The preparation and study of fluorescence properties of Y2O3:Tb3+, Yb3+ doped with silver nanoparticles

In this work, metallic silver co-doped Y2O3:Tb3+, Yb3+ near-infrared quantum cutting material was synthesized through a conventional coprecipitation method. Its microstructure and optical properties were characterized, and the fluorescence enhancement of Tb3+, Yb3+ by silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was investigated. The highest fluorescence intensity is achieved with the Ag doping concentration of 0.10%, which can enhance the emission of Tb3+ by 88% in the visible region and Yb3+ by 47% in the near infrared region. The present results indicate that the fluorescence enhancement is attributed to the local field enhancement by Ag NPs which influence the energy transfer occurring between 5D4 of Tb3+ and 7F5 of Yb3+.