Ultra-High-Sensitive Temperature Sensing Based on Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ Co-Doped Lead-Free Double Perovskite Microcrystals

Fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) thermometry, a new contactless temperature measurement, can achieve accurate measurements in a harsh environment. In this work, all-inorganic lead-free Cs₂AgInCl₆: Er-Yb and Cs₂AgBiCl₆: Er-Yb microcrystals emit bright green up-conversion emission, which are synthesized by precipitation at a low temperature (80 °C). In up-conversion emission, FIR of the ²H_11/2 → ⁴I_15/2 band to the ⁴S_3/2 → ⁴I_15/2 band exhibits temperature dependence, which can be used as the temperature measurement parameter, so-called FIR thermometry. Moreover, the theoretically accurate measurement range is from 100 to 600 K, achieving maximum absolute sensitivities from 0.0130 to 0.0113 K^-1, respectively. The principle of up-conversion and high sensitivity is well explained by calculating the partial density of states. Compared to the reported thermometry materials based on the FIR method, the prepared all-inorganic lead-free Cs₂AgInCl₆: Er-Yb and Cs₂AgBiCl₆: Er-Yb microcrystals show outstanding temperature measurement width and sensitivity, becoming a potential candidate for high-sensitivity optical temperature sensors.