Quantum cutting mechanism in Tb ³⁺-Yb ³⁺ co-doped oxyfluoride glass

Rate equations were created to describe cooperative quantum cutting phenomena, which incorporated the interactions between donor Tb ³ and acceptor Yb ³ ions. Two judgment criteria were developed for the excitation power dependence and time-resolved luminescence spectra of donor and acceptor ions, which can be used to verify the proposed mechanism. Under the excitation of a 473 nm continuous wave laser, the emission intensities of Tb ³ and Yb ³ increased linearly with the excitation power. The decay curve of Yb ³ indicated two distinct contributions: the fast decay time of its own lifetime, and the slow decay time representing the lifetime of the ⁵D ₄ energy level of Tb ³. The experimental results meet the two judgment criteria, which confirmed the proposed cooperative quantum cutting mechanism in Tb ³-Yb ³ co-doped oxyfluoride glass.