Competitive up-conversion mechanisms in Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped LiNbO3

The dynamics of 2H11/2:4S3/2→4I15/2 and 4F9/2→4I15/2 Er3+ emission bands has been explored for a wide Yb3+ concentration range by excitation (pulsed and CW) in the common absorption range (980 nm). The temporal evolutions exhibited by both emissions can be explained considering several competitive up-conversion mechanisms. The rate equations describing these processes have been numerically integrated to fit the temporal evolutions and the macroscopic up-conversion parameters have been obtained.