Rare earth doped host materials
AssigneeRutgers, The State University
InventorsRICHARD E. RIMAN, JOHN BALLATO
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Abstract
A rare earth element doped composition having a dopant concentration of up to about 60 mole percent of one or more rare earth elements selected from Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, wherein the composition is optically transparent to wavelengths at which excitation, fluorescence or luminescence of the rare earth elements occur. Method for making the compositions, composite materials having dispersed therein the compositions and luminescent devices containing optical or acoustical elements formed from the composite materials are also disclosed.
Claims36
A rare earth element doped composition comprising up to about 60 mole percent of one or more rare earth element dopants selected from the group consisting of Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, said compositions being optically transparent to wavelengths at which excitation, fluorescence or luminescence of said rare earth elements occur, wherein the level of said rare earth elements is greater than about 50 mole percent for Tb and Dy, greater than about 40 mole percent for Ho, greater than about 30 mole percent for Er, greater than about 20 mole percent for Tm, greater than about 10 mole percent for Yb and greater than about 5 mole percent for Lu.
A composition comprising a halide or chalcogenide salt of a metal selected from the group consisting of Be, Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba, doped with one or more rare earth elements.
A method for making nanosized particles of a metal halide salt doped with one or more rare earth elements, comprising:
- providing a substantially homogeneous stoichiometric mixture of a starting material comprising a halide-forming metal salt and one or more rare earth elements;
- and
- heating said mixture with an excess of hydrogen halide or a halogenating gas in an atmosphere substantially free of water vapor at a temperature at which halogenation will occur, the temperature being below the melt temperature of the lowest melting point component of the mixture.
A method for making nanoparticles of a metal halide salt doped with one or more rare earth elements, comprising:
- dissolving a water-soluble salt of a halide-forming metal in water with a water-soluble salt of one or more rare earth elements, so that an aqueous solution of ions of the halide-forming metal and ions of the one or more rare earth elements is formed;
- dissolving in said aqueous solution an excess of an ammonium halide;
- and
- precipitating from said aqueous solution nanoparticles of said metal halide salt doped with one or more rare earth elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.