On the efficient warm white-light emission from nano-sized Y2O3

We consider the reported emission of white light (WL) in the spectral range from 400 to beyond 900 nm induced by monochromatic infrared light (803.5 and 975 nm) continuous wave excitation of nominally un-doped yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nano-powders. Based on the experimental evidence, such an emission feature is a nano-scale phenomenon, resembles very closely the emission from an incandescent lamp (mimicking the sunlight, i.e., the most comfortable light to human eyes) and exhibits very high efficiency (864 lum/W) and nearly theoretical (i.e., 99) color rendering index. At the fundamental level, the origin of this phenomenon is still unexplained. In this paper we address the fundamental questions raised by the reported occurrence of WL emission from Y2O3 nanopowders and attempt an interpretation at a more fundamental level. In particular we focus on the multiphoton-absorption and nonexponential decay patterns of the reported WL emission as starting points to formulate models and interpretations of the experimental occurrences still lacking in the literature. Our discussion invokes the electronic dispersion of Y2O3 and nanoscale effects, which is supported by the experimental evidence according to which the observed warm WL emission is a nanoscale phenomenon with properties that only can be explained by nanoscale physics.