Nanopositioning of a diamond nanocrystal containing a single nitrogen-vacancy defect center

Precise control over the position of a single quantum object is important for many experiments in quantum science and nanotechnology. We report on a technique for high-accuracy positioning of individual diamond nanocrystals. The positioning is done with a home-built nanomanipulator under real-time scanning electron imaging, yielding an accuracy...

Sharp emission from single InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs surfaces

We report on optical studies of single InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs(001) surfaces. To ensure low quantum dot density and appropriate size, we deposit InAs layers 1.4 or 1.5 ML thick, thinner than the critical thickness for Stranski–Krastanov quantum dot formation. These dots show sharp and bright photoluminescence. Lifetime...

Lanthanide 4f-level location in lanthanide doped and cerium-lanthanide codoped NaLaF4 by photo- and thermoluminescence

Photo- and thermoluminescence (TL) spectra of NaLaF4:Ln3+ (Ln = Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm,Eu,Gd,Tb,Dy,Ho,Er,Tm) and NaLaF4:Ce3+, Ln3+ (Ln = Nd,Sm,Ho,Er,Tm) are presented and used together with the empirical Dorenbos model in order to establish the 4f energy level positions of all tri- and divalent lanthanide ions doped in NaLaF4. The information will be...

Photoluminescence enhancement in thin films of PbSe nanocrystals

Remarkable photoluminescence enhancement (PLE) in submonolayer films of PbSe nanocrystals (NCs) upon continuous illumination was observed. The intensity increase from films on InP substrates was highest in vacuum, while for films on Si/SiO2 substrates the PLE was stronger in air. The magnitude of the PLE was found to depend on the excitation...

High-resolution luminescence spectroscopy study of down-conversion routes in NaGdF4:Nd3+ and NaGdF4:Tm3+ using synchrotron radiation

Cerium-doped barium halide scintillators for x-ray and ?-ray detections

Single crystals of Ce-activated BaCl2, BaBr2, and BaI2 were investigated under x-ray and ?-ray excitation. The Ce3+-related x-ray excited luminescence in BaBr2 shifts significantly to longer wavelengths upon increasing the doping level from 0.1% to 1%. In Ce-activated BaCl2 only a slight shift can be observed. BaI2 does not show any Ce3+-related...

Vacuum ultraviolet-ultraviolet and x-ray excited luminescence properties of Ba3Gd(BO3)3:Ce3+

The phosphors Ba3Gd(BO3)3:Ce3+ were prepared by a solid-state reaction technique at high temperature. The vacuum ultraviolet-ultraviolet and visible spectroscopic properties of the phosphors together with decay time curves are investigated and discussed. The spectroscopic properties are explained by occupancy of Ce3+ at two different Gd sites in...

Photostimulated luminescence from BaCl2:Eu2+ nanocrystals in lithium borate glasses following neutron irradiation

A glass-ceramic thermal neutron imaging plate material is reported. The material consists of a neutron sensitive 2B2O3–Li2O glass matrix containing nanocrystallites of the storage phosphor BaCl2:Eu2+. When doped with 0.5?mol?% Eu2+, the neutron induced photostimulated luminescence (PSL) conversion efficiency of the 10B enriched glass-ceramic is...

Location of lanthanide impurity levels in the III-V semiconductor GaN

Knowledge from lanthanide spectroscopy on wide band gap (6–10?eV) inorganic compounds is used to understand and predict optical and electronic properties of the lanthanides in the III-V semiconductor GaN. For the first time the location of the 4fn ground state energy of each divalent and trivalent lanthanide ion relative to the valence and...

High-light-output scintillator for photodiode readout: LuI3:Ce3+

In this paper, we investigated the scintillation properties of LuI3:Ce3+. Radioluminescence, light output, energy resolution, and ?-scintillation decay are reported. We find an extremely high light output of 98?000±10?000?photons/MeV. LuI3:Ce3+ also gives a very high electron-hole (e-h) pair response when it is coupled with an avalanche...

Enhanced photoluminescence at poly(3-octyl-thiophene)/TiO2 interfaces

The photoluminescence (PL) of poly(3-octyl-thiophene) (P3OT) thin films applied on TiO2 substrates is compared to the PL of P3OT films applied on quartz. Quenching of excitons occurs at the P3OT/TiO2 interface and not at the P3OT/quartz interface. Yet, in the former case the PL intensity is stronger than in the latter. In particular, P3OT films...