Temperature dependence of energy transfer between Nd³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions in phosphate glass

The temperature dependence of energy transfer between Nd³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions in phosphate glass was investigated with emission spectra, time-resolved spectroscopy, and luminescence lifetimes. The time-resolved spectrograms vividly displayed processes of both Nd³⁺→Yb³⁺ energy transfer and Yb³⁺→Nd³⁺ energy transfer. The impact of temperature on energy transfer rate has been studied by analyzing the cumulative rise times and decay times of Yb³⁺ upon excitation of Nd³⁺ and the cumulative rise times and decay times of Nd³⁺ upon excitation of Yb³⁺ at different temperatures. It has been found that both Nd³⁺→Yb³⁺ energy transfer and Yb³⁺→Nd³⁺ energy transfer are accelerated along with increasing temperatures in a certain temperature range.