Low threshold lasing emissions from a single upconversion nanocrystal.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33262336.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-19797-4 and PMC identifier 7708641.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Cross-relaxation among neighboring emitters normally causes self-quenching and limits the brightness of luminescence. However, in nanomaterials, cross-relaxation could be well-controlled and employed for increasing the luminescence efficiency at specific wavelengths. Here we report that cross-relaxation can modulate both the brightness of single upconversion nanoparticles and the threshold to reach population inversion, and both are critical factors in producing the ultra-low threshold lasing emissions in a micro cavity laser. By homogenously coating a 5-μm cavity with a single layer of nanoparticles, we demonstrate that doping Tm<sup>3+</sup> ions at 2% can facilitate the electron accumulation at the intermediate state of <sup>3</sup>H<sub>4</sub> level and efficiently decrease the lasing threshold by more than one order of magnitude. As a result, we demonstrate up-converted lasing emissions with an ultralow threshold of continuous-wave excitation of ~150 W/cm<sup>2</sup> achieved at room temperature. A single nanoparticle can lase with a full width at half-maximum as narrow as ~0.45 nm.