Constructing new thermally coupled levels based on different emitting centers for high sensitive optical thermometer

In multi-emitting and thermochromic Bi3+-Tb3+-Eu3+ co-doped garnet type Ca3Sc2Si3O12 phosphor, new thermally coupled levels (New-TCLs) are firstly constructed based on P-3(1)(Bi3+)/D-5(0)(Eu3+) and D-5(4)(Tb3+)/D-5(0)(Eu3+). And the relative electron population of New-TCLs obeys similar Boltzmann type distribution rules owing to stronger thermalization process with the increase of temperature, which can be elaborated by steady-state rate equations. Hence, a novel self-calibrated non-invasion optical thermometer with high absolute/relative temperature sensitivities (0.094 K-1 at 498 K; 1.0% K-1 at 448 K) and good signal discrimination (Delta lambda approximate to 158 nm) can be achieved by taking advantage of fluorescence intensity ratio of such New-TCLs. This work exhibits a novel strategy to design high-performance optical thermometer in high temperature environment.