Abstract
In the present work, the effect of europium (Eu) dopant on the third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) responses of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) is investigated. The NPs are synthesized by facile hydrothermal technique using saponin as a capping agent. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV–visible spectroscopy and Room-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy (RTPL). The synthesized NPs exhibit wurtzite crystal structure with good crystallinity. Williamson–Hall analysis of XRD pattern revealed the presence of dopant induced compressive strain in the crystal lattice of Eu doped ZnO NPs. The capping of saponin on the surface of NPs is confirmed by FTIR study. A significant decrease in the optical band gap of Eu-doped ZnO NPs attributed to the presence of extended defect states below the conduction band. An enhancement in the blue luminescence is observed for the highest doping level (5 at. wt% of Eu), and this is attributed to defects-related emission in the NPs. The third-order NLO properties of the NPs are explored by a single beam Z-scan technique by employing continuous-wave laser of wavelength 532 nm. The open aperture Z-scan curves showed a remarkable switching from reverse saturable absorption to saturable absorption in 5 at. wt% Eu-doped ZnO NPs is caused due to the ground-state bleaching effect. Further, the closed aperture Z-scan curves exhibit the positive nonlinear refractive index in the 5 at. wt% Eu-doped ZnO NPs attributed to the thermo-optical effects.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L. Schmidt-Mende, J.L. MacManus-Driscoll, Mater. Today 10, 40 (2007)
U.P. Shaik, P.A. Kumar, M.G. Krishna, S.V. Rao, Mater. Res. Express 1, 4 (2014)
J.L. Ferrari, M.A. Schiavon, R. Landers, J.R. Sambrano, R.L. Siqueira, F.de A. La Porta, N.L. Marana, A.F.V. da Fonseca, J. Alloys Compd. 739, 939 (2017)
J.A. Mary, J.J. Vijaya, J.H. Dai, M. Bououdina, L.J. Kennedy, Y. Song, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 34, 27 (2015)
D.M. Li, X.B. Wang, F. Pan, K.W. Geng, C. Song, F. Zeng, Appl. Surf. Sci. 253, 1639 (2006)
E. Fortunato, L. Raniero, L. Siva, A. Gonçalves, A. Pimentel, P. Barquinha, H. Águas, L. Pereira, G. Gonçalves, I. Ferreira, E. Elangovan, R. Martins, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 92, 1605 (2008)
R. Kumar, O. Al-Dossary, G. Kumar, A. Umar, Nano-Micro Lett. 7, 97 (2015)
M. Sun, Z. Chen, X. Jiang, C. Feng, R. Zeng, J. Alloys Compd. 780, 540 (2019)
M. Shkir, M. Taukeer, V. Ganesh, I.S. Yahia, B. Ul, A. Almohammedi, P. Shankaragouda, S.R. Maidur, S. Alfaify, Opt. Laser Technol. 108, 609 (2018)
H. Ahmad, M.A.M. Salim, M.F. Ismail, S.W. Harun, Laser Phys. 26, 115107 (2016)
K. Senthilkumar, B.E. Urban, O. Kumar, Y. Fujita, J. Lin, A. Neogi, Opt. Mater. Express 1, 658 (2011)
C.A. Bader, F. Zeuner, M.H.W. Bader, T. Zentgraf, C. Meier, C.A. Bader, F. Zeuner, M.H.W. Bader, T. Zentgraf, C. Meier, J. Appl. Phys. 118, 213105 (2015)
P.S. Halasyamani, K.R. Poeppelmeier, Chem. Mater. 10, 2753 (1998)
M.C. Larciprete, D. Haertle, A. Belardini, M. Bertolotti, F. Sarto, P. Günter, Appl. Phys. B Lasers Opt. 82, 431 (2006)
K. Wang, J. Zhou, L. Yuan, Y. Tao, J. Chen, P. Lu, Z.L. Wang, Nano Lett. 12, 833 (2012)
K.M. Sandeep, S. Bhat, S.M. Dharmaprakash, P.S. Patil, K. Byrappa, J. Appl. Phys. 120, 123107 (2016)
K.M. Sandeep, S. Bhat, S.M. Dharmaprakash, K. Byrappa, J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. 50, 095105 (2017)
P. Sreekanth, V. Gandhiraj, R. Philip, G.M. Bhalerao, RSC Adv. 5, 80756 (2015)
A. Singh, S. Kumar, R. Das, P.K. Sahoo, RSC Adv. 5, 88767 (2015)
