{"title":"Lanthanide photonics on the path to future: from gas lighting to optical computers","authors":"Jean-Claude G. Bünzli , Ka-Leung Wong","doi":"10.1016/j.jlumin.2025.121473","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In 1891, Austrian scientist and entrepreneur Carl Auer von Welsbach filed a groundbreaking patent for a cotton mantle impregnated with cerium-doped thorium oxide, which converted the light and heat of gas lamps into a brilliant white glow. This marked the birth of lanthanide photonics and phosphor chemistry—a field that now underpins countless essential technologies, from solid-state lighting to cancer phototherapy and quantum computing information processing. This perspective explores the remarkable scientific journey of lanthanide photonics, highlighting recent breakthroughs and key developments. We begin with a historical overview before delving into fundamental advances including quantum chemical models, antenna effect and energy transfer mechanisms, the design of inorganic phosphors, the influence of electric and magnetic fields, molecular and circularly polarized luminescence, upconversion processes, and quantum bits. The final section focuses on cutting-edge applications, such as solid-state lighting, photovoltaics, mechanoluminescence, and biomedical innovations (optical imaging, cancer diagnosis, and photodynamic therapy), while briefly touching on other emerging uses. Rather than providing an exhaustive review, this article offers a concise yet broad overview of the field, spotlighting pivotal contributions from the past decade. Our goal is to capture the dynamism and interdisciplinary impact of lanthanide photonics as it continues to shape science and technology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16159,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Luminescence","volume":"287 ","pages":"Article 121473"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Luminescence","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022231325004132","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"OPTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In 1891, Austrian scientist and entrepreneur Carl Auer von Welsbach filed a groundbreaking patent for a cotton mantle impregnated with cerium-doped thorium oxide, which converted the light and heat of gas lamps into a brilliant white glow. This marked the birth of lanthanide photonics and phosphor chemistry—a field that now underpins countless essential technologies, from solid-state lighting to cancer phototherapy and quantum computing information processing. This perspective explores the remarkable scientific journey of lanthanide photonics, highlighting recent breakthroughs and key developments. We begin with a historical overview before delving into fundamental advances including quantum chemical models, antenna effect and energy transfer mechanisms, the design of inorganic phosphors, the influence of electric and magnetic fields, molecular and circularly polarized luminescence, upconversion processes, and quantum bits. The final section focuses on cutting-edge applications, such as solid-state lighting, photovoltaics, mechanoluminescence, and biomedical innovations (optical imaging, cancer diagnosis, and photodynamic therapy), while briefly touching on other emerging uses. Rather than providing an exhaustive review, this article offers a concise yet broad overview of the field, spotlighting pivotal contributions from the past decade. Our goal is to capture the dynamism and interdisciplinary impact of lanthanide photonics as it continues to shape science and technology.
期刊介绍:
The purpose of the Journal of Luminescence is to provide a means of communication between scientists in different disciplines who share a common interest in the electronic excited states of molecular, ionic and covalent systems, whether crystalline, amorphous, or liquid.
We invite original papers and reviews on such subjects as: exciton and polariton dynamics, dynamics of localized excited states, energy and charge transport in ordered and disordered systems, radiative and non-radiative recombination, relaxation processes, vibronic interactions in electronic excited states, photochemistry in condensed systems, excited state resonance, double resonance, spin dynamics, selective excitation spectroscopy, hole burning, coherent processes in excited states, (e.g. coherent optical transients, photon echoes, transient gratings), multiphoton processes, optical bistability, photochromism, and new techniques for the study of excited states. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. Papers in the traditional areas of optical spectroscopy (absorption, MCD, luminescence, Raman scattering) are welcome. Papers on applications (phosphors, scintillators, electro- and cathodo-luminescence, radiography, bioimaging, solar energy, energy conversion, etc.) are also welcome if they present results of scientific, rather than only technological interest. However, papers containing purely theoretical results, not related to phenomena in the excited states, as well as papers using luminescence spectroscopy to perform routine analytical chemistry or biochemistry procedures, are outside the scope of the journal. Some exceptions will be possible at the discretion of the editors.