Jenny Schneider,*,† Masaya Matsuoka,‡ Masato Takeuchi,‡ Jinlong Zhang, Yu Horiuchi,‡ Masakazu Anpo,‡ and Detlef W. Bahnemann*,† †Institut fur Technische Chemie, Leibniz Universitaẗ Hannover, Callinstrasse 3, D-30167 Hannover, Germany ‡Faculty of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai Osaka 599-8531, Japan Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Institute of Fine Chemicals, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China

Understanding TiO2 photocatalysis: mechanisms and materials.

A large amount of work world-wide has been directed towards obtaining an understanding of the fundamental characteristics of porous Si. Much progress has been made following the demonstration in 1990 that highly porous material could emit very efficient visible photoluminescence at room temperature. Since that time, all features of the structural, optical and electronic properties of the material have been subjected to in-depth scrutiny. It is the purpose of the present review to survey the work which has been carried out and to detail the level of understanding which has been attained. The key importance of crystalline Si nanostructures in determining the behaviour of porous Si is highlighted. The fabrication of solid-state electroluminescent devices is a prominent goal of many studies and the impressive progress in this area is described.

The structural and luminescence properties of porous silicon

Owing to the unique mechanism of photoelectron storage and release, long persistent phosphorescence, also called long persistent luminescence or long lasting afterglow/phosphorescence, plays a pivotal role in the areas of spectroscopy, photochemistry, photonics and materials science. In recent years, more research has focused on the manipulation of the morphology, operational wavebands and persistent duration of long persistent phosphors (LPPs). These desired achievements stimulated the growing interest in designing bio-labels, photocatalysts, optical sensors, detectors and photonic devices. In this review, we present multidisciplinary research on synthetic methods, afterglow mechanisms, characterization techniques, materials system, and applications of LPPs. First, we introduce the recent developments in LPPs for the synthesis of nanoparticles from the aspects of particle sizes, monodispersity and homogeneity based on the urgent application of bio-imaging. In the later sections, we present the possible mechanisms, which involve the variation of trap distribution during the trapping and de-trapping process, complicated photo-ionization reaction of trap site levels and impurity centers together with their corresponding migration kinetics of carriers. Meanwhile, we emphasize the characterization techniques of defects, used to qualitatively or quantitatively describe the types, concentrations and depths of the traps. This review article also highlights the recent advances in suggested LPPs materials with a focus on the LPPs' hosts and optically active centers as well as their control, tuning and intrinsic links. We further discuss the classification of LPPs based on the different emission and excitation wavebands from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared region along with an overview of the activation mode of afterglow. Afterwards, we provide an exhibition of new products towards diverse application fields, including solar energy utilization, bio-imaging, diagnosis, and photocatalysts. Finally, we summarize the current achievements, discuss the problems and provide suggestions for potential future directions in the aforementioned parts.

Long persistent phosphors—from fundamentals to applications

Recent developments in rare-earth doped materials for optoelectronics

Silicon photonics could enable a chip-scale platform for monolithic integration of optics and microelectronics for applications of optical interconnects in which high data streams are required in a small footprint. This paper discusses mechanisms in silicon photonics for waveguiding, modulating, light amplification, and emission. These mechanisms, together with recent advances of fabrication techniques, have enabled the demonstration of ultracompact passive and active silicon photonic components with very low loss.

Guiding, modulating, and emitting light on Silicon-challenges and opportunities

Sr3Al2O6, SrAl2O4, SrAl4O7, and SrAl12O19 that have been doped with Eu2+ and Dy3+ ions have been grown by a floating-zone technique for application as long-duration phosphors. Long-duration phosphorescence with a variety of colors has been observed in SrAl2O4, SrAl4O7, and SrAl12O19 crystals that have been doped with Eu2+ and Dy3+ ions. The peak wavelength of the phosphorescence is 520 nm for SrAl2O4, 480 nm for SrAl4O7, and 400 nm for SrAl12O19. The phosphorescence is characterized by decay times that have been analyzed by a curve-fitting technique.

