Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, No, 1, Sec, 4, Roosevelt Rd, Taipei 106, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Nanoscale Res Lett. 2011 Aug 22;6(1):503. doi: 10.1186/1556-276X-6-503.
Optical integration is essential for practical application, but it remains unexplored for nanoscale devices. A newly designed nanocomposite based on ZnO semiconductor nanowires and Tb(OH)3/SiO2 core/shell nanospheres has been synthesized and studied. The unique sea urchin-type morphology, bright and sharply visible emission bands of lanthanide, and large aspect ratio of ZnO crystalline nanotips make this novel composite an excellent signal receiver, waveguide, and emitter. The multifunctional composite of ZnO nanotips and Tb(OH)3/SiO2 nanoparticles therefore can serve as an integrated nanophotonics hub. Moreover, the composite of ZnO nanotips deposited on a Tb(OH)3/SiO2 photonic crystal can act as a directional light fountain, in which the confined radiation from Tb ions inside the photonic crystal can be well guided and escape through the ZnO nanotips. Therefore, the output emission arising from Tb ions is truly directional, and its intensity can be greatly enhanced. With highly enhanced lasing emissions in ZnO-Tb(OH)3/SiO2 as well as SnO2-Tb(OH)3/SiO2 nanocomposites, we demonstrate that our approach is extremely beneficial for the creation of low threshold and high-power nanolaser.
光学集成对于实际应用至关重要，但在纳米尺度器件中仍未得到探索。我们设计了一种新型的基于 ZnO 半导体纳米线和 Tb(OH)3/SiO2 核/壳纳米球的纳米复合材料，并对其进行了研究。独特的海胆型形态、稀土明亮而锐利的发射带以及 ZnO 晶体纳米尖的大纵横比使这种新型复合材料成为一种出色的信号接收器、波导和发射器。因此，ZnO 纳米尖和 Tb(OH)3/SiO2 纳米颗粒的多功能复合材料可以作为集成的纳米光子学中心。此外，沉积在 Tb(OH)3/SiO2 光子晶体上的 ZnO 纳米尖复合材料可以充当定向光喷泉，其中光子晶体内部的 Tb 离子的限制辐射可以很好地被引导并通过 ZnO 纳米尖逃逸。因此，Tb 离子产生的输出发射是真正的定向的，其强度可以大大增强。我们在 ZnO-Tb(OH)3/SiO2 以及 SnO2-Tb(OH)3/SiO2 纳米复合材料中实现了高度增强的激光发射，证明了我们的方法对于创建低阈值和高功率纳米激光器非常有益。
