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Title: Peculiarities of the Ho3+ Yb3+ energy transfer in CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb
Article Type: Research Paper
Section/Category: Rare earth/transition metal spectroscopy
Keywords: CaSc2O4; Ho3+; Yb3+; energy transfer; downconversion.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Octavian Toma, Ph.D.
Corresponding Author's Institution: National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics
First Author: Serban Georgescu, PhD
Order of Authors: Serban Georgescu, PhD; Angela Stefan; Ana-Maria Voiculescu, PhD; Octavian Toma,
Ph.D.; Cristina Matei; Ruxandra Birjega, PhD
Abstract: The effect of the energy transfer processes between Ho3+ and Yb3+ in CaSc2O4 on the
emission properties in visible and IR of Ho3+ and Yb3+ is studied. The decays of the Ho3+ levels (5S2,
5F4) and 5I6 for various Yb3+ concentrations are measured. It is shown that the total number of
photons emitted by Ho3+ and Yb3+ in the wavelength domain 500 - 1600 nm is augmented by the
presence of Yb3+. A 30% increase of the quantum efficiency of CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb, due to the presence of
Yb3+, is estimated.

Cover Letter

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am sending you the manuscript of the paper Peculiarities of the Ho3+ Yb3+
energy transfer in CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb3+ (authors are Serban Georgescu1, Angela Stefan1,2, AnaMaria Voiculescu1, Octavian Toma1, Cristina Matei1,2, Ruxandra Birjega1, affiliated at the
National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125,
Magurele-Ilfov, Romania (1) and University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, 405
Atomistilor Street, 077125, Magurele-Ilfov, Romania (2)), to be considered for publication in
Journal of Luminescence. The manuscript is written in MS Word 2003. Figures are sent
separately.
Best regards,
Octavian Toma.

*Highlights (for review)

Highlights
1. The effect of energy transfer on the emission properties of CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb is studied.
2. The lifetimes of Ho3+ levels (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6 vs. Yb3+ concentration are obtained.
3. The presence of Yb3+ increases the CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb quantum efficiency with ~30%.

*Abstract

Abstract. The effect of the energy transfer processes between Ho3+ and Yb3+ in CaSc2O4 on
the emission properties in visible and IR of Ho3+ and Yb3+ is studied. The decays of the Ho3+
levels (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6 for various Yb3+ concentrations are measured. It is shown that the total
number of photons emitted by Ho3+ and Yb3+ in the wavelength domain 500 1600 nm is
augmented by the presence of Yb3+. A 30% increase of the quantum efficiency of
CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb, due to the presence of Yb3+, is estimated.

*Manuscript
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Peculiarities of the Ho3+ Yb3+ energy transfer in CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb

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Serban Georgescu a, Angela Stefan

a,b

, Ana-Maria Voiculescu a, Octavian Toma

a,

, Cristina Matei

a,b

, Ruxandra

Birjega a
a

National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Mgurele-Ilfov,

Romania
b

University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, 405 Atomistilor Street, 077125 Mgurele-Ilfov, Romania

Abstract. The effect of the energy transfer processes between Ho3+ and Yb3+ in CaSc2O4 on the emission
properties in visible and IR of Ho3+ and Yb3+ is studied. The decays of the Ho3+ levels (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6 for
various Yb3+ concentrations are measured. It is shown that the total number of photons emitted by Ho 3+ and Yb3+
in the wavelength domain 500 1600 nm is augmented by the presence of Yb3+. A 30% increase of the quantum
efficiency of CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb, due to the presence of Yb3+, is estimated.
Keywords: CaSc2O4, Ho3+, Yb3+, energy transfer, downconversion.

