R&D: Multi-level Phosphor Storage Enabled by Synergistic Up-conversion and Photo-stimulated Trap Manipulation

Communications Materials has published an article written by Yuning Luan, Quan Sun, Yi Liu, Tingxing Shi, Feng Liu, Key Laboratory for UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, PR China, Liangliang Zhang, Jiahua Zhang, State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130023, China, Xiao-jun Wang, Department of Physics, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, 30460, USA, and Yichun Liu, Key Laboratory for UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, PR China.

Abstract: “Phosphor-based optical storage technologies have made significant strides in encoding and decoding processes, yet persistent challenges in flexible, multi-level storage remain. Here, we present a synergistic strategy that integrates up-conversion charging (UCC) with a photo-stimulated trap manipulation (PSTM) technique to address the challenges, demonstrated through the use of co-doped Mg₃Y₂Ge₃O₁₂:Pr³⁺,Yb³⁺ storage phosphors. During the data recording phase, we employ a 450-nm laser that rapidly fills both shallow and deep traps via non-linear UCC, allowing for high-definition data recording in just 0.01 s. For retrieval, PSTM uniquely leverages ambient light to redistribute electrons from deep to shallow traps, followed by infrared-stimulated luminescence with a 960-nm flashlight to enhance data access. This UCC-PSTM synergy enables high-security, multi-level information retrieval following multi-channel data encoding, and supports numerous write/read cycles. These outcomes mark a meaningful step forward in the realm of optical storage technologies and pave the way for further developments in the field.“