A simple, compact, low-cost, highly efficient thermometer based on green fluorescence of Er3+/Yb3+-codoped NaYF4 microcrystals.

We developed a highly efficient optical thermometer based on intensity ratio of upconversion green fluorescence of Er3+/Yb3+-codoped NaYF4 microcrystals. The sensor consists simply of a 980nm laser diode, one narrow-band interference filter, two lenses, one Si-photocell and one multimeter, while being without use of spectrometer and additional electronics. The device not only has a simple, compact structure (hence a low cost), but also displays highly efficient sensing performance, characterized by large signal-to-noise ratio due to strong fluorescence intensity, high thermal resolution and sensitivity, which have the values 1.3K and 1.24×10-2K-1, respectively, at the physiological temperature 310K. The excellent sensing performance of the device was further confirmed by the results of the measurements repeated using a spectrometer. The thermometer is highly generalized that can be applied to other luminescent materials, and shows great potential for the physiological temperature sensing in biological tissues and cells.

Optical damage resistant Ti-diffused Zr/Er-codoped lithium niobate strip waveguide for high-power 980 nm pumping.

Ti4+-diffused Zr4+/Er3+-codoped LiNbO3 strip waveguide was fabricated on an X-cut LiNbO3 substrate by thermal diffusion in sequence of Er3+, Zr4+ and Ti4+. Secondary ion mass spectrometry study shows that the Ti4+ ions follow a sum of two error functions in the width direction and a Gauss function in the depth direction of the waveguide. Both Er3+ and Zr4+ profiles follow the desired Gauss function, and entirely cover the Ti4+ profile. Optical study shows that the waveguide is TE or TM single mode at 1.5 µm wavelength, and has a loss of 0.3 (0.5) dB/cm for the TM (TE) mode. In the case of 980 nm pumping, the waveguide shows stable 1547 nm signal output under high-power pumping without optical damage observed, and a net gain of 1.1 dB/cm is obtained for the available pump power of 120 mW.

Note: Electro-optic coefficients of Li-deficient MgO-doped LiNbO3 crystal.

A number of Li-deficient MgO-doped LiNbO3 (LN) crystals with different Li2O contents ranging from 43.4 mol. % to 44.5 mol. % were prepared by carrying out the Li-poor vapor transport equilibration treatment on 5 mol. % (in growth melt) MgO-doped LN crystals. Unclamped electro-optic (EO) coefficients γ13 and γ33 of these crystals were measured by Mach-Zehnder interferometry. The results show that γ13 (γ33) increases linearly by ∼14% (11%) as the Li2O content decreases from 44.5 mol. % of the as-grown state to 43.4 mol. % of the Li-deficient state. This feature is desired for the EO application of the Li-deficient MgO:LN crystal.

Polarization-insensitive, shallow Ti-diffused near-stoichiometric LiTaO3 strip waveguide for integrated optics.

We report on a Ti-diffused near-stoichiometric (NS) LiTaO3 strip waveguide fabricated by diffusion of an 8 µm wide, 160 nm thick Ti-strip followed by Li-rich vapor transport equilibration. It is found that the waveguide surface caves in ∼60 nm below the crystal surface. X-ray single-crystal diffraction shows that the indentation is due to Ti-induced lattice contraction. Optical studies show that the waveguide is in an NS composition environment, supports TE and TM single-mode propagation at 1.5 µm wavelength, is polarization insensitive, and has a shallow mode field profile and a loss of 0.2/0.3 dB/cm for the TE/TM mode. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis shows that the Ti profile follows a sum of two error functions in the width direction and a Gaussian function in the depth direction of the waveguide. With the optimized fabrication condition, the waveguide is promising for developing an optical-damage-resistant device that requires a shallow mode field profile.

Near-stoichiometric Ti-diffused LiNbO(3) strip waveguide doped with Zr(4+).