1. Introduction
CaSc2O4 is a promising host for efficient upconversion/downconversion ([1] and references therein) due
to low energy phonons (540 cm-1 [2]), short distances between positions that can be occupied by the dopants and
high solubility of ytterbium ions. Efficient visible upconversion luminescence was obtained in CaSc2O4 codoped
with Er3+ and Yb3+ [3], Tm3+ and Yb3+ [1], and with Ho3+ and Yb3+ [4]. Recently, cooperative down-conversion
and near infrared luminescence was obtained in CaSc2O4 doped with Tm3+ and Yb3+ [5].
CaSc2O4 has the CaFe2O4 structure, space group Pnam (D2h16) [6]. Sc3+ ions occupy two octahedral
positions while Ca2+ ions occupy an eight fold coordinated position [6]. The Yb3+ ions (ionic radius 0.868 )
substitute isovalently the Sc3+ ions (ionic radius 0.75 ) [6]. Ions with larger ionic radius like Eu3+ (1.07 )
substitute Ca2+ (1.12 ) [7]. According to Ref. [2], both Yb3+ and Tm3+ substitute Sc3+. Ho3+, though it has an
ionic radius 0.901 in six fold coordination [8], is also considered to replace Sc3+ in CaSc2O4 [5]. The unit cell
parameters are a = 9.461 , b = 11.122 , and c = 3.143 [6]. The two octahedral Sc3+ positions differ by the
scandium oxygen distances: 2.1195 and 2.1171 for the mean Sc 3+ - O2- distance [6]. These distances are
shorter than the mean Sc3+ - O2- distance in Sc2O3, C2 symmetry site (2.121 [9]).
In this paper, we investigate the Ho3+ Yb3+ energy transfer processes at various Yb3+ concentrations
(up to 10 at.%) in CaSc2O4:Ho(1 at.%):Yb and the effect of the presence of Yb3+ on the total number of photons
(visible and infrared) emitted. In the first part, are analyzed the effects of the various Ho3+ Yb3+ energy
transfer processes on the kinetics of the Ho3+ metastable levels (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6. In the second part, the effects of
the energy transfer processes on the luminescence spectra are analyzed and the dependence of the total number
of emitted photons vs. Yb3+ concentration is estimated. The effect of the ytterbium codoping on the quantum
efficiency of the CaSc2O4:Yb:Ho system is also studied.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +40 214574550.

E-mail address: octavian.toma@inflpr.ro (O.Toma).

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2. Experimental
The CaSc2O4 ceramic samples doped with holmium (1 at.%) and ytterbium (atomic concentrations 0%,
1%, 2%, 3%, 5%, 8% and 10%) were synthesized by solid-state reaction. High purity CaCO3 and Sc2O3 powders
were mixed in an agate mortar, pressed with a hydraulic press at 10 MPa and then annealed in air at 1500C for 4
h. Before weighting the powders, attention was paid to remove the moisture from CaCO 3. As a result of the
thermal treatment, a solid, ceramic sample was obtained. The sample was cut and washed in an ultrasonic bath to
remove the abrasive particles. The X-ray diffraction was measured with the PANalytical XPert PRO MPD
difractometer (Cu, K). The luminescence of the samples was excited in blue (at 488 nm), with the Argon laser
(Melles Griot, 35LAP431-230). The experimental set-up for luminescence measurements in UV-vis domain
contains a Horiba Jobin-Yvon monochromator (model 1000MP), an S-20 photomultiplier and the SR830 lock-in
amplifier on line with a computer. For IR luminescence, the Horiba Jobin-Yvon monochromator was replaced by
a 1 m Jarrell Ash monochromator and a thermoelectrically cooled InGaAs pin photodiode (Hamamatsu G585123) was used. The fact that the CaSc2O4 pellets were not opaque enabled us to measure the absorption spectra.
For decay measurements, the luminescence was excited in green, with the second harmonics of a pulsed
Nd:YAG laser and analyzed with the Tektronix 2024B oscilloscope. For the decay of the 5I6 level (at ~1200 nm)
a germanium detector (Judson J16D) was used. The absorption and emission spectra of Yb3+ were measured in a
diluted (KBr dilution technique) CaSc2O4:Yb(5 at.%) sample. The Yb3+ luminescence was excited at 900 nm
with an OPO (Quantel Rainbow NIRD). All the measurements were performed at room temperature.

3. Results and discussion

The existence of CaSc2O4 (card PDF-00-020-0234) phase was confirmed by XRD measurements for all
the samples used in this study; no extra phases were observed. As an illustration, in Fig. 1 is shown the XRD
pattern of a sample doped with 1 at.% Holmium and 5 at.%Ytterbium. In weighting the materials entering in
CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb, we supposed Ho3+ to enter isovalently in Sc3+ position. The absence of extra phases confirms
the presence of Ho3+ ions in Sc3+ positions.
The absorption spectra of Ho3+ in CaSc2O4:Ho(1%) in the UV-vis (350 700 nm) and IR (700 1300
nm) domains, are given in Figs. 2 and 3. The luminescence spectra, excited with the Argon laser (at 488 nm,
absorption transition 5I8 5F3), for three Yb3+ concentrations (0 at.%, 5 at.%, and 10 at.%) are given in Fig. 4.
As the result of the energy transfer processes involving Yb 3+, the intensity of the emission lines originating in 5S2,
5

