High throughput decoding approach for luminescencekinetics-based optical encoding of lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles

• Lanthanide upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are increasingly explored to develop high-security-level anti-counterfeiting and multiplexing applications, due to the availability of ample encoding dimensions. Among other applications, upconversion luminescence(UCL) kinetics-based optical encoding is particularly attractive as it provides an almost unlimited encoding capacity due to the ease of manipulating the UCL kinetics by chemical engineering. However, current decoding methods limit its applications because of a typically low throughput and high cost of the system. In this Letter, we propose a novel decoding approach for UCL kinetics-based optical encoding, which utilizes a pulsed excitation source with adjustable pulse duration and a low time-resolution and large-area detector. We develop a theoretical fitting model and show how fingerprint time constants of the UCNPs (the encoding identities) can be extracted from the correlation between the averaged UCL intensity and the pulse duration. Our new approach provides a high-throughput and cost-effective solution to decode UCL kinetics.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Nanoteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Nano-technology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

upconvesion nanoparticles

optical encoding

lanthanide

rate equation models

kinetics

high capacity

high throughput

Materials Science and Engineering

Teknisk materialvetenskap

Optics and Photonics

Optik och fotonik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)