We report a near-stoichiometric Ti:Zr:LiNbO(3) strip waveguide fabricated from a congruent substrate with a technological process in the following sequence: Zr4+-diffusion-doping, diffusion of 8-µm-wide, 100-nm-thick Ti strips, and post-Li-rich vapor transport equilibration. We show that Zr(4+)-doping has little effect on the LiNbO(3) refractive index, and the waveguide is in a near-stoichiometric environment. The waveguide well supports both the TE and TM modes, shows weak polarization dependence, is in single mode at the 1.5 µm wavelength, and has a loss of ≤0.6/0.8 dB/cm for the TE/TM modes. A secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis shows that the Zr(4+)-profile part with a concentration above the threshold of photorefractive damage entirely covers the waveguide, implying that the waveguide would be optical-damage resistant.

Electro-optically tunable super-broadband filter based on long period grating in Ti:LiNbO3 waveguide.

We report an electro-optically tunable optical filter based on a parallel structure of two long period gratings in the two same Ti:LiNbO3 strip waveguides: one 675-µm-pitch grating in one waveguide and another 880-µm-pitch grating in the other waveguide. The stop-band is observed in the 1.1-1.3 (1.4-1.6) µm spectral region for the grating pitch 675 (880) µm. Its contrast increases linearly to ∼30 dB as the voltage is increased to 300 V, and the linearity is similar for the two cases of 675 and 880 µm pitches. Higher than 300 V, the contrast decreases due to photorefractive (PR) effect and/or over-coupling. Accompanying the contrast modulation, the resonant wavelength is simultaneously linearly tuned by making use of the PR effect. For the 675 (880) µm pitch, the tuning range is 160 (200) nm for the 400 (300) V voltage change range. With the two gratings, one can realize >360 nm super-broadband filtering.

Diffusion control of an ion by another in LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals.

Diffusion-doping is an effective, practical method to improve material properties and widen material application. Here, we demonstrate a new physical phenomenon: diffusion control of an ion by another in LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals. We exemplify Ti(4+)/X(n+) (X(n+) = Sc(3+), Zr(4+), Er(3+)) co-diffusion in the widely studied LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals. Some Ti(4+)/X(n+)-co-doped LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 plates were prepared by co-diffusion of stacked Ti-metal and Er-metal (Sc2O3 or ZrO2) films coated onto LiNbO3 or LiTaO3 substrates. The Ti(4+)/X(n+)-co-diffusion characteristics were studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry. In the X(n+)-only diffusion case, the X(n+) diffuses considerably slower than the Ti(4+). In the Ti(4+)/X(n+) co-diffusion case, the faster Ti(4+) controls the diffusion of the slower X(n+). The X(n+) diffusivity increases linearly with the initial Ti-metal thickness and the increase depends on the X(n+) species. The phenomenon is ascribed to the generation of additional defects induced by the diffusion of faster Ti(4+) ions, which favors and assists the subsequent diffusion of slower X(n+) ion. For the diffusion system studied here, it can be utilized to substantially shorten device fabrication period, improve device performance and produce new materials.

Appropriate solvent NaVO3 for composition analysis of LiNbO3 crystal using chemical method.

It is crucial to find an appropriate solvent for composition analysis of LiNbO(3) crystal by a chemical method, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. We have comparatively studied several solvents for LiNbO(3) crystal, including HF acid, KHSO(4), B(2)O(3), LiBO(2), and NaVO(3). The results show that as the NaVO(3) is used as the solvent, the solubility of LiNbO(3) is as high as 1 g/g at 1000 °C. The dissolving is quite fast. Neither solute nor solvent is lost from the melting during the dissolving procedure. A clear high-concentration solution is obtained. Moreover, it is verified experimentally that such a solution is valid for composition analysis of LiNbO(3) crystal by a chemical method. In contrast, the other solvents suffer from one problem or another. We conclude that NaVO(3) is an appropriate solvent for chemical analysis of LiNbO(3).