Materials for Enhancement of Upconversion of Near-Infrared and/or Visible Radiation

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The patent describes layer systems that significantly enhance the upconversion of near-infrared and/or visible light. This is accomplished by structuring a photonic crystal using nanoimprint lithography, then applying an upconversion material containing combinations of lanthanoid ions (such as neodymium, ytterbium, erbium, thulium, or holmium) to the crystal's surfaces. The interplay between the photonic crystal and the upconversion material leads to much higher efficiency and intensity in converting lower-energy (infrared or visible) light into higher-energy light, compared to conventional materials, and this process can be achieved using low-intensity light sources and cost-effective methods.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enhanced biosensors and bioassays that use upconversion for highly sensitive detection of biological or chemical substances.
• Next-generation security features in anti-counterfeiting technologies and document authentication through unique emission signatures.
• High-efficiency solar cells or photovoltaic systems that exploit upconversion to convert more of the solar spectrum into electricity.
• Improved display screens and nanolamps with customized or more vivid light emission.
• Sensors for detecting electromagnetic fields, radiation levels, temperature, pressure, humidity, or water, especially in demanding or miniaturized environments.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Achieves dramatically higher upconversion efficiency and intensity than conventional solutions, even under low-intensity (safer, cheaper) excitation sources.
• Allows for large-area, scalable, and cost-efficient manufacturing thanks to nanolithography.
• Versatile emission control enables application-tailored spectral outputs (color control), useful for displays and security coding.
• Reduces risk of system overheating or degradation, since effective operation is possible at lower power/irradiance.
• Broad applicability – ranging from biomedical analytics to renewable energy, security, and environmental sensing.
• Enables lower detection limits in assays, making sensors more sensitive and reliable.

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Patent Abstract

The invention relates to layer systems (100) for upconverting near-infrared and/or visible radiation and to a method for producing a layer system for upconverting near-infrared and/or visible radiation. The method comprises forming a photonic crystal (110) having a first side (111) and a second side (112) by means of nano-embossing lithography; and applying an upconversion material (120) to the first side (111) and/or the second side (112) of the photonic crystal (110). The upconversion material (120) contains a first lanthanoid and a second lanthanoid. Layer systems (100) having a photonic crystal and an upconversion material are furthermore described.