Ultralarge anti-Stokes lasing through tandem upconversion

Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 24;13(1):1032. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28701-1.

Abstract

Coherent ultraviolet light is important for applications in environmental and life sciences. However, direct ultraviolet lasing is constrained by the fabrication challenge and operation cost. Herein, we present a strategy for the indirect generation of deep-ultraviolet lasing through a tandem upconversion process. A core-shell-shell nanoparticle is developed to achieve deep-ultraviolet emission at 290 nm by excitation in the telecommunication wavelength range at 1550 nm. The ultralarge anti-Stokes shift of 1260 nm (~3.5 eV) stems from a tandem combination of distinct upconversion processes that are integrated into separate layers of the core-shell-shell structure. By incorporating the core-shell-shell nanoparticles as gain media into a toroid microcavity, single-mode lasing at 289.2 nm is realized by pumping at 1550 nm. As various optical components are readily available in the mature telecommunication industry, our findings provide a viable solution for constructing miniaturized short-wavelength lasers that are suitable for device applications.