Anisotropic enhancement of Yb³⁺ luminescence by disordered plasmonic networks self-assembled on RbTiOPO₄...

Increasing Yb³⁺ absorption efficiency is currently desired in a number of applications including bio-imaging, photovoltaics, near infrared driven photocatalysis or ultra-short pulsed solid-state lasers. In this work, silver nanoparticles, which are connected forming disordered networks, have been self-assembled on Yb³⁺ doped RbTiOPO₄ crystals to produce a remarkable enhancement of Yb³⁺ absorption, and hence in the photoluminescence of this ion. The results are interpreted taking into account the near-field response of the plasmonic networks, which display strong amplification of the electric field at the maximum of Yb³⁺ excitation at around 900 nm, together with the anisotropic character of the Yb³⁺ transitions in RbTiOPO₄. We show that in the near field regime, the scattering of the plasmonic networks produces additional polarization field components to those of the incident field, which allows access to the largest transition dipolar moment of Yb³⁺ ions in RbTiOPO₄. As a result, a much more efficient route for Yb³⁺ excitation takes place at the immediacy of the plasmonic networks. This work provides fundamental insights for improving the optical properties of rare earth ions by the suitable design of metallic nanoparticle arrangements, and constitutes a promising step towards the development of new multifunctional solid-state lasers.