Glass Ceramic Fibers Containing PbS Quantum Dots for Fluorescent Temperature Sensing

Glass ceramics (GCs) containing PbS quantum dots (QDs) are prepared for temperature sensing. Broadband emissions are detected in the GCs when PbS QDs are precipitated from the glasses, and emissions centers are modulated from 1250 nm to 1960 nm via heat treatments. The emission centers of GCs exhibit blue-shifts when environment temperatures increase from room temperature to 210 °C. Importantly, the shift values of emission centers increase linearly with the test temperature, which is beneficial for applications in temperature sensing. A temperature sensor based on PbS QDs GC is heat-treated at 500 °C for 10 h, possesses the highest sensitivity of 0.378 nm/°C, and exhibits excellent stability and repeatability at high temperatures (up to 210 °C). Moreover, GC fibers are fabricated by using the GCs as the fiber core. The sensitivity of the temperature-sensing sensor of the GC fibers is also demonstrated and the sensitivity is as high as 0.558 nm/°C. The designed PbS QDs GCs provide a significant materials base for the manufacturing of fluorescent temperature sensors and the GC fibers offer significant opportunities for temperature detection in complex, integrated and compact devices.