Visible red random lasing in Y2O3:Eu3+/ZnO polycrystalline thin films by energy transfer from ZnO films to Eu3+

Abstract

Visible red random lasing centered at ∼611 nm has been observed in Y2O3:Eu3+/ZnO films at room temperature. Using a 355 nm laser source to excite the ZnO films, ultraviolet (UV) random lasing has been observed. The UV lasing spectrum can be tuned to overlap strongly with the F70-L56 excitation spectrum of Eu3+ ions centered at ∼394 nm by controlling the pump power, leading to very efficient radiative energy transfer from the ZnO films to Eu3+ ions. As a result, a red random lasing centered at ∼611 nm corresponding to the D50-F72 transition of Eu3+ ions was observed.

Optical and structural properties of Eu-diffused and doped ZnO nanowires

“…High quality ZnO nanostructures are relatively easy to synthesize and have potential applications in optoelectronics, energy generation, hydrogen and biosensing [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. The study of Eu in ZnO has attracted interest for applications including visible red lasing [29], which was hampered by inefficient energy transfer from the ZnO host to the Eu 3+ ions [30][31][32]. When the red emission is dominant, it has generally been observed that defect states are involved in the energy transfer process [32][33][34][35].…”

Optical spectroscopy of Nd3+ ions in a nanostructured glass matrix

“…It means that resonance with Nd 3 þ bands can be achieved, increasing the probability of energy transfer to Nd 3 þ . As the absorption bands of CdS NCs are broader than the ones of Nd 3þ , it ensures a better match in wavelength of the pump sources (usually diode lasers) for the achievement of opto-electronic devices, such as laser active media [8,9], optical amplifiers [10], microchips [11] and planar waveguides due to their emission in the near infrared range at 1060 nm [3,12,13]. SNAB glass was chosen as host to CdS because it is suitable for the growth of high quality CdS and due to its transparency to the UV through near-IR, where energy transfer processes take place and the most important Nd 3þ absorption and emission bands occur.…”

Blue-emitting ZnSe random laser

“…20 However, the semiconductor random lasers reported in the literature emit light only in the invisible region, i.e., in the near-UV or near-IR region. It is very important to develop random lasers emitting in the visible spectral region.…”