Ultraviolet C lasing at 263 nm from Ba2LaF7:Yb3+,Tm3+ upconversion nanocrystal microcavities.

It is a daunting challenge to realize ultraviolet C (UVC) lasing (i.e., has a wavelength range from 200 to 275 nm) from upconversion nanocrystals due to their low upconversion efficiency. Here, we fabricate Ba2LaF7:Yb3+(90mol%), Tm3+(5mol%) upconversion nanocrystals from amorphous borosilicate glass to support emission at ∼263nm under 980 nm ns laser excitation. The excitation threshold can be further reduced from ∼130 to ∼26.5mJ/cm2 by using a cylindrical microcavity. We also found that the growth of defect-free Ba2LaF7 nanocrystals with a high concentration of codoping Yb3+ and Tm3+ ions inside high optical damage threshold borosilicate glass is the key to achieving room-temperature UVC upconversion lasing under high-intensity excitation.