F4 (at 550 nm, 760 nm, 1020 nm, and 1400 nm) diminish while the intensity of the 5I6 5I8 emission line (at. ~

1200 nm) increases. Due to the experimental limitations (the sensitivity domain of the InGaAs detector is limited
to ~ 1600 nm), we cannot observe the 5I7 5I8 transition (at ~ 2000 nm). We note that since Ho3+ states are
characterized by integer J while Yb3+ states by half integer values, the spectroscopic notations for Ho 3+ and
Yb3+ cannot be confused.
The energy transfer process ET1 (5S2, 5F4; 2F7/2) (5I6; 2F5/2) (see the energy level scheme in Fig. 5) is
very efficient being resonant (i. e. there is a non-vanishing overlap between the corresponding absorption and
emission spectra), as shown in Fig. 6. As the result of ET1, one excitation in 5S2, 5F4 is replaced by two
excitations: one in 5I6 (Ho3+) and one in 2F5/2 (Yb3+). If both 5I6 and 2F5/2 would decay radiatively, we could
obtain supraunitary quantum efficiency. In fact, as we shall see below, the problem is more complex due to other

energy transfer processes as ET3 (5I8; 2F5/2) (5I6; 2F7/2) and ET2 (5I6; 2F7/2) (5I8; 2F5/2). The process ET3 is

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quasi-resonant (see Fig. 7) which can explain the high upconversion efficiency of CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb system [4].
A comparison of the Ho3+ 5I6 5I8 emission spectrum (Fig. 4) and the 2F7/2 2F5/2 absorption spectrum of Yb3+
(Fig. 6) shows that the energy transfer process ET2 is not resonant.
The Yb3+ and Ho3+ ions substitute Sc3+ in CaSc2O4. Due to the reduced Sc3+ - O2- distances, the crystal
field strength is large [10, 11], leading to a large splitting of both Yb3+ and Ho3+ energy levels, which can lead to
overlap between emission and absorption spectra. In fact, the largest splitting is obtained when the rare earth ions
substitute Sc3+ in oxides [10, 11].
For decay measurements, excitation of the luminescence of (5S2, 5F4) at 532 nm (i. e., in the emitting level,
but at a different wavelength) eliminates the influence of the kinetics of the other levels. The same pump
conditions were used for measuring the 5I6 level kinetics. Pumping in (5S2, 5F4) results in a relatively short
risetime in the 5I6 decay.
Due to the cross-relaxation process (5S2, 5F4; 5I8) (5I4; 5I7) (denoted by CR, in Fig. 5), inside the Ho3+
system, and to the Ho3+ Yb3+ energy transfer processes ET1, ET2, and ET3, the kinetics of the luminescence
of (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6 is not exponential. The efficiency lifetime of (5S2, 5F4) is calculated as

S , F I 10 I t dt

eff

(1)

Eq. (1) can be applied directly for (5S2, 5F4) kinetics since the pump conditions preclude the existence of a
risetime. On the other hand, due to the presence of the risetime in the kinetics of 5I6 level, the decay (descending
part) will be approximated with a sum of exponentials I t Ai exp t / i and the efficiency lifetime is
i

calculated with

eff

I A / A
5

i i

(2)

In the absence of Yb3+, after the pumping, the Ho3+ levels (5S2, 5F4) can lose the excitation inside the Ho3+
system, radiatively, by multiphonon transitions to 5F5, and by cross-relaxation processes (CR in Fig. 5). In the
presence of Yb3+, the resonant energy transfer process ET1 contributes to the decay acceleration. The energy
transfer process ET2 accelerates the decay of the 5I6 level. The values of the efficiency lifetimes for (5S2, 5F4) and
5

I6 levels are given in Table 1.

Efficient cooperative down-conversion was observed in CaSc2O4:Tm:Yb [5]. In order to see if it is also

possible in CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb (see the gray part of Fig. 5), we simulated the absorption spectrum of a pair of Yb 3+
using the convolution integral [12].

f 2Yb E Yb Yb E d

(3)

where Yb is the absorption spectrum of Yb3+ normalized to unit area.

