Electronic processes in doped ZnO nanopowders

The financial support of research grants ERA.NET RUS_ST20170-051 and SFERA II project “Transnational Access activities” (EU 7th Framework Programme Grant Agreement N312643). This work was partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-52-76002.ZnO nanocrystals, undoped and doped with Iridium or Indium were prepared by solar irradiation in Heliotron reactor in PROMES CNRS facilities, France. The comparative analysis of the excitonic spectra of ZnO single crystal and ZnO nanocrystals (NCs) doped with In and Ir was performed. It is shown that the excitonic processes in Ir doped nanocrystals coincide well with electronic processes in undoped NC and single crystal; however, the electronic processes in In-doped nanocrystals are significantly different from those in single crystal. The radioluminescence spectra of ZnO:In was analysed and additional luminescence band at ∼3.18 eV was detected due to In-doping. The luminescence decay time depends on In concentration in nanocrystals and is significantly less in ZnO:In compared with undoped nanocrystals. The fast scintillation of ZnO:In makes this material promising for application.Russian Foundation for Basic Research 18-52-76002; Seventh Framework Programme N312643; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Plasma Dynamics Characterization for Improvement of Resonantly Enhanced Harmonics Generation in Indium and Tin Laser-Produced Plasmas

R.A.G. is grateful to H. Kuroda for providing the access to the laser facility. As a Center of Excellence, the Institute of Solid State Physics at the University of Latvia received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement no. 739508, project CAMART².In this study, we characterize the properties of indium and tin laser-induced plasmas responsible for efficient high-order harmonics generation of the ultrashort pulses propagating through these media. The optimally formed plasma was determined using the analysis of the time-resolved variations in the spectral and morphological features of spreading indium and tin plasma components under different regimes of laser ablation. We report the measurements of plasma velocities under different regimes of ablation and correlate them with the optimal delay between the heating and probe laser pulses for the generation of harmonics with the highest yield. Electron temperatures and densities are determined using the integrated and time-resolved spectral measurements of plasmas. The resonance-enhanced harmonics are compared with other harmonics from the point of view of the modulation of plasma characteristics. The harmonics of 800 and 1200–2200 nm lasers and their second-harmonic fields were analyzed at optimal conditions of Sn and In plasma formation. The novelty of this work is the implementation of the diagnostics of the dynamics of plasma characteristics for the determination of the optimal plasma formation for harmonics generation. Such an approach allows for the demonstration of the maximal harmonic yield from the studied plasma and the definition of the various resonance-induced harmonic generation conditions. © 2022 by the authors.European Regional Development Fund (1.1.1.5/19/A/003); Institute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-Teaming Phase 2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

High-order harmonics generation in Cd and Pd laser-induced plasmas

R.A.G. is grateful to H. Kuroda for providing access to the laser facility. Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.We demonstrate the generation of high-order harmonics of laser pulses in palladium and cadmium plasmas. We adjusted the wavelength of driving pulses to investigate the resonance enhancement in different ranges of extreme ultraviolet region. The summation of incommensurate waves during the two-color pump of Pd and Cd plasmas allowed the generation of a broader range of harmonics. The theoretical aspects of the two-color pump of the laser-induced plasma are discussed. © 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement --//-- This is an open access article Rashid A. Ganeev, Vyacheslav V. Kim, Jelena Butikova, Aigars Atvars, Jurgis Grube, Anatolijs Sarakovskis, and Arnolds Ubelis, "High-order harmonics generation in Cd and Pd laser-induced plasmas," Opt. Express 31, 26626-26642 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.493754 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.European Regional Development Fund (1.1.1.5/19/A/003); World Bank Project (REP-04032022-206).Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Sub-nanosecond excitonic luminescence in ZnO:In nanocrystals

The financial support of research European Union ERA.NET RUS_ST20170-51 . This work was partly supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Russia , project No. 18-52-76002 . The sample preparation was carried out as part of SFERA II project -Transnational Access activities ( European Union 7th Framework Programme Grant Agreement N3126430 ).The effects of indium concentration influence on the morphology, luminescence spectra and luminescence decay kinetics of ZnO:In nanocrystals prepared by the solar physical vapour deposition method are investigated. While undoped ZnO nanocrystals exhibit tetrapod-like morphology, with increasing indium concentration the tetrapods are transformed into particles whose average size decreases with increasing indium concentration. The results of time-resolved luminescence studies of undoped and indium doped ZnO nanocrystals showed that by increasing indium concentration the decay time falls and luminescence intensity decreases.ERA.NET RUS_ST20170-51; Russian Foundation for Basic Research No. 18-52-76002; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Nonlinear absorption and refraction of picosecond and femtosecond pulses in HgTe quantum dot films

