Yibo Han

The influence of high magnetic field on electric-dipole emission spectra of Eu3+ in different single crystals

In this work, the effect of pulsed high magnetic field on the integral intensity of the electric-dipole emission spectrum of Eu3+ in YVO4:Eu3+ and GdVO4:Eu3+ single crystals was studied and the results showed magnetic field induced luminescence suppression in YVO4:Eu3+ and luminescence expansion in GdVO4:Eu3+. The single crystals were prepared by the optical floating zone method. The strong effect of the magnetic field on the splitting and emission of 5D0–7F2 and 5D0–7F4 transitions in Eu3+ was investigated. The integral luminescence intensities of Eu3+ are proportional to the magnetic field at higher than 15 T. For GdVO4:Eu3+, the integral intensity increases with the strengthening of magnetic field, and is completely opposite to that for YVO4:Eu3+. In this study, the dependence of luminescence integral intensity on the magnetic field was proposed to be the result of the structural change induced by high magnetic field which changes the symmetry of Eu3+ ions in single crystals.

Optical nonlinearity of ZnO microcrystallite enhanced by interfacial state

A series of ZnO microcrystallite films deposited on quartz substrates were annealed at the temperature of 600~1050 masculineC. A well c-axis grown wurtzite ZnO film was obtained at the annealing temperature of 850 masculineC. For the samples annealed above this temperature, the empirical parameter E(0) increased calculated from transmittance spectra, which indicated the changes of the interface of ZnO microcrystallite. Measured by Z-scans, the nonlinear absorption coefficient beta(eff) increased from 1.2x10(2) cm/GW to 1.1x10(3) cm/GW when the annealing temperature rose from 950 masculineC to 1050 masculineC, mainly due to the interfacial state enhancement.

Effect of Ce3+ dopant ions on the shape and luminescence of YPO4:Eu3+ and YPO4:Tb3+ nanocrystals

Nanoparticles of YPO4:Eu3+, YPO4:Eu3+:Ce3+, YPO4:Tb3+, and YPO4:Ce3+:Tb3+ with different amount of Eu3+ or Tb3+ dopant ions were synthesized by a hydrothermal route. Particle structures and morphologies were investigated and it was found that the increase of Eu3+ or Tb3+ ions, and co-doping with Ce3+ ions resulted in a transition of the crystal structure from tetragonal to hexagonal phase. The phase transition and the morphology transformation should be ascribed to the change of the average radius of cation by doping Ce3+, or to the changing the amount of Eu3+ or Tb3+. The energy transfer from Ce3+ ions to Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions was tested by studying the photoluminescence lifetime of YPO4:Eu3+, YPO4:Eu3+:Ce3+, YPO4:Tb3+, and YPO4:Ce3+:Tb3+ nanoparticles, and their energy transfer results in the improvement of the luminescence intensity. A schematic diagram for the electronic transitions of the studied systems is presented.

Absence of Jahn−Teller transition in the hexagonal Ba3CuSb2O9 single crystal

Significance The quantum spin liquid state has been intensively pursued since Anderson proposed the resonating valence bond model. On the other hand, quantum liquids based on another electronic degree of freedom, orbital, has been believed unrealistic, because the energy scale of orbital correlation is normally one order of magnitude higher than spin exchange coupling, resulting in an orbital ordering at a signicantly high temperature accompanied by a cooperative Jahn−Teller (JT) distortion. In this paper, we present striking complete suppression of the JT transition in the copper oxide, 6H-Ba3 CuSb2O9 based on comprehensive structural studies, indicating the realization of the novel “spin–orbital liquid” state. With decreasing temperature, liquids generally freeze into a solid state, losing entropy in the process. However, exceptions to this trend exist, such as quantum liquids, which may remain unfrozen down to absolute zero owing to strong quantum entanglement effects that stabilize a disordered state with zero entropy. Examples of such liquids include Bose−Einstein condensation of cold atoms, superconductivity, quantum Hall state of electron systems, and quantum spin liquid state in the frustrated magnets. Moreover, recent studies have clarified the possibility of another exotic quantum liquid state based on the spin–orbital entanglement in FeSc2S4. To confirm this exotic ground state, experiments based on single-crystalline samples are essential. However, no such single-crystal study has been reported to date. Here, we report, to our knowledge, the first single-crystal study on the spin–orbital liquid candidate, 6H-Ba3CuSb2O9, and we have confirmed the absence of an orbital frozen state. In strongly correlated electron systems, orbital ordering usually appears at high temperatures in a process accompanied by a lattice deformation, called a static Jahn−Teller distortion. By combining synchrotron X-ray diffraction, electron spin resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and ultrasound measurements, we find that the static Jahn−Teller distortion is absent in the present material, which indicates that orbital ordering is suppressed down to the lowest temperatures measured. We discuss how such an unusual feature is realized with the help of spin degree of freedom, leading to a spin–orbital entangled quantum liquid state.

