Upconversion cooling of Er-doped low-phonon fluorescent solids

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new laser cooling mechanism in rare-earth-doped low-phonon solids that utilizes infrared-to-visible upconversion, offering broader frequency range cooling compared to traditional methods.

Contribution

It presents a novel upconversion-based cooling mechanism in fluorescent solids, expanding the operational frequency range for laser cooling.

Findings

Demonstrates infrared-to-visible upconversion as an effective cooling process

Shows broader frequency range for cooling in low-phonon materials

Highlights advantages over conventional anti-Stokes cooling

Abstract

We report on a novel mechanism for laser cooling of fluorescent solids based on infrared-to-visible upconversion often found in rare-earth-doped low-phonon materials. This type of optical cooling presents some advantages with regards to conventional anti-Stokes cooling. Among them, it allows to obtain cooling in a broader range of frequencies around the barycenter of the infrared emitting band.