Rare earth complex shows promise for lighting and quantum applications

August 8, 2022

In a report published in ACS Photonics, researchers report on a rare earth complex that shows promise as lighting sources and in quantum technology.

(Left) Optical cavity consists of parallel mirrors fabricated by depositing thin layers of Au onto quartz substrates. The bottom mirror is first coated with alumina, then a dense film of Eu(III) complexes. (Right) Back focal plane image of Eu molecules within the cavity coupled to parabolic photon modes.

Scientific Achievement

Rare earth complexes show promise as lighting sources and in quantum technologies but are limited by their long optical lifetimes leading to weak photoluminescence (PL). In this study, the PL of a triply ionized europium complex was significantly increased by resonance tuning in an optical cavity.

Significance and Impact

These findings indicate that rare-earth molecules combined with photonics are very promising candidates for lighting, optoelectronic, and quantum-related applications.

Research Details

An increase in the decay rate by two orders of magnitude along with an increase of 30 in PL intensity was achieved by tuning a Fabry−Pérot cavity into resonance with the rare earth complex emission.

Work was performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials.

DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00289

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