The absorption spectrum f 2Yb E is not resonant with the strong (5S2, 5F4) 5I8 emission line but with
the weak line 5F3 5I8 (Fig. 8). By pumping in (5S2, 5F4), the level 5F3 is not populated by thermalization
because the gap between (5S2, 5F4) and 5F3 (~1500 cm-1) is approximately 7 kBT. It results that cooperative downconversion does not contribute to the decay of Ho3+ level (5S2, 5F4) in CaSc2O4.

A different situation is present in CaSc2O4:Tm:Yb [1, 5]. In this case, the absorption spectrum of a pair of

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Yb3+ ions is resonant with the strong blue 1G4 3H6 emission line and there is no resonant energy transfer
process Tm3+ Yb3+. The final effect of the down-conversion in CaSc2O4:Tm:Yb to convert efficiently the
visible (466 nm) radiation in IR (~ 1000 nm) was verified by measuring the intensity of ~ 1000 nm emission
function of ytterbium concentration [5]. Though the maximum theoretical quantum efficiency was obtained for
30% Yb3+ concentration, the highest intensity of ~ 1000 nm emission was obtained for only 5% Yb3+
concentration, where the quantum efficiency was approximately 112% (> 100%). For higher Yb3+ concentrations,
the 1000 nm emission intensity (of Yb 3+, 2F5/2 2F7/2) decreases, due to, as authors explained, concentration
quenching.
In our case, pumping at 488 nm takes place in 5F3 (Ho3+) level which decays rapidly to (5S2, 5F4) due to a
relatively narrow gap of ~ 1500 cm-1 that can be easily bridged by three 540 cm-1 host phonons and the
population of 5F3 is very low. As we discussed, the energy transfer process ET1 replaces one excitation from (5S2,
5

F4) with two excitations: one in

I6 and one in

F5/2. In order to verify the real efficiency of

CaSc2O4:Ho(1%):Yb(x%) in the conversion of visible (488 nm) radiation to IR radiation, we measured the
intensity of the luminescence spectra of 5I6 5I8. For global efficiency, we measured the spectra in the 500
1600 nm domain for various Yb3+ concentrations. This domain corresponds to Yb3+ transition 2F5/2 2F7/2 and
Ho3+ transitions (5S2, 5F4) 5IJ (J = 8, 7, 6, and 5) and 5I6 5I8 (Fig. 4).
Because the luminescence intensity of the CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb samples depends also on the surface quality of
the ceramic samples, a calibration of the intensity of the luminescence spectra is necessary. Ideally, a
luminescence band uninfluenced by the energy transfer processes among Ho3+ and Yb3+ would be necessary. An
inspection of the luminescence spectrum under pumping at 488 nm shows that such luminescence band with
enough intensity, close to the interest domain, cannot be found. In absence of such a transition, we could use for
calibration a luminescence band whose behavior with various Yb 3+ concentrations could be determined. In this
aim, we write a rate equation for the Ho3+ energy level (5S2, 5F4) with population N. The ground levels
populations are N0 (Ho3+) and n0 (Yb3+). For our experimental conditions, N0 = Nt and n0 = nt (total populations).

dN
N

Rp N0
dt
Teff
where

1
1
WCR N t WET 1nt and R p is the pump rate.
Teff T
In stationary regime,

N R pTeff N t

(4)

i.e. the stationary population N of (5S2, 5F4) is proportional to its effective lifetime, were Teff is given by the
contribution of radiative, multiphonon, and cross-relaxation inside the Ho3+ system and by energy transfer to
Yb3+. We will consider

Teff eff

S,F
5

(5)

i.e. the efficiency lifetime of (5S2, 5F4) measured in decay experiments.

A luminescence transition originating on (5S2, 5F4) can thus be calibrated assuming that R p N t is
constant; the transition we chose is (5S2, 5F4) 5I7 (at ~760 nm), because it is intense and does not interfere with

other transitions. For the calibration of the luminescence spectra, we used the following procedure: first, the

