Large reversible upconversion luminescence modification and 3D optical information storage in femtosecond laser irradiation-subjected photochromic glass

Abstract

Fast response, high luminescence contrast, three-dimensional (3D) storage, and nondestructive reading are key factors for the optical storage application of photochromic materials. Femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing technology with multiphoton nonlinear absorption is becoming a useful tool for microprocessing functional units in the 3D space of glass owing to its remarkable advantages, such as a fast processing speed and high processing accuracy. Herein, the photochromism of transparent glass codoped with rare-earth ions was investigated under 800-nm fs laser irradiation, affording a fast response. The photochromic glass achieves an upconversion luminescence (UCL) modification of 92%. The photochromic glass can be bleached back to its original color using heat treatment. The transmittance and UCL modification show excellent reproducibility under alternating stimulations between 800-nm fs laser irradiation and heat treatment. The data can be written in the interior of the transparent photochromic glass using 800-nm fs laser irradiation, facilitating 3D information storage. These results suggest that the 800-nm fs laser irradiation-subjected photochromic glass is an ideal optical data storage medium.

How to Realize Ultrahigh Photochromic Performance for Real-Time Optical Recording in Transparent Ceramics

“…However, the optical information recorded on opaque ceramics or films is two-dimensional (2D) PC storage. To meet the requirement of high-capacity and high-quality optical storage or imaging, three-dimension (3D) PC storage media integrating space and luminescence into a single entity have aroused wide concern, such as glasses and transparent ceramics. , Among them, rare-earth ion doped ferroelectric transparent ceramics, especially (K 0.5 Na 0.5 )NbO 3 (KNN) based ones, − are suitable candidates for 3D PC storage, but their low coloration contrast and long response time limit their practical applications. ,− For instance, the PL intensity modulation in Sm-doped KNN transparent is only 49% after being irradiated by a UV lamp for 5 min . Therefore, new PC transparent ceramics with a fast response time and high coloration contrast are especially attractive for high-quality real-time optical storage and imaging applications.…”

“…To meet the requirement of high-capacity and high-quality optical storage or imaging, three-dimension (3D) PC storage media integrating space and luminescence into a single entity have aroused wide concern, such as glasses and transparent ceramics. 13,14 Among them, rare-earth ion doped ferroelectric transparent ceramics, especially (K 0.5 Na 0.5 )-NbO 3 (KNN) based ones, 15−19 are suitable candidates for 3D PC storage, but their low coloration contrast and long response time limit their practical applications. 9,20−22 For instance, the PL intensity modulation in Sm-doped KNN transparent is only 49% after being irradiated by a UV lamp for 5 min.…”

The making and breaking of perovskite photochromism through doping

“…13 For example, Xiao et al reported a transparent glass co-doped with both rare-earth ions and tungsten ions. 14 They used a femtosecond laser to convert W 6+ into W 5+ , whereby a photochromic modulation of upconversion luminescence was achieved. Hu et al reported a transparent phosphate glass doped with Eu 3+ ions.…”

Entirely Reversible Photochromic Glass with High Coloration and Luminescence Contrast for 3D Optical Storage

“…These exciting potentials attracted us to explore photochromic glasses with luminescence modification as alternative optical storage media. Recently, a rare-earth-ion-doped photochromic tungsten phosphate glass was studied, which exhibits an information encryption and 3D optical storage capacity based on the reversible valence state transformation from W 6+ to W 5+ . , However, a thermal treatment was used to bleach the photochromic tungsten phosphate glass, limiting the practical applications. Thus, an entirely photostimulation induced reversible photochromic glass is particularly attractive for the realization of 3D optical storage applications.…”