Single-Nanocrystal Studies on the Homogeneity of the Optical Properties of NaYF:Yb,Er.

Development of upconverting nanomaterials which are able to emit visible light upon near-infrared excitation opens a wide range of potential applications. Because of their remarkable photostability, they are widely used in bioimaging, optogenetics, and optoelectronics. In this work, we demonstrate the influence of several experimental conditions as well as a dopant concentration on the luminescence properties of upconverting nanocrystals (UPNCs) that need to be taken into account for their efficient use in the practical applications. We found that not only nanoparticle architecture affects the optical properties of UPNCs, but also factors such as sample concentration, excitation light power density, and temperature may influence the green-to-red emission ratio. We performed studies on both the single-nanoparticle and ensemble levels over a broad concentration range and found the heterogeneity in the optical properties of UPNCs with low dopant concentrations.