Point‐Excitation Wide‐Field Upconversion Imaging via a Holographic Polymer Waveguide

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Authors: Yue Zhang, Donghao Lu, Ying Ma, Yonggui Liao, Xingping Zhou, Zhong'an Li, Haiyan Peng, Xiaolin Xie
Cited by: 4
References: 71

Abstract

Organizing upconversion functionality into an integrated material system holds great promise for high-security encryption and data diversification. However, the practical application of facile upconversion imaging has long been hindered by its limited active area. Herein, we address this challenge by designing a holographic polymer waveguide composed of liquid crystals (LCs) and dithienylethene (DTE) as the high-refractive-index phase, with a polymer matrix embedded with upconversion nanoparticles serving as the low-refractive-index phase. This design enables the transformation of upconversion emission from a localized point to a macroscopic area, expanding the imaging region by up to 225 times. Mechanistic studies reveal that the synergy between LCs and DTE is crucial: the high-refractive-index LCs facilitate waveguiding, while DTE promotes the formation of well-defined holographic waveguide structures. Beyond this conceptual advance, the holographic polymer waveguide has successfully enabled triple-mode image encryption-integrating solidified holograms with rewritable upconversion and photochromic images-thereby opening new avenues for high-security anticounterfeiting technologies.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials Synthesis and Properties of Aromatic Compounds Photochromic and Fluorescence Chemistry

Publication details

Journal / source
Advanced Materials
Publisher
Wiley
Volume
38
Issue
21
Pages
e21024–e21024
Publication date
17 March 2026
Language
EN