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whole spectrum (500 1600 nm) was divided to the area of transition (5S2, 5F4) 5I7, so that this transition is
normalized to unit area; then, the whole spectrum was multiplied by the efficiency lifetime of ( 5S2, 5F4). This
procedure was used for each ytterbium concentration.
In Fig. 9 we show the integral areas of various luminescence transitions function of Yb 3+ concentration,
calibrated with the procedure described above. Due to the energy transfer process ET1, the intensity of the
transitions (5S2, 5F4) 5IJ decreases for increasing Yb3+ concentrations. Due to the presence of Yb3+, the
luminescence band in the domain 950 1050 nm (a superposition of Ho3+ transition (5S2, 5F4) 5I6 and Yb3+
transition 2F5/2 2F7/2) increases for low Yb3+ concentrations and then decreases. An inspection of Fig. 4 shows
that the intensity of the Yb3+ emission is reduced for high Yb3+ concentrations due to the strong (quasi-resonant)
energy transfer process ET3. The intensity of 5I6 5I8 transition increases with Yb3+ concentration.
The luminescence spectra measured in the wavelength domain 500 1600 nm allow the estimation of the
evolution of the number of photons emitted for various Yb 3+ concentrations.
The luminescence intensity emitted on the transition i f in a solid angle given by the actual
experimental configuration is

I i , f hc / Arad i, f

(6)

where hc / is the photon energy and Arad i, f is the radiative emission probability. In our luminescence
experiments, I is measured. To express the luminescence spectra in number of emitted photons per second,
we divide I to the photon energy. Therefore, we will evaluate the integrals

I d

on the whole

spectrum (500 1600 nm), function of Yb3+ concentration. We note that, due to experimental limitations, the
number of photons generated on the 5I7 5I8 transition (at ~ 2 m) is not included. To the generation of 2 m
photons contribute the cross-relaxation CR, the transition 5S2, 5F4 5I7 and the multiphonon transitions from 5I6.
We expect that the multiphonon transition 5I6 5I7 is not important because the energy gap between 5I6 5I7
should be rather large (~ 3200 cm-1 in Sc2O3 [13]) i.e. approximately six 540 cm-1 phonons. (In absence of data
concerning the position of Ho3+ level 5I7 in CaSc2O4, we considered the position of this level in Sc2O3, where
Ho3+ substitutes Sc3+). Both remaining contributions, the cross-relaxation CR and the transition (5S2, 5F4) 5I7
depend on the population of 5S2, 5F4. Therefore, we expect the population of 5I7 level to decrease with Yb3+

concentration, following the concentration dependence of Teff eff

S , F .
5

From Fig. 10 we see that, even if the number of photons generated on the 5I7 5I8 transition is not
included, the number of photons with wavelengths between 500 and 1600 nm increases when the Yb3+
concentration increases up to 7-8%. Fig. 10 shows that for pumping at 488 nm (or directly in (5S2, 5F4)) the
presence of Yb3+ increases the total number of photons by the strong increase of the number of the 1200 nm
photons (see Fig. 9). The Yb3+ emission has only a weak contribution. As a result of the various processes taking
place in CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb, the total number of photons (emitted in the wavelength domain 500 1600 nm)
increases with approximately 30% for 7-8% Yb3+ concentration.
In the presence of Yb3+, the rate of increasing of the number of photons emitted on the transition 5I6 5I8
is larger than the rate of decreasing of the number of photons emitted from (5S2, 5F4). The energy transfer process

ET1 replaces an excitation on (5S2, 5F4) with one excitation on 2F5/2 and one on 5I6. As the result of the energy

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transfer process ET2 (non resonant) and ET3 (quasi resonant) there is a significant probability for transfer of
excitations from Yb3+ level 2F5/2 to the Ho3+ level 5I6. This explains why the major contribution to the increase of
the total photon number is given by the Ho3+ transition 5I6 5I8.
We can define the quantum efficiency of the CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb system as the ratio between the number of
photons emitted in the spectral range 500 1600 nm and the number of absorbed pump photons. As the pump
conditions are maintained unchanged, i. e. the number of absorbed pump photons does not depend on Yb 3+
concentration, the increase of the total number of emitted photons (maximum 30%) is equivalent with an
increase of the quantum efficiency with maximum 30%.

4. Conclusion
Ceramic pellets of CaSc2O4:Ho(1 at.%):Yb(x at.%) (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10) were synthesized by solid state
reaction. In their X-ray patterns, only the diffraction lines belonging to CaSc2O4 phase were observed.
The decays of (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6 levels were measured and the efficiency lifetimes were calculated.
Three energy transfer processes between Ho3+ and Yb3+ were considered: ET1 (5S2, 5F4; 2F7/2) (5I6;
2

F5/2), ET2 (5I6; 2F7/2) (5I8; 2F5/2), and ET3 (5I8; 2F5/2) (5I6; 2F7/2). The ET1 and ET2 processes accelerate the

decays of (5S2, 5F4) and 5I6, respectively.

