Two-photon, three-photon, and four-photon excellent near-infrared quantum cutting luminescence of Tm3+ ion activator emerged in Tm3+:YNbO4 powder phosphor one material simultaneously

In present study, two-photon, three-photon, and four photon near-infrared quantum cutting luminescence of Tm3+ ion activator in YNbO4 powder phosphor is reported. The visible to near-infrared excitation and emission spectra and fluorescence lifetimes of Tm0.038Y0.962NbO4 powder phosphor are measured. Tm0.038Y0.962NbO4 is found to possess intense two-photon, strong three-photon, and moderate four-photon quantum cutting 1820 nm 3F4→3H6 luminescence of the Tm3+ ion simultaneously. The up-limit of the two-, three-, and four-photon near-infrared quantum cutting efficiency are found to be approximately 166%, 198%, and 192%, respectively. These results are expected to be valuable in aiding the probing of new generation environmentally friendly germanium Ge solar cells, currently a popular condensed matter physical topic globally.