Progress on Application of Monte Carlo Simulation in Studying Energy Transfer Mechanisms for Rare-earth Luminescent Materials

High-performance tunable luminescent materials activated by rare-earth ions， as well as studies on the involved physical mechanisms， are the emphasis and difficulties of design and development of novel luminescent materials and optoelectronic devices. Thereinto， fundamentally unveiling the energy transfer processes induced by the sophisticated interionic interaction has been a vital research problem for the rare-earth luminescent materials. Monte Carlo simulation is a statistical simulation method that relies on huge amounts of repeated random samples to acquire numerical results. In the research field of rare-earth luminescence， Monte Carlo method has become a critical tool to systematically study the interionic energy transfer mechanisms by fully considering the crystal structures， rare-earth-doping behaviors， decay dynamics of fluorescence， etc. In this paper， we first introduce the basic principles and modeling methods of Monte Carlo simulation. Then starting from the interaction mechanisms and geometrical factors of determining energy transfer processes， we generalize the research progresses using Monte Carlo method to fundamentally study the energy transfer modes. At last we give a brief summary as well as a short prospect on the applications of Monte Carlo simulation in investigating rare-earth luminescent materials. © 2022 Chines Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.