Upconversion Nanocrystal Doped Polymer Fiber Thermometer

authored by

Jonas Thiem, Simon Spelthann, Laurie Neumann, Florian Jakobs, Hans Hermann Johannes, Wolfgang Kowalsky, Dietmar Kracht, Joerg Neumann, Axel Ruehl, Detlev Ristau

Abstract

In recent years, lanthanide-doped nanothermometers have been mainly used in thin films or dispersed in organic solvents. However, both approaches have disadvantages such as the short interaction lengths of the active material with the pump beam or complicated handling, which can directly affect the achievable temperature resolution. We investigated the usability of a polymer fiber doped with upconversion nanocrystals as a thermometer. The fiber was excited with a wavelength stabilized diode laser at a wavelength of 976 nm. Emission spectra were recorded in a temperature range from 10 to 35^◦C and the thermal emission changes were measured. Additionally, the pump power was varied to study the effect of self-induced heating on the thermometer specifications. Our fiber sensor shows a maximal thermal sensitivity of 1.45%/K and the minimal thermal resolution is below 20 mK. These results demonstrate that polymer fibers doped with nanocrystals constitute an attractive alternative to conventional fluorescence thermometers, as they add a long pump interaction length while also being insensitive to strong electrical fields or inert to bio-chemical environments.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Quantum Optics
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines

External Organisation(s)

Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH)
Technische Universität Braunschweig
QUANOMET: Research area quantum and nanometrology of the research alliance Braunschweig-Hannover

Type

Article

Journal

Sensors (Switzerland)

Volume

20

Pages

1-13

No. of pages

13

ISSN

1424-8220

Publication date

24.10.2020

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Analytical Chemistry, Information Systems, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Biochemistry, Instrumentation, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.3390/s20216048 (Access: Open)