Persistent visible luminescence of SrF2:Pr3+ for ratiometric thermometry

Luminescence-based thermometry, especially the ratiometric temperature sensing technology, has attracted considerable attention recently due to its characteristics such as non-contact operating mode and strong capacity of resisting disturbance. Differing from the conventional strategy that usually needs continuous excitation, here an optical thermometry, which we have named the persistent luminescence intensity ratio (PLIR) thermometry, is proposed. The PLIR thermometry relies on the optical material SrF2:Pr3+ that could emit luminescence for several hours and even longer after being charged by X-ray. It has been demonstrated that the PLIR is sensitive to the variation of temperature and complies with the Boltzmann distribution. More importantly, the reliability of the proposed PLIR thermometry is verified. Our work may inspire others to develop more persistent luminescence thermometry. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

Luminescence-based thermometry, particularly ratiometric temperature sensing technology, has gained significant attention due to its non-contact operating mode and strong resistance to disturbance. A new optical thermometry called persistent luminescence intensity ratio (PLIR) thermometry is proposed, which relies on the luminescence characteristics of SrF2:Pr3+ upon X-ray charging. PLIR has been demonstrated to be sensitive to temperature changes and follows the Boltzmann distribution, and its reliability is verified, potentially inspiring the development of more persistent luminescence thermometry.