We study the fluorescence properties of up-converting α-NaYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ nanocrystals (NCs) in the presence of spherical Au nanoparticles. The effects of plasmon excitations in the Au nanoparticles were studied using scanning confocal fluorescence microscope. The results show that the ⁴S_3/2→ ⁴I_15/2 transition in erbium ions, which appears at 540 nm, resonant with the plasmon band of the Au nanoparticles, is efficiently quenched. In contrast, in the case of ⁴F_9/2→ ⁴I_15/2 transition, which appears at 650 nm, we find the increase of emission intensity. Complementary measurement of fluorescence lifetimes of individual NaYF₄:Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ nanocrystals reveals that plasmonic excitations in Au nanoparticles influence the dynamics of both emission band in erbium ions.

Date Published: 17 August 2014
PDF: 4 pages
Proc. SPIE 9163, Plasmonics: Metallic Nanostructures and Their Optical Properties XII, 91632M (17 August 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2061331

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9163:
Plasmonics: Metallic Nanostructures and Their Optical Properties XII
Allan D. Boardman, Editor(s)