Improved photoluminescence and multi-mode optical thermometry of Er3+/Yb3+co-doped (Ba,Sr)3Lu4O9 phosphors

Contactless optical thermometers have attracted extensive attentions for applications in scientific research and technological fields due to their apparent advantages. Herein, a novel sequence of Ba3-xSrxLu4O9 (B3-xSxLO): Er3+/Yb3+ phosphors were successfully prepared to investigate the temperature sensing property. By establishing energy transfer from Yb3+ to Er3+ and regulating the local lattice environment, up-conversion luminescence of Er3+ is dramatically improved when excited by 980 nm laser. This can effectively promote signal-noise ratio and reduce the errors in temperature detection. Furthermore, a multi-mode optical thermometry, which includes the fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) from two thermally coupled levels of 2H11/2/4S3/2, FIR based on non-thermally coupled system of 2H11/2/4F9/2 and fluorescence lifetime of 4S3/2 state of Er3+, was explored systematically. The fabricated samples exhibit the superior temperature measurement performances containing wide temperaturesensing range, superior signal discriminability, high sensitivity and favorable repeatability, indicative of the enormous utilization prospects of B3-xSxLO:Er3+/Yb3+ for thermometry.