We report measurements of the saturated intensities, saturable absorption, and nonlinear refraction in 70-nm thick films containing 4 nm HgTe quantum dots. We demonstrate strong nonlinear refraction and saturable absorption in the thin films using tunable picosecond and femtosecond pulses. Studies were carried out using tunable laser pulses in the range of 400–1100 nm. A significant variation of the nonlinear refraction along this spectral range was demonstrated. The maximal values of the nonlinear absorption coefficients and nonlinear refractive indices determined within the studied wavelength range were −2.4 × 10−5 cm2 W−1 (in the case of 28 ps, 700 nm probe pulses) and −3 × 10−9 cm2 W−1 (in the case of 28 ps, 400 nm probe pulses), respectively. Our studies show that HgTe quantum dots can be used in different fields e.g., as efficient emitters of high-order harmonics of ultrashort laser pulses or as laser mode-lockers. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Published under the CC BY 4.0 license.European Regional Development Fund (1.1.1.5/19/A/003), Latvian Council of Sciences (lzp-2020/2-0238). Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence acknowledges funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Cladding-Pumped Er/Yb-Co-Doped Fiber Amplifier for Multi-Channel Operation

The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, as a Center of Excellence, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2. We express our gratitude to rer. nat. Nicoletta Haarlammert from Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF for the refractive index measurements of ytterbium/erbium-co-doped fibers. This work is supported by the European Regional Development Fund project No. 1.1.1.1/18/A/068.Cladding-pumped erbium (Er3+)/ytterbium (Yb3+)-co-doped fiber amplifiers are more advantageous at high output powers. However, this amplification technique also has potential in telecom-related applications. These types of amplifiers have complex properties, especially when considering gain profile and a pump conversion efficiency. Such metrics depend on the doped fiber profile, absorption/emission spectra, and the input signal power. In this context, we design, build and characterize an inhouse prototype of cladding-pumped Er3+/Yb3+-co-doped fiber amplifier (EYDFA). Our goal is to identify the EYDFA configuration (a co-doped fiber length, pump power, input signal power) suitable for signal amplification in a multichannel fiber-optic transmission system with a dense wavelength allocation across the C-band (1530–1565 nm). Our approach involves experimentally determining the Er3+/Yb3+-co-doped fiber’s parameters to be used in a simulation setup to decide on an initial EYDFA configuration before moving to a laboratory setup. An experimental EYDFA prototype is tested under different conditions using a 48-channel dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM, 100 GHz) system to evaluate the absolute gain and gain uniformity. The obtained results allow the cladding pump amplifier’s suitability for wideband signal amplification to be assessed. The developed prototype provides > 21 dB of gain with a 12 dB ripple within 1534–1565 nm. Furthermore, we show that the gain profile can be partially flattened out by using longer EYDF spans. This enhances signal amplification in the upper C-band in exchange for a weaker amplification in the lower C-band, which can be marginally improved with higher pump powers. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.ERDF project No. 1.1.1.1/18/A/068; the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, as a Center of Excellence, has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

FIBRE OPTICAL COUPLER SIMULATION BY COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS SOFTWARE

Funding: The research has been supported by the European Regional Development Fund project No.1.1.1.1/18/A/068. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as a Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.The paper presents a simulation model developed for a special optical coupler intended for coupling radiation from signal and pump sources used for the realization of cladding-pumped doped fibre amplifiers. The model is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics and used to assess the pumping efficiency for different side pumping angles and different numbers of electromagnetic modes. The obtained results show that the highest pumping efficiency, above 75 %, is achieved for 5–14 modes when two fibres representing the pump source and the signal source form a 10-degree angle between their central axes. The search for the optimal number of modes corresponds to the development trend in optical coupler technology where the multimode pumping by light-emitting diode (LED) replaces the classical scheme with a single-mode pumping by a laser diode (LD). © 2022 Sciendo. All rights reserved. --//-- This is an open access article Elsts E., Supe A., Spolitis S., Zakis K., Olonkins S., Udalcovs A., Murnieks R., Senkans U., Prigunovs D., Gegere L., Draguns K., Lukosevics I., Ozolins O., Grube J., Bobrovs V. FIBRE OPTICAL COUPLER SIMULATION BY COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS SOFTWARE (2022) Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences, 59 (5), pp. 3 - 14, DOI: 10.2478/lpts-2022-0036 published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.ERDF No.1.1.1.1/18/A/068; The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as a Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2

