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Laser-driven broadband near-infrared light source with watt-level output

Nature Photonics (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

High-power broadband near-infrared (NIR) light sources based on laser-excited phosphors are highly desirable for photonics applications in night vision, biomedical imaging and sensing; however, the inherent energy gap law poses a great challenge for the development of efficient NIR luminescent materials. Herein we report a translucent MgO:Cr3+ ceramic fabricated by spark plasma sintering, which exhibits a broadband NIR emission peak at 810 nm, with an external quantum efficiency of 81% and ultra-high thermal conductivity of 52 W m–1 K–1. When pumped with a blue laser, the MgO:Cr3+ ceramic provides an output power exceeding 6 W with a light conversion efficiency of 29%. This laser-driven broadband NIR light source makes it possible to perform NIR imaging with a spatial resolution of 6 lp mm–1, and is a promising technology for emerging imaging applications.

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Fig. 1: Wafer-scale MgO:Cr3+ translucent ceramics.
Fig. 2: Fluorescence spectra and radiation mechanism of translucent MgO:Cr3+ ceramics.
Fig. 3: Excited state ET mechanism of MgO:Cr3+ ceramic.
Fig. 4: Laser-driven luminescence properties of MgO:Cr3+ ceramics.
Fig. 5: Laser-driven NIR light sources and the applications.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable requests.

Change history

  • 08 March 2024

    In the version of the article initially published, in the Abstract, the text now reading “...a light conversion efficiency of 29%” previously read “...an electro-optical conversion efficiency of 29%” and was updated for clarity.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (grant no. 51972118), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. 2021YFB3500401) and the Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program (grant no. 2017BT01X137).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Centre of Special Optical Fiber Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

    Gaochao Liu, Weibin Chen, Zhan Xiong, Shuai Zhang & Zhiguo Xia

  2. School of Physics and Optoelectronics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

    Yuzhen Wang & Zhiguo Xia

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  1. Gaochao Liu
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Contributions

Z.G.X. initiated and guided the research. G.C.L., W.B.C. and Z.X. synthesized and characterized the samples, and wrote the paper, Z.G.X. and Y.Z.W. revised it. S.Z. interpreted the theoretical and experimental results. All authors discussed the results and commented on the paper.

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Correspondence to Zhiguo Xia.

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Nature Photonics thanks Quanlin Liu, Xiaojun Wang, Rong-Jun Xie and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Liu, G., Chen, W., Xiong, Z. et al. Laser-driven broadband near-infrared light source with watt-level output. Nat. Photon. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-024-01400-7

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