Mn4+-Doped Magnesium Titanate—A Promising Phosphor for Self-Referenced Optical Temperature Sensing
by Francesca Venturini 1,*, Michael Baumgartner 1 and Sergey M. Borisov 2,* 1 Institute of Applied Mathematics and Physics, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur 8401, Switzerland 2 Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 9, 8010 Graz, Austria
Abstract
Phosphors based on magnesium titanate activated with Mn4+ ions are of great interest because, when excited with blue light, they display a strong red-emitting luminescence. They are characterized by a luminescence decay which is strongly temperature dependent in the range from −50 C to 150 C, making these materials very promising for temperature sensing in the biochemical field. In this work, the optical and thermal properties of the luminescence of Mg2TiO4 are investigated for different Mn4+ doping concentrations. The potential of this material for temperature sensing is demonstrated by fabricating a fiber optic temperature microsensor and by comparing its performance against a standard resistance thermometer. The response of the fiber optic sensor is exceptionally fast, with a response time below 1 s in the liquid phase and below 1.1 s in the gas phase. View Full-Text
