Upconversion luminescence enhancement of NaGdF4:Er3+/Yb3+/Al3+ nanorods through tuning Al2O3 layer in a hybrid photonic-plasmonic-dielectric structure

• Published in: Optical materials Vol. 137; p. 113590
• Main Authors: Zhou, Haifang, Zou, Jiaxin, Weng, Xuehua, Lai, Yunfeng, Yu, Jinling
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Dielectric confinement; Energy transfer; Local field enhancement; PCs/Ag/Al2O3/UC hybrid; Upconversion enhancement; PCs/Ag/Al2O3/UC hybrid; Local field enhancement; Dielectric confinement; Upconversion enhancement; Energy transfer
• ISSN: 0925-3467; 1873-1252
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2023.113590

Surface plasmon resonance and photonic crystals (PCs) effect are effective methods for improving upconversion luminescence (UCL) for upconversion nanoparticles. In this work, PCs/Ag/Al2O3/UC hybrid structure is presented to enhance UCL of NaGdF4:Er3+/Yb3+/Al3+ nanorods through tuning the thickness of the Al2O3 layer. The optical and luminescence properties were studied and compared with those of UC and PCs/Ag/UC hybrid, it is shown that the thickness of Al2O3 layer has a significant effect on fluorescence intensity, outstanding upconversion luminescence enhancement and the green-to-red intensity ratios have been achieved at 980 nm excitation. The maximum enhancement factors of the red and green emission were obtained for the sample with 10 nm Al2O3 layer, respectively. The mechanism of UCL enhancement for PCs/Ag/Al2O3/UC hybrid structure was discussed. •A hybrid structure is presented to improve the upconversion emission of NaGdF4:Er3+/Yb3+/Al3+ nanorods.•Combining dielectric confinement effect with coupling effect, the UCL and RG/R were obviously improved.•The mechanism of UCL enhancement is attributed to the increase of the emission rate and energy transfer rate.