Magnetic field induced extraordinary photoluminescence enhancement in Er3+:YVO4 single crystal

A bright green photoluminescence (PL) from 4S3∕2 → 4I15∕2 emission band in Er3+:YVO4 single crystal has been observed with the excitation of an argon laser at 488.0 nm. More than two orders of PL enhancement have been obtained under the effect of magnetic fields, and the enhancement factor f reaches 170 when the applied magnetic field is 7.7 T under the sample temperature of 4.2 K. Unusually, the PL enhancements only happen at some certain magnetic fields (Bcs), and a decrease of sample temperature will lead to the increase of f and decrease of Bc. The results confirm that this PL enhancement originates from the resonance excitation of the electron transitions induced by the cross of the laser energy and the absorption energy modulated by both the magnetic field and temperature. This special PL enhancement in Er3+:YVO4 single crystal can be applied in the calibration of pulsed high magnetic field, detection of material fine energy structures, and modulation of magneto-optical devices.

Near-UV-enhanced broad-band large third-order optical nonlinearity in aluminum nanorod array film with sub-10 nm gaps

Plasmonic nanostructures with sub-10 nm gaps possess intense electric field enhancements, leading to their high reputation for exploring various functional applications at nanoscale. Till now, although large amounts of efforts have been devoted into investigation of such structures, few works were emphased on the nonlinear optical properties in near-ultraviolet (UV) region. Here, by combining sputtering technique and an optimized anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template growing method, we obtain aluminum (Al) nanorod array film (NRAF) with average rod diameter and gap size of 50 and 7 nm, respectively. The Al-NRAF exhibits large third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility (χ(3)) and high figure of merit (χ(3)/α) over a broad wavelength range from 360 to 900 nm, and reaches their maximums at the shortest measured wavelength. In addition, comparisons with Au-NRAF and Ag-NRAF samples further confirm that Al-NRAF has better nonlinear optical properties in the blue and near-UV wavelength regions. These results indicate that Al nanostructures are promising candidates for nonlinear plasmonic applications at blue and near-UV wavelengths.

Surface plasmon enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of silver nanocubes

We present the linear and nonlinear optical properties of Ag nanocubes. The surface plasmon resonance absorption peak shows a red shift with increasing cube size. The nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction were measured by using Z-scan technique. The Ag nanocubes with the edge size of 60 nm show the largest third-order optical nonlinearity, which is supported by the largest field enhancement factor through the FDTD simulations. In the wavelength range from 720 nm to 920 nm, the one-photon and two-photon figures of merit, W and T satisfy the demand of W > 1 and T < 1, which implies it is a promising candidate for the optical switching devices.

Origin of the Avalanche-Like Photoluminescence from Metallic Nanowires.

Surface plasmonic systems provide extremely efficient ways to modulate light-matter interaction in photon emission, light harvesting, energy conversion and transferring, etc. Various surface plasmon enhanced luminescent behaviors have been observed and investigated in these systems. But the origin of an avalanche-like photoluminescence, which was firstly reported in 2007 from Au and subsequently from Ag nanowire arrays/monomers, is still not clear. Here we show, based on systematic investigations including the excitation power/time related photoluminescent measurements as well as calculations, that this avalanche-like photoluminescence is in fact a result of surface plasmon assisted thermal radiation. Nearly all of the related observations could be perfectly interpreted with this concept. Our finding is crucial for understanding the surface plasmon mediated thermal and photoemission behaviors in plasmonic structures, which is of great importance in designing functional plasmonic devices.

UV-free red electroluminescence from the cross-connected p-ZnO:Cu nanobushes/n-GaN light emitting diode.

A p-ZnO:Cu/n-GaN heterojunction light emitting diode (LED) is fabricated by growing cross-connected p-ZnO:Cu nanobushes on n-GaN film using chemical vapor deposition under oxygen-rich condition. This LED emits stable UV-free red light of 677 nm and 745 nm. The electroluminescence (EL) light of this LED is tuned from ultraviolet (UV) of ZnO/GaN to UV-free red by the electronic interfacial transition from the conduction band of n-GaN to the deep acceptor levels of p-ZnO:Cu. Both room temperature and low temperature (5K) photoluminescence spectra of ZnO:Cu indicate that the UV emission of ZnO is suppressed and the green emission is enhanced, which implies the formation of Cu-related deep levels introduced by intentionally doping Cu in ZnO. These deep levels help the EL red emission in the LED device.

Observation of the orbital quantum dynamics in the spin- 1 2 hexagonal antiferromagnet B a 3 CuS b 2 O 9

We explore orbital dynamics in the spin liquid candidate Ba3CuSb2O9 using multi-frequency electron spin resonance. We prepared two high quality single crystals. The crystal with a slight copper deficiency shows a structural phase transition at around 200 K due to the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, accompanied with orbital ordering. In contrast, the crystal with almost perfect stoichiometry shows no orbital ordering down to the lowest temperature of 1.5 K. Dramatic change in the g-factor anisotropy as a function of frequency and temperature demonstrates orbital quantum fluctuations at a nearly constant time scale of ~ 100 ps below 20 K, evidencing the emergence of an orbital liquid state in this quantum spin liquid compound.