Giant and reversible photoluminescence modulation based on in situ electric-field-controlled antiferroelectric–ferroelectric phase transition

Abstract

The electric-field-controlled (E-controlled) photoluminescence (PL) effect in inorganic materials has aroused great interest because of its potential applications in displays, optical communication, and data storage. However, current ferroelectric-type PL materials which show either irreversible or reversible but insufficient PL tunability encounter certain limitations. Herein, a strategy of utilizing the E-induced antiferroelectric–ferroelectric (AFE–FE) phase transition is proposed to achieve a giant and reversible modulation of the PL effect. The feasibility of the strategy is evidenced in Er³⁺ doped Pb_0.96La_0.04Zr_0.9Ti_0.1O₃ (PLZT-Er) AFE ceramics, where an alternate E of 80 kV cm⁻¹ can reversibly trigger an ∼30% PL enhancement. Moreover, six nonlinear change sections and two distinguishable PL states are revealed under a cycle of E. This tunability is attributed to the E-induced electric dipole flips and corresponding symmetry changes during the AFE–FE phase transition. Such in situ E-dependent PL modulation suggests a new type of optical–electric coupling mechanism that is fundamentally based on symmetry, which opens up a new approach for multifunctional optoelectronic devices.