TY - JOUR A1 - Saleta Reig, D. A1 - Grauel, Bettina A1 - Konyushkin, V. A. A1 - Nakladov, A. N. A1 - Federov, P. P. A1 - Busko, D. A1 - Howard, I. A. A1 - Richards, B. S. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Kuznetsov, S. V. A1 - Turshatov, A. A1 - Würth, Christian T1 - Upconversion properties of SrF2:Yb3+,Er3+ single N2 - Synthesis of new upconversion (UC) materials that can convert near-infrared excitation light into visible emission light with high efficiency has crucial importance for energy and bio-applications. Herein, SrF2 single crystals with a doping concentration of 2 mol% Er3+ and 2–8 mol% Yb3+ were synthesized and the optical properties were studied. The absorption cross-section of the different doping ions was calculated. To identify the most efficient and brightest material absolute excitation power dependent UC photoluminescence quantum yields (ϕUC) and brightness values were determined. In addition, excitation characteristics and luminescence lifetimes were analysed to understand the changes in population pathways and possible quenching mechanisms. A dominant two-photon population behaviour of the red and green emission bands was observed for all investigated doping concentrations of Yb3+ and Er3+. The ϕUC value of 6.5% measured using 230 W cm−2 of 976 nm excitation for SrF2 crystal co-doped with 2 mol% Er3+ and 3 mol% Yb3+. These findings broaden the scope of efficient UC materials apart from the record UC material β-NaYF4:Yb3+, Er3+ and provide benchmark values for cubic-phase and especially SrF2- nano and micrometer sized materials. KW - Luorescence KW - Upconversion KW - Crystal KW - Lanthanide KW - Quantum yield KW - Absolute KW - Lifetime KW - Er(III) KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence standard KW - SrF2 PY - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tc06591a VL - 8 IS - 12 SP - 4093 EP - 4101 PB - Journal of Materials Chemistry C AN - OPUS4-50825 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meijer, M. S. A1 - Rojas-Gutierrez, P. A. A1 - Busko, D. A1 - Howard, I. A. A1 - Frenzel, Florian A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Richards, B. S. A1 - Turshatov, A. A1 - Capobianco, J. A. A1 - Bonnet, S. T1 - Absolute upconversion quantum yields of blue-emitting LiYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ upconverting nanoparticles N2 - The upconversion quantum yield (QY) is an essential parameter for the characterization of the optical performance of lanthanoid-doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs). Despite its nonlinear dependence on excitation power density, it is typically reported only as a single number. Here, we present the first measurement of absolute upconversion quantum yields of the individual emission bands of blue light-emitting LiYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ UCNPs in toluene. Reporting the quantum yields for the individual emission bands is required for assessing the usability of UCNPs in various applications that require upconverted light of different wavelengths, such as bioimaging, photocatalysis and phototherapy. Here, the reliability of the QY measurements is demonstrated by studying the same batch of UCNPs in three different research groups. The results show that whereas the total upconversion quantum yield of these UCNPs is quite high - typically 0.02 at a power density of 5 W/cm2 — most of the upconverted photon flux is emitted in the 794 nm upconversion band, while the blue emission band at 480 nm is very weak, with a much lower quantum yield of 6 times 10^5 at 5 W/cm2. Overall, although the total upconversion quantum yield of LiYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ UCNPs seems satisfying, notably for NIR bioimaging, blue-light demanding phototherapy applications will require better-performing UCNPs with higher blue light upconversion quantum yields. KW - Core-shell nanoparticles KW - Lanthanide-doped nayf-4 KW - Near-infrared light KW - Upconverting nanoparticles KW - Photocatalytic activity KW - Nanocrystals KW - Photosensitizer PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp03935f VL - 20 IS - 35 SP - 22556 EP - 22562 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-46370 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -