Amplified spontaneous emission and lasing from lanthanide-doped up-conversion nanocrystals

ACS Nano. 2013 Dec 23;7(12):11420-6. doi: 10.1021/nn405387t. Epub 2013 Dec 2.

Abstract

Lanthanide-doped nanocrystals (NCs), which found applications in bioimaging and labeling, have recently demonstrated significant improvement in up-conversion efficiency. Here, we report the first up-conversion multicolor microcavity lasers by using NaYF4:Yb/Er@NaYF4 core-shell NCs as the gain medium. It is shown that the optical gain of the NCs, which arises from the 2- and 3-photon up-conversion processes, can be maximized via sequential pulses pumping. Amplified spontaneous emission is observed from a Fabry-Perot cavity containing the NCs dispersed in cyclohexane solution. By coating a drop of silica resin containing the NCs onto an optical fiber, a microcavity with a bottle-like geometry is fabricated. It is demonstrated that the microcavity supports lasing emission through the formation of whispering gallery modes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cyclohexanes / chemistry
  • Equipment Design
  • Fluorides / chemistry
  • Lanthanoid Series Elements / chemistry*
  • Lasers
  • Light
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanotechnology / methods*
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Photochemistry
  • Photons
  • Silicon Dioxide / chemistry
  • Sodium / chemistry

Substances

  • Cyclohexanes
  • Lanthanoid Series Elements
  • Cyclohexane
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Sodium
  • Fluorides