2
12
J. Sun et al. / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 72 (2011) 207–213
ꢀ
of bound OH groups that can effectively bridge the energetic
gaps between different levels, which results in the enhanced
population of the red emitting level [17–20]. On the other hand,
as the particles become smaller, there will be more number of
as the UC mechanism are presented in Fig. 8, the first photon of
2
infrared irradiation elevates an electron to
F5/2 and transfer the
3
+
4
4
energy to Er , then it can promote an electron from I15/2 to I11/2
4
4
3+
2
and from I11/2 to F7/2 by injecting another Yb ( F5/2) excitation.
3
+
3+
4
Er ions located at the submicrospheres surface, and therefore
there are more surface vibrational sites to support the red
emission than the green emission [18,21–22]. In addition, the
The electron of Er in the F7/2 state may decay nonradiatively to
slightly lower energy states and the transmissions of the electron
from these lower energy states to the ground state may result in
the UC fluorescence emissions. The emission bands at 520, 540
and 654 nm could be assigned to the transitions from the excited
3
+
3+
Er ꢀEr distance becomes small and the cross-relaxation (CR)
2
4
4
4
process ( H11/2+ I15/2- I9/2+ I13/2) occurs. As a result, the green
2
4
4
2
4
4
4
3+
band ( H11/2
,
S
3/2- I15/2) will start to be quenched easily with
states
H
11/2
,
S3/2 and
F9/2 to the ground state
I15/2 of Er
,
4
decreasing size, but the red band ( F9/2-4I15/2) will be quenched
harder [16].
respectively [24].
Furthermore Fig. 7 gives the pumping power dependent upcon-
3
+
3+
version spectra of BaYF
5
:Yb /Er
submicrospheres treated at
4. Conclusion
2
00 1C for 16 h, the UC emission intensities increased gradually
3
+
3+
with increase in pumping power. The relationship between pump
power and emission intensity can be approximately expressed as
follows: Ioutp(Iexc) [23], where n is the number of infrared photons
In conclusion, BaYF :Yb /Er submicrospheres have been
5
synthesized following a simple and facile approach. The temperature
and reaction time in these actions play an important role in
controlling the size distribution. Furthermore, the usage of fluoride
source NaBF is the crucial key in the formation of submicrosphere
morphology. Under the 980 nm excitation, the UC emission
n
absorbed for emitting a visible photon; n¼1.40, 1.71 and 1.38
2
4
4
4
4
for the H11/2, S3/2- I15/2 and F9/2- I15/2 emissions, respectively
4
2
(
inset of Fig. 7). This means that the population of the states H11/2
S
,
4
4
2
4
4
4
4
3/2 and F9/2 came from two-, two- and two-photon UC processes,
transitions for H1 ( S )– I
(green), and F9/2– I
15/2
(red) in
1/2
3+
3/2
15/2
3
+
3+
3+
respectively. The energy level diagrams of Er and Yb ions as well
the BaYF :Yb /Er submicrospheres came from two-, two- and
5
two-photon UC processes, respectively. The UC intensity influenced
3
+
by the size and surface, Yb concentration, pumping power has
been discussed.
4S3 - I
4
/2
15/2
n = 1.71
Acknowledgments
4
4
Power
F9/2- I
15/2
4
2
4
n = 1.38
n = 1.40
S
H
- I
3
/2 15/2
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (nos. 20976002 and 20876002), the Beijing
Natural Science Foundation (nos. 2091002 and 2082009) and
Funding Project for Academic Human Resources Development in
the Institution of Higher Learning Under the Jurisdiction of Beijing
Municipality.
4
- I
1
1/2 15/2
0
.2
0.3
0.4 0.5
2H11/2-4I15/2
2
Log(Powder Density(W/cm ))
4F9 - I
4
/2
15/2
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Yb3+
Er3+
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3
+
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Fig. 8. Schematic energy levels of Yb
and Er
ions in the as-prepared
2
3
+
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5
BaYF :Yb /Er submicrospheres.