High-Stability Near-Infrared Luminescent Glass Ceramic and Its Applications

Near-infrared (NIR) light, valuable for its biological penetration and invisibility to the human eye, is a crucial tool in biomedicine, environmental monitoring, anticounterfeiting, and information encryption, yet traditional NIR luminescent materials are often unstable in humid conditions. Here, a highly stable MgGeO₃:Mn²⁺ glass ceramic (GC) with NIR luminescence was successfully synthesized. As-obtained GC700 boasts exceptional luminescent capabilities and possesses abundant trap structures, enabling data inscription with a 405 nm laser and retrieval via laser/thermal excitation. Moreover, the emission peak of Mn²⁺ can be manipulated from 630 to 691 nm by increasing the annealing treatment temperature. With the harnessing of the effective NIR emission, stable carrier characteristics, and numerous trap structures, there is potential for application in information encryption. Accordingly, we explored the application of MgGeO₃:Mn²⁺ GC (GC700 and GC800) samples in precious three-dimensional (3D) information storage and NIR mechanoluminescence (ML) for biological tissue imaging. These applications demonstrate the potential and versatility of electron-capturing NIR luminescent materials in a range of cutting-edge fields.