Yb/Ho Codoped Layered Perovskite Bismuth Titanate Microcrystals with Upconversion Luminescence: Fabrication,...

Optical thermometry has attracted great interest owing to its noncontact and fast responsive properties in practical applications. However, some sensing errors may occur in many optical ratiometric thermometers due to the overlap of emission peaks, suggesting the necessity of developing excellent luminescent materials. Here, we report the fabrication and characterization of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂:Yb/Ho for ratiometric thermometry. Bismuth titanate was selected as the matrix due to its low phonon energy, high machinability, and satisfactory thermal stability. The temperature sensing was constructed on the intensity ratio of the two upconversion emission bands with wide separation in Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂:Yb/Ho under 980 nm excitation. The wide separation endows the materials with high signal discrimination for temperature detection. The developed materials were characterized in terms of crystal structure, reflectance, and emission spectra for thermometry application. The maximum relative sensitivity was shown to be as high as 2.11% K^-1. More importantly, an optical fiber thermometry was developed based on the fabricated microcrystals, which can find its potential applications in harsh environments.