Analyzing the energy level scheme of Ho3+ and Yb3+ and the simulation of the absorption spectrum of an
Yb3+ pair, we concluded that a cooperative down-conversion cannot contribute significantly to the IR radiation in
CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb system.
As a result of the energy transfer process ET1, one excitation from ( 5S2, 5F4) is replaced by one excitation
on Yb3+ level 2F5/2 and one excitation on Ho3+ 5I6. The analysis of the luminescence spectra measured in the
wavelength domain 500 1600 nm has shown that, as the result of ET2 and ET3 processes, a great part of the
excitations from 2F5/2 are transferred to 5I6.
The quantum efficiency of the CaSc2O4:Ho:Yb system (defined as the ratio between the number of
photons emitted in the spectral range 500 1600 nm and the number of absorbed pump photons) increases with
maximum 30% in presence of Yb3+. The main contribution of quantum efficiency increase is given by the Ho 3+
transition 5I6 5I8 (at ~ 1.2 m).

Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research,
Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), in the frame of the Projects IDEI 82/06.10.2011.

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Figure captions

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Fig. 1. XRD pattern of CaSc2O4: Ho(1%):Yb(5%). The diffraction lines correspond to PDF-00-020-0234 card.
Fig. 2. UV-vis absorption spectrum of Ho3+ in CaSc2O4:Ho(1%). The absorption transitions are identified.
Fig. 3. IR absorption spectrum of Ho3+ in CaSc2O4:Ho(1%).
Fig. 4. Luminescence spectrum of Ho3+ and Yb3+ in CaSc2O4:Ho(1%):Yb(x%) excited at 488 nm (transition 5F3
5I8). (a): x = 0; (b): x = 5, (c): x = 10.
Fig. 5. Energy level scheme of Ho3+ and Yb3+ in CaSc2O4. CR: cross-relaxation process (5S2, 5F4; 5I8) (5I4;
5

I7). ET1, ET2: energy transfer processes Ho 3+ Yb3+. ET3: energy transfer Yb3+ Ho3+. The Ho3+

levels (5S2, 5F4) are excited at 532 nm and 3F3 at 488 nm. Gray lines: hypothetical cooperative downconversion process (5F3; 2 2F7/2) (5I8, 2 2F5/2).
Fig. 6. Overlap between absorption of Yb3+ (2F7/2 2F5/2) and emission of Ho3+ (5S2, 5F4 5I6). Both spectra
have area = 1. This figure illustrates the resonant energy transfer from Ho 3+ to Yb3+: (5S2, 5F4; 2F7/2)
(5I6; 2F5/2).
Fig. 7. Emission spectrum of Yb3+ (2F5/2 2F7/2) and absorption spectrum of Ho3+ (5I8 5I6). Both spectra
have area = 1. This figure illustrates the quasi-resonant energy transfer from Yb3+ to Ho3+: (2F5/2; 5I8)
(2F7/2; 5I6).
Fig. 8. Dashed line: absorption spectrum of a pair of Yb 3+ (Eq. (8)) in CaSc2O4:Yb(5%); solid line: emission
spectrum of Ho3+ in CaSc2O4:Ho(1%). Areas of both spectra are normalized.
Fig. 9. Integral areas of various luminescence transitions function of Yb 3+ concentration. Open squares: (5S2,
5

F4) 5I8; open circles: (5S2, 5F4) 5I7; open triangles: (5S2, 5F4) 5I7 + 2F5/2 2F7/2 (Yb3+); solid

diamonds: 5I6 5I8.

Fig. 10. Total number of photons emitted in 500 1600 wavelength domain function of Yb3+ concentration.
Symbols: experimental data; the solid line (a second rank polynomial fit) shows only the tendency of the
total number of photons.

Table caption

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Table 1. Efficiency lifetimes of CaSc2O4:Ho(1 at.%):Yb(x at.%) for various x.

Table

Yb3+ concentration
(at.%)

S , F (s)
I (s)

eff

eff

10

51.6

51.2

46.0

37.6

25.3

13.2

8.5

694

642

603

564

500

439

413

Figure 1
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Figure 7
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Figure 8
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Figure 9
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Figure 10
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