state may fill the aforementioned gap. Further, a strategy is proposed for the in situ generation and stabilization of Te clusters by tuning the cluster evolution in glass. A novel active photonic glass embedded with a Te cluster is fabricated; it exhibits intense and broadband short‐wave NIR luminescence with a central wavelength at 1030 nm and a bandwidth exceeding 330 nm. Interestingly, the glass exhibited a full visible‐spectrum conversion ability from 300 to 800 nm. The application of this unique broadband excitation feature for night vision and tissue penetration is demonstrated using a smartphone as the excitation source. These findings demonstrate a fundamental principle of cluster design in glass for creating new properties and provide a new direction for developing novel cluster‐derived functional composite materials.

Anion Hybridization for Enhanced Broadband Optical Response in Bi‐Doped Photonic Glass and Fiber

“…Currently, multiband transmission technology developed based on new bands such as O (1260-1360 nm), E (1360-1460 nm), S (1460-1530 nm), and L (1565-1625 nm) is believed to be one of the effective ways to expand the transmission capacity. [1][2][3][4][5][6] In this technology, the gain fiber and fiber amplifier device with broadband optical responses is critically important because it can potentially offer in situ optical signal amplification in a broad waveband. Bismuth (Bi)activated photonic materials have garnered significant attention since their introduction due to their exceptionally wide coverage area in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum (750-1700 nm) and extended lifetime (several hundred microseconds).…”