Developing Lanthanide-doped Microcrystals for Photonic Applications

Description

The ability to propagate and manipulate of light on the micrometer scale is importantfor applications such as high-contrast displays, microlasers, and integrated photonicsdevices. Given the difficulties to efficiently couple light into matters in the micrometerscale, microstructured materials comprising luminescent components have emerged as apromising means of producing well-regulated optical emissions following localizedabsorption of the incident light. Over the past ten years, various luminescent microrodsand microdisks, based on semiconductors, polymers, and assemblies of organic molecules,have been constructed for simultaneous use as gain media, resonance cavities, andwaveguides. Lanthanide-doped insulating crystals represent another class ofluminescent materials featuring sharp emission bands, long luminescence lifetimes, andlarge effective Stokes shifts, characteristics that are particularly suitable for applicationsin optics and photonics. Despite the attractions, the lanthanide luminescence has barelybeen exploited in single microcrystals. In this regard, we propose to systematicallyinvestigate the synthesis and luminescence of lanthanide-doped microcrystals withcontrollable size and morphology (i.e., microrods, microtubes, and microdisks) as well astunable absorption and emission wavelengths. Specifically, we aim to manipulate light-matterinteractions by taking advantage of morphological effect of the crystals and toachieve active waveguiding at tunable wavelengths by single wavelength excitation.Possible lasing actions in the microstructures will also be explored. Once refined, weenvisage that our study will significantly expand the scope of applications forlanthanide-based luminescent materials and open up new opportunities in diverse fieldssuch as biology and optical communication.