Up-Conversion Luminescence and Temperature Sensing of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ Codoped Y_2(1-Lu₂O₃ Solid Solution

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Luminescence
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Rare-earth doped oxides are crucial for optical applications.
• Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) doped with erbium (Er3+) and ytterbium (Yb3+) ions exhibits up-conversion luminescence.
• Lutetium (Lu3+) substitution in Y2O3 can modify material properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize Er3+/Yb3+ codoped Y2(1-x)LuxO3 solid solutions.
• To investigate the up-conversion luminescence properties and their dependence on Lu3+ doping concentration.
• To evaluate the potential of these materials for noncontact optical temperature sensing.

Main Methods:

• Sol-gel method for material synthesis.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) for structural analysis.
• Up-conversion spectroscopy under 980 nm excitation.
• Temperature-dependent fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) measurements.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped Y2(1-x)LuxO3 solid solutions with a stable cubic phase.
• Tunable red-to-green emission ratio (from 2.7 to 7.8) with varying Lu3+ concentration.
• Emission lifetimes show complex concentration dependence due to cross-relaxation.
• Demonstrated noncontact optical temperature sensing capabilities with maximum sensitivities of 0.011 K⁻¹ (at 483 K) and 0.21 K⁻¹ (at 300 K).

Conclusions:

• Er3+/Yb3+ codoped Y2(1-x)LuxO3 solid solutions are promising for optical temperature sensing.
• Lu3+ doping effectively tunes luminescence properties and sensing performance.
• The materials show potential for applications in different temperature ranges, with potential for sensitivity enhancement through local structure distortion.