Enhancement of luminescent emission in Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Y2Ti2O7 films with Ag/Au nanoparticles

The enhanced luminescences of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Y2Ti2O7 films were demonstrated when silver/gold (Ag/Au) nanoparticles (NPs) were doped in the films. With the precipitation of the Ag nanoprisms, more intense green (525 nm, 546 nm), red (659 nm) upconversion (UC) emission bands and strong enhanced near infrared (NIR) emission were observed and the enhanced factors were up to 16.7, 15.6, 17.7 and 5.6 folds, respectively. The accordance between the local surface plasmon resonance of NPs and the UC emission band significantly increased the luminescence intensity. The efficiencies of the radiative emissions were enhanced also due to the hydroxyl groups primarily absorbed around the NPs.