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Published on: August 17, 2017
Gradient Deep-Trap Engineering in Terbium-Doped LiYF4 Nanocrystals for Reconfigurable Multiplexed Encrypted Data
Qin Xiao1, Bao Fan1, Dongxin Guo1
1Key Laboratory of Atomic and Subatomic Structure and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), School of Physics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Material, Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Abstract:
The rapid expansion of digital data requires storage with high capacity, long-term stability, and secure encryption. Persistent luminescence (PersL) is promising for optical storage, but flexible multilevel encoding and efficient readout remain challenging. Here, we report gradient deep-trap engineering in LiYF4:Tb3+ nanocrystals for multiplexed encrypted storage. The distorted coordination of scheelite-type LiYF4 and fluoride displacement under X-ray irradiation promote charge-compensating defects, generating a broad distribution of deep traps (0.8-1.4 eV) that exceeds conventional sodium-based fluorides. Besides long-lasting PersL, LiYF4:Tb3+ exhibits pronounced photostimulated and thermally stimulated luminescence (PSL and TSL). Thermoluminescence (TL) analysis reveals a gradient trap profile enabling temperature-selective carrier release. Utilizing this controllable trap distribution with strong charge retention and thermal cyclability, we demonstrate multilayer optical encryption within a single medium, where distinct information can be selectively decoded. These findings hold great promise for advanced optical data storage, enabling scalable encoding and retrieval for high-density, secure data.
