Green and red light emission by upconversion from the near-IR in Yb(3+) doped CsMnBr3

Direct near-IR excitation of Yb(3+) 2F(7/2)-->(2)F(5/2) levels at 10126, 10138, and 10596 cm(-1) in CsMnBr3:0.5%Yb(3+) leads to three types of luminescence at cryogenic temperatures: near-IR Yb(3+) emission and green and red upconverted luminescence. The green luminescence around 20 000 cm(-1) is identified as cooperative Yb(3+) pair upconversion. The broad red upconversion luminescence band centered at 14 700 cm(-1) is ascribed to the 4T(1g)-->6A(1g) transition of Mn(2+). Pulsed measurements indicate a sequence of ground-state absorption and excited-state absorption steps for the red upconversion process. One- and two-color excitation experiments support this, and we conclude that the red upconversion occurs by an exchange mechanism involving Yb(3+) and Mn(2+). The Yb(3+) 2F(5/2)-->(2)F(7/2) near-IR emission around 10 000 cm(-1) is also observed after Mn(2+) excitation at 21 838 cm(-1). This is indicative of a Mn(2+) 4T(1g)--> Yb(3+) 2F(5/2) relaxation process, which is a potential loss process for upconversion efficiency.