Measurement of infrared level lifetime by upconversion luminescence.

Based on repetition frequency-dependent excited state absorption (ESA) upconversion (UC) luminescence, a method to measure the lifetime of an IR intermediate level is proposed so long as ESA UC luminescence can occur in the rare earth ions. The feasibility of this idea is demonstrated via a theoretical simulation. A Er(3+):LiNbO₃ crystal ESA UC luminescence under femtosecond laser excitation is used to illustrate this measurement method, and the obtained 1.