Light manipulation in upconverting nano-glass-ceramics via Ce3+ doping

A strategy to manipulate lanthanide upconversion luminescence via Ce3+ doping was demonstrated in nano-structured glass ceramic. Specifically, transparent bulk glass ceramic containing orthorhombic YF3 nanocrystals was successfully prepared by a melt-quenching and subsequent crystallization procedure, and the lanthanide (Yb/Tm/Ho) activators were evidenced to incorporate into YF3 crystalline lattice, leading to significantly enhanced upconversion luminescence. Importantly, Ce3+ dopants played a key role in modifying Ho3+ red to green emission ratio but had no effect on Tm3+ blue emission, which was beneficial to producing color-tunable luminescence, including white light, in the glass ceramics.