Lanthanide Emitters

Trivalent lanthanides provide stable emission sources at wavelengths spanning the ultraviolet through the near infrared with uses in telecommunications, lighting, and biological sensing and imaging. We have developed a method for incorporating an organometallic lanthanide complex within polyelectrolyte multilayers, producing uniform, optically active thin films on a variety of substrates. These films demonstrate excellent emission with narrow linewidths, stable over an extended eperiod of time, even when bound to metal substrates. Utilizing different lanthanides such as europium and terbium, we are able to tune the resulting wavelength of emission of these thin films. We demonstrate the suitability of this platform as a thin film emitter source for a variety of photonic applications such as waveguides, optical cavities, and sensors.

Polymer Layering

 

Lanthanide Incorporation

 

Schematic diagram of layering procedures. (a) Process for layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition of PAH and PSS to form a PEM. (b) Process of binding and incorporating Ln-DPA molecules into the PEM, where Ln can be almost any lanthanide.

 

Ratio of PL emission of the largest peaks from Eu3+ (616.2 nm) and Tb3+ (543.7 nm) as compared against the molar ratio of Eu:Tb in each solution used to bind to the PEMs on quartz substrate. Inset: Broad fluorescence from Eu:Tb samples when excited by a 254 nm UV lamp. The molar ratio of Eu:Tb from left to right is 15:85, 30:70, 50:50, 70:30, and 85:15.

 

greenspon_2018_-_robust_lanthanide_emitters_in_polyelectrolyte_thin_films_for_photonic_applications.pdf819 KB