Synthesis of NaYF4:Yb3+, Tm3+ Nanocrystals Via the Thermal Decomposition Method Using Refined Sunflower Oil

In recent years, up-conversion luminescence nanoparticles have attracted significant attention from researchers in fields such as analytical chemistry (for example qualitative and quantitative analysis of metal and non-metal ions) and biomedicine (cancer imaging, drug delivery, treatment, etc.) due to their high rate of emission efficiency, easy surface functionalization, great chemical and thermal and photostability and other favorable properties. NaYF4 in particular has attracted interest of researchers as a host material due to its low phonon energy, thus increasing the efficiency of emission. In this study, the synthesis of NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ nanocrystals using the hydrothermal method was successfully carried out. Refined sunflower oil containing oleic acid was used as a solvent instead of analytical grade oleic acid and octadecene-1, reducing the cost of the synthesis. Using semi-quantitative XRD measurement analysis, it was determined that 25.3 % hexagonal β-NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ as well as 23.8 % cubic α-NaYF4 nanocrystal crystalline phases were found in the synthesized sample. The sample showed mainly luminescent characteristics typical of hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ lattice nanoparticles. --//-- This is an open access article Smelkovs, L., Viksna, V., Teterovskis, J. and Grube, J.. "Synthesis of NaYF4:Yb3+, Tm3+ Nanocrystals Via the Thermal Decomposition Method Using Refined Sunflower Oil" Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences, vol.60, no.5, 2023, pp.22-31. https://doi.org/10.2478/lpts-2023-0028 published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.The research has been funded by the Latvian Council of Science, project “Up-conversion luminescence photolithography in organic compounds using nanoparticles/photoresist composition”, project No. lzp-2019/1-0422. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020- WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART²

Sol–Gel Synthesis of Translucent and Persistent Luminescent SiO₂@ SrAl₂O₄ Eu, Dy, B Materials

This publication offers an economically promising method of persistent luminescent silicate glass synthesis that does not involve high temperatures or ready-made (separately synthesized) PeL particles. In this study, we demonstrate the formation of SrAl2O4 doped with Eu, Dy, and B in a SiO2 glass structure using the one-pot low-temperature sol–gel synthesis method. By varying the synthesis conditions, we can use water-soluble precursors (e.g., nitrates) and a dilute aqueous solution of rare-earth (RE) nitrates as starting materials for SrAl2O4 synthesis, which can be formed during the sol–gel process at relatively low sintering temperatures (600 °C). As a result, translucent, persistently luminescent glass is obtained. The glass shows the typical Eu2+ luminescence and the characteristic afterglow. The afterglow duration is about 20 s. It is concluded that the slow drying procedure (2 weeks) is optimal for these samples to sufficiently get rid of the excess water (mainlyOH groups) and solvent molecules that can influence the strontium aluminate luminescence properties and have a pernicious effect on the afterglow. It can also be concluded that boron is playing a crucial role in the formation of trapping centers needed for PeL processes in the PeL silicate glass

Investigation of Nonlinear Optical Processes in Mercury Sulfide Quantum Dots

European Regional Development Fund (1.1.1.5/19/A/003), State Assignment to Higher Educational Institutions of Russian Federation (FZGU-2020-0035), Russian Foundation for Basic Research (18-29-20062). Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2.The authors report the third-harmonic generation, nonlinear refraction, and nonlinear absorption in HgS quantum dot (QD) suspensions and films using the nanosecond and femtosecond pulses. High conversion efficiency (7 × 10−4) towards the third harmonic (TH) of the 900–1700 nm, 150 fs laser in the thin (70 nm) films containing HgS QDs deposited on the glass substrates is obtained. The authors analyze spectral dependencies of the TH, nonlinear refractive indices, and nonlinear absorption coefficients of QDs in the 500–1700 nm range and discuss the relation between the TH process and the low-order nonlinear optical properties of these quantum dots. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.ERDF (1.1.1.5/19/A/003); State Assignment to Higher Educational Institutions of Russian Federation (FZGU-2020-0035), Russian Foundation for Basic Research (18-29-20062). Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART2