On the Fly” Characterization of YbIII:ErIII Co-Doped Upconversion Nanoparticle Nonlinear Optical Response from Single-Particle Trajectories

Spectroscopic characterization of individual nanoparticles is essential for understanding their structure-property relationship and for applications. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in condensed phases can undergo both nonlinear optical and stochastic dynamics when interacting with near-infrared sources. By integrating optical trapping microspectroscopy, stochastic dynamics and light-matter interactions experiments and simulations, in the present work we study how individual trajectories of YbIII:ErIII co-doped UCNPs can be used to perform “on the fly” characterization of their nonlinear optical power-law response upon near-infrared excitation. We illustrate the methodology in the case of freely diffusing and optically trapped UCNPs as well as with particles bound to the substrate. The approach presented in this work can be applied to UCNPs with varying composition and morphological features, particularly in single-particle studies.