Rare earth doped host materials
AssigneeRutgers, The State University
InventorsRichard E. Riman, John Ballato
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims27
A composite material comprising a dispersion in a polymeric matrix of a rare earth element composition comprising nanosized particles of a rare earth element doped host metal halide salt, wherein up to about 60 mole percent of said host metal is replaced with one or more rare earth elements selected from the group consisting of Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, said composite material being optically transparent to wavelengths at which excitation and fluorescence or luminescence of said rare earth elements occur, and wherein said nanosized particles consist essentially of particles having a crystallite size between about 1 and less than 100 nm.
A composite material comprising a dispersion in a polymeric matrix of a rare earth element composition comprising nanosized particles of a rare earth element doped host metal oxyhalide salt, wherein:
- said host metal is selected from the group consisting of La, Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Pb and Ba;
- up to about 60 mole percent of said host metal is replaced with one or more rare earth elements selected from the group consisting of Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu;
- said composite materials is optically transparent to wavelengths at which excitation, fluorescence or luminescence of said rare earth elements occur;
- and
- said oxyhalide particles consists essentially of particles having a crystallite size between about 1 and about 100 nm.
A composite material comprising a dispersion in a polymeric matrix of a rare earth element composition comprising nanosized particles of a rare earth element doped host metal chalcogenide salt, wherein:
- said host metal is selected from the group consisting of La, Be, Mg, Pb and Ba;
- up to 60 mole percent of said host metal is replaced with one or more rare earth elements selected from the group consisting of Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu;
- said composite material is optically transparent to infra-red wavelengths and wavelengths at which fluorescence or luminescence of said rare earth elements occur;
- and
- said chalcogenide particles consist essentially of particles having a crystallite size between about 1 and 100 nm.
A method for making nanosized particles of a rare earth element doped metal halide salt doped with up to about 60 mole percent of one or more rare earth elements, consisting of essentially of:
- providing a substantially homogenous 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 halogenating gas in an atmosphere substantially free of water vapor at a temperature at which halogenation will occur between about 1000 and about 600° C., the temperature being below the melt temperature of the lowest melting point component of the mixture.
A method for making nanoparticles of a rare earth element doped metal halide salt doped with one or more rare earth elements, comprising;
- dissolving a water-soluble salt of Be, Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba in water with up to about 60 mole percent of a water-soluble salt of one or more rare earth elements, so that an aqueous solution of ions of Be, Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba 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 a halide of Be, Mg, Ca, Sr or Ba doped with from about 1 to about 60 mole percent of one or more rare earth elements.
A method for making nanoparticles of rare earth element doped metal chlorides and higher halides doped with one or more rare earth elements, comprising:
- dissolving a water-soluble salt of a halide-forming metal in water with up to about 60 mole percent of 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 ammonium chloride or higher halide;
- and
- adding to said aqueous solution an amount of polar solvent effective to precipitate nanoparticles of a metal chloride or higher halide doped with from about 1 to about 60 mole percent of one or more rare earth elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.