Oleic acid (OA)-modified LaF₃ : Er,Yb nanocrystals and their polymer hybrid materials for potential optical-amplification applications

Abstract

Oleic acid (OA)-modified LaF3 : Er,Yb nanocrystals (NCs) have been prepared and investigated. The OA-capped nanocrystals have a nearly spherical shape with a mean diameter of 7 nm and show excellent dispersibility in common organic solvents and a PMMA matrix. A 0.25 g ml−1 transparent colloidal solution in toluene can be obtained. The resulting nanocrystal–polymer hybrid materials exhibit strong emission around the 1550 nm telecommunication window when excited at 980 nm and are promising materials for polymer-based optical waveguide amplifiers.