Abstract:

Rare-earth doped nanoparticles (RENPs) reveal a unique ladder-like system of energy levels in rare-earth ions,  which allows for multiple photoluminescence (PL) bands, distinguishable by spectrally narrow shape and large Stokes and anti-Stokes shifts [excitation energy downconversion (DC) and upconversion (UC), correspondingly]. Due to their unique optical features, RENPs are broadly utilized as promising luminescent nanomaterials in diverse applications, ranging from bioimaging and therapy to lasing, sensing and anti-counterfeiting.  Moreover, spectral and temporal features of the UC and DC PL from RENPs allow for using them as imaging agents in advanced optical imaging modalities, such as hyperspectral, time-gated and PL lifetime imaging. This talk will present our recent results on the applications of the developed RENPs in advanced imaging and sensing and conclude with a discussion on the perspectives of RENPs use in various optical imaging and sensing applications.