Temperature dependence of energy transfer between Nd3+ and Yb3+ ions in phosphate glass.

The temperature dependence of energy transfer between Nd3+ and Yb3+ ions in phosphate glass was investigated with emission spectra, time-resolved spectroscopy, and luminescence lifetimes. The time-resolved spectrograms vividly displayed processes of both Nd3+→Yb3+ energy transfer and Yb3+→Nd3+ energy transfer. The impact of temperature on energy transfer rate has been studied by analyzing the cumulative rise times and decay times of Yb3+ upon excitation of Nd3+ and the cumulative rise times and decay times of Nd3+ upon excitation of Yb3+ at different temperatures. It has been found that both Nd3+→Yb3+ energy transfer and Yb3+→Nd3+ energy transfer are accelerated along with increasing temperatures in a certain temperature range.