A simple, compact, low-cost, highly efficient thermometer based on green fluorescence of Er3+/Yb3+-codoped NaYF4 microcrystals

Ning Yuan; Hong-Xue Sun; Dan-Dan Ju; Da-Yu Liu; Zi-Bo Zhang; Wing-Han Wong; Feng Song; Dao-Yin Yu; Edwin Yue-Bun Pun; De-Long Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.msec.2017.07.055

A simple, compact, low-cost, highly efficient thermometer based on green fluorescence of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped NaYF₄ microcrystals

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2017 Dec 1:81:177-181. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.07.055. Epub 2017 Jul 31.

Authors

Ning Yuan¹, Hong-Xue Sun¹, Dan-Dan Ju², Da-Yu Liu¹, Zi-Bo Zhang³, Wing-Han Wong⁴, Feng Song², Dao-Yin Yu¹, Edwin Yue-Bun Pun⁵, De-Long Zhang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Opto-electronics and Information Engineering, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
² School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 350001, China.
³ Department of Engineering, Pierre and Marie Curie University (University of Paris VI), 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
⁴ Department of Opto-electronics and Information Engineering, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Department of Electronic Engineering, and State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁵ Department of Electronic Engineering, and State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Department of Opto-electronics and Information Engineering, School of Precision Instruments and Opto-electronics Engineering, and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Information Technology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Department of Electronic Engineering, and State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: dlzhang@tju.edu.cn.

PMID: 28887962
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.07.055

Abstract

We developed a highly efficient optical thermometer based on intensity ratio of upconversion green fluorescence of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺-codoped NaYF₄ microcrystals. The sensor consists simply of a 980nm laser diode, one narrow-band interference filter, two lenses, one Si-photocell and one multimeter, while being without use of spectrometer and additional electronics. The device not only has a simple, compact structure (hence a low cost), but also displays highly efficient sensing performance, characterized by large signal-to-noise ratio due to strong fluorescence intensity, high thermal resolution and sensitivity, which have the values 1.3K and 1.24×10^-2K^-1, respectively, at the physiological temperature 310K. The excellent sensing performance of the device was further confirmed by the results of the measurements repeated using a spectrometer. The thermometer is highly generalized that can be applied to other luminescent materials, and shows great potential for the physiological temperature sensing in biological tissues and cells.

Keywords: Er(3+)/Yb(3+)-codoped NaYF(4) microcrystals; Fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR); Green upconversion; Thermometer.

MeSH terms

Erbium
Fluorescence
Fluorides
Luminescence
Thermometers*
Yttrium

Substances

Yttrium
Erbium
Fluorides