Trip Report – David Dobesh
How long were you in Nagoya and with which research group?
3 months with Prof. Dr. Hayakawa
What did you research while you were there?
Photoluminescence spectroscopy on glasses and subsequent glass-ceramics doped with europium ions as a luminescence center. Doping of Eu provides specific energy levels which are excited with optical wavelengths. Depending on the surrounding glass matrix, the crystal field of europium ions will have a distortion influencing the optical emission profiles. Changes in the Eu energy level emission provide information on the type of bonding from the host glass matrix. The photoluminescent spectra offer an additional insight into the local glass structure, which we relate to the precipitation of piezoelectric crystal phases from the glass matrix. Additionally, the Fine Line Narrowing technique was used at NITech, a unique method allowing for high-resolution photoluminescence in the hypertensive transitions of the energy levels. We also investigated the local preference of Eu-ions into crystal lattices to determine the site substitution into the perovskite lattice and crystal phases. The investigation also provides broader implications in understanding the glass-to-crystal evolutions for energy-harvesting glass-ceramics materials.
What was the most interesting thing about your experience?
Collaboration with a completely different culture while trying to maintain exceptional scientific methods and relations.
Where else did you travel in Japan?
Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka
What will you always remember?
On the last day in the optical laboratory, the laser cooling system malfunctioned and covered the lab in water. The last day was spent collecting water with dustpans and draining the optical table of water. I would have never guessed such an experience would happen. But Prof. Hayakawa was calm, and we proceeded to move forward. We hope detectors and amplifiers will still function.
