Investigation of Er3+, Yb3+, Nd3+ doped yttrium calcium oxyborate for photon upconversion applications

• Pure, Er:Yb, Er:Yb:Nd doped YCa4O(BO3)3 polycrystalline material was synthesized.
• Overlap of optical absorption bands of Er3+, Yb3+ and Nd3+ ions has been observed.
• PL intensity of Er:Yb:Nd doped sample is greater than pure and Er:Yb doped samples.
• YCa4O(BO3)3:Er:Yb:Nd show high upconversion efficiency than other two samples.
• There is coexistence of SHG and other upconversion processes in doped YCa4O(BO3)3.

In this work, investigation have been done on polycrystalline yttrium calcium oxyborate (YCa4O(BO3)3) for the realization of existence of second harmonic generation and other photon upconversion processes as concurrent effect with the aid of Er, Yb, Nd trivalent lanthanide ions. Pure, Er:Yb co-doped and Er:Yb:Nd triply-doped YCa4O(BO3)3 samples were prepared through solid state reaction and the phase identification has been done using powder X-ray diffraction spectral analysis. FTIR spectra show that the dopants increases the absorption of functional groups and modifies the lattice vibrational modes of YCa4O(BO3)3. The spectral overlap of optical absorption bands of Er3+, Yb3+, Nd3+ ions in 840 nm–1070 nm region indicates the prospect of energy transfer between these ions. The photoluminescence spectrum of Er:Yb:Nd triply doped sample show good enhancement compared to pure and Er:Yb co-doped YCa4O(BO3)3 samples. In the photon upconversion test carried out using 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser YCa4O(BO3)3:Er:Yb:Nd sample produced green light with efficiency higher than the other two samples. Surface morphology of the samples was recorded using field emission scanning electron microscope and analysed. The elemental composition of the samples has been confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectral analysis.

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