A.V. Khomenko, L. Castañeda, R. Rangel-Rojo, B.A. Can-Uc, C.I. García-Gil, C. Torres-Torres, R. Torres-Martínez, Opt. Express 21, 21357 (2013)
L.I.V.P.N. Nampoori, P. Radhakrishnan, J. Mater. Res. 23, 2836 (2008)
K.X. Zhang, C.B. Yao, X. Wen, Q.H. Li, W.J. Sun, RSC Adv. 8, 26133 (2018)
B. Karthikeyan, C.S. Suchand Sandeep, T. Pandiyarajan, P. Venkatesan, R. Philip, Appl. Phys. A Mater. Sci. Process. 102, 115 (2011)
I.V. Kityk, M. Abd-Lefdil, P. Poornesh, A. Rao, A. El Fakir, M. Sekkati, S. Pramodini, K. Spoorthi, G. Sanjeev, Laser Phys. 27, 065403 (2017)
S.S. Syamchand, G. Sony, J. Lumin. 165, 190 (2015)
V. Kumar, V. Kumar, S. Som, M.M. Duvenhage, O.M. Ntwaeaborwa, H.C. Swart, Appl. Surf. Sci. 308, 419 (2014)
Y. Liu, W. Luo, R. Li, G. Liu, M.R. Antonio, X. Chen, J. Phys. Chem. C 112, 686 (2008)
A. Kolodziejczak-Radzimska, T. Jesionowski, Materials. 7, 2833 (2014)
V. Jassal, U. Shanker, B.S. Kaith, S. Shankar, RSC Adv. 5, 26141 (2015)
S. Sundar, S. Piraman, RSC Adv. 5, 74408 (2015)
M. Sheik-Bahae, A.A. Said, T.H. Wei, D.J. Hagan, E.W. Van Stryland, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 26, 760 (1990)
H. Li, S. Jiao, S. Gao, H. Li, L. Li, Cryst Eng Comm 16, 9069 (2014)
A. Kalita, M.P.C. Kalita, Phys. E Low Dimens Syst. Nanostruct 92, 36 (2017)
V. Gandhi, R. Ganesan, H.H. Abdulrahman Syedahamed, M. Thaiyan, J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 9715 (2014)
M. Baira, A. Bekhti-siad, K. Hebali, H. Bouhani-benziane, M. Sahnoun, Phys. B Phys. Condens. Matter 537, 296 (2018)
P.P. Pal, J. Manam, J. Rare Earths 31, 37 (2013)
V. Reddy, R.S. Torati, S. Oh, C. Kim, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 52, 556 (2012)
R.A. Sperling, W.J. Parak, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 368, 1333 (2010)
P. Chandrasekaran, G. Viruthagiri, N. Srinivasan, J. Alloys Compd. 540, 89 (2012)
B. Khodadadi, M. Bordbar, J. Sol-Gel. Sci. Technol. 77, 521 (2016)
A. De Jamblinne De Meux, G. Pourtois, J. Genoe, P. Heremans, J. Phys. D. Appl. Phys. 48, 435104 (2015)
F. Oba, Y. Kumagai, Appl. Phys. Express 11, 060101 (2018)
M. Yilmaz, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 40, 99 (2015)
F. Yakuphanoglu, Y. Caglar, S. Ilican, M. Caglar, Phys. B Condens. Matter 394, 86 (2007)
P.K. Samanta, P.R. Chaudhuri, J. Opt. 41, 75 (2012)
V. Kumar, O.M. Ntwaeaborwa, T. Soga, V. Dutta, H.C. Swart, ACS Photonics. 4, 2613 (2017)
J. Iqbal, B. Wang, X. Liu, D. Yu, B. He, R. Yu, New J. Phys. 11, 063009 (2009)
S. Geburt, M. Lorke, A.L. Rosa, T. Frauenheim, R.R. Der, T. Voss, U. Kaiser, W. Heimbrodt, C. Ronning, Nano Lett. 14, 4523 (2014)
L. Irimpan, V.P.N. Nampoori, P. Radhakrishnan, Chem. Phys. Lett. 455, 265 (2008)
E.W. Van Stryland, A.A. Said, D.J. Hagan, Prog. Cryst. Growth Charact. Mater. 27, 279 (1994)
M. Ramya, T.K. Nideep, K.R. Vijesh, V.P.N. Nampoori, M. Kailasnath, Opt. Mater. 81, 30 (2018)
E. Solati, D. Dorranian, Appl. Phys. B Lasers Opt. 122, 1 (2016)
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Coordinator, DST-PURSE, Department of Physics, Mangalore University, for providing facilities for the characterization of samples and technical support to carry out the work. Vinoditha U acknowledges the financial assistance received from the DST-PURSE.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vinoditha, U., Sarojini, B.K., Sandeep, K.M. et al. Defects-induced nonlinear saturable absorption mechanism in europium-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by facile hydrothermal method. Appl. Phys. A 125, 436 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2732-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2732-4