Characteristics of strontium aluminate crystals used for long-duration phosphors

The local structure of an optically active center in erbium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Er) thin film produced by a laser ablation technique and its optical activation process are investigated by Er LIII-edge x-ray absorption fine structure analysis using a synchrotron radiation as an x-ray source. In as-ablated ZnO:Er thin film, Er has an approximately five-fold coordination of O surrounded by eight other O atoms as second-nearest neighbors. The high-order coordination of O decreases the Er-related photoluminescence (PL) intensity due to an undesirable crystal field for 4f radiation transition. After annealing in O2 ambient, the local structure of Er changes to a pseudo-octahedral structure with C4v symmetry, similar to the optically activated Er-doped Si (Si:Er), resulting in strong PL. The bond lengths of Er–O are evaluated, and differences in the optical activation processes between ZnO:Er and Si:Er thin films are discussed.

Local structure analysis of an optically active center in Er-doped ZnO thin film

Erbium-related 1.54 μm emission dynamics of Er-doped ZnO thin films has been investigated for the different excitation conditions. The excitation was achieved either by exciting indirectly Er3+ ions due to an electron–hole-mediated process or exciting directly discrete energy levels of Er3+ ions. There is no change in the 1.54 μm emission spectrum feature in spite of the different excitation conditions, whereas dramatic change can be seen in the rise time of 1.54 μm emission. The shorter rise time of 1.54 μm emission observed for indirect excitation implies an excitation efficiency superior to direct excitation of Er3+ ions.

1.54 μm emission dynamics of erbium-doped zinc-oxide thin films

Erbium-doped ZnO (ZnO:Er) thin films were fabricated by the KrF excimer laser ablation technique, which is a useful and simple technique to dope Er atoms on the order of 1020 cm−3 into a host material. As-prepared ZnO:Er films showing strong c-axis orientation with a hexagonal crystalline structure indicate a low electrical resistivity of 6.4×10−3 Ω cm. The sharp and intense photoluminescence (PL) at 1.54 μm originating from the intra-4f transition in the Er3+ ions as well as PL in UV region from the ZnO host were observed even at room temperature. Significant distinction arising from the different Er emission centers responsible for the 1.54 μm emission cannot be found in the temperature dependence between the ZnO:Er and Si:Er film as a reference, except for the PL spectrum feature and main PL peak position. This result suggests the existence of Er emission centers in ZnO:Er and Si:Er films that are different from each other. The details of Er-related 1.54 μm emission dynamics of ZnO:Er films have been i...

Highly erbium-doped zinc–oxide thin film prepared by laser ablation and its 1.54 μm emission dynamics

Er-doped nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) waveguides were fabricated on Si substrates and investigated by optical pumping. A stimulated emission at 1540 nm was demonstrated at room temperature. The sizes of the fabricated Er-doped nc-Si waveguides were 5000 nm×200 nm×L, where L is the cavity length and is changed from 1 to 10 mm. Superlinear optical outputs at 1540 nm were observed for the waveguides longer than 3 mm. The threshold of the optical output where the stimulated emission occurs is in the order of 10 MW/cm2, and is demonstrated to depend on the cavity length of the waveguides. A large reduction of decay lifetimes of the light output from a cleavage facet of the Er-doped nc-Si waveguides was observed when the pumping power density exceeded the thresholds indicating an increase of transition probabilities in intra-4f electrons in Er3+ ions caused by the stimulated emission. Better 1540 nm laser performance and lower pumping power density should be obtained by optimizing the device structure and increas...

Shuji Komuro

Papers

Characteristics of strontium aluminate crystals used for long-duration phosphors

Local structure analysis of an optically active center in Er-doped ZnO thin film

1.54 μm emission dynamics of erbium-doped zinc-oxide thin films

Highly erbium-doped zinc–oxide thin film prepared by laser ablation and its 1.54 μm emission dynamics

Fabrication and stimulated emission of er-doped nanocrystalline si waveguides formed on si substrates by laser ablation