Near infrared emission properties of Er doped cubic sesquioxides in the second/third biological windows

In the recent years, there is an extensive effort concentrated towards the development of nanoparticles with near-infrared emission within the so called second or third biological windows induced by excitation outside 800-1000 nm range corresponding to the traditional Nd (800 nm) and Yb (980 nm) sensitizers. Here, we present a first report on the near-infrared (900-1700 nm) emission of significant member of cubic sesquioxides, Er-Lu₂O₃ nanoparticles, measured under both near-infrared up-conversion and low energy X-ray excitations. The nanoparticle compositions are optimized by varying Er concentration and Li addition. It is found that, under ca. 1500 nm up-conversion excitation, the emission is almost monochromatic (>93%) and centered at 980 nm while over 80% of the X-ray induced emission is concentrated around 1500 nm. The mechanisms responsible for the up-conversion emission of Er - Lu₂O₃ are identified by help of the up-conversion emission and excitation spectra as well as emission decays considering multiple excitation/emission transitions across visible to near-infrared ranges. Comparison between the emission properties of Er-Lu₂O₃ and Er-Y₂O₃ induced by optical and X-ray excitation is also presented. Our results suggest that the further optimized Er-doped cubic sesquioxides represent promising candidates for bioimaging and photovoltaic applications.