The project initiates a research program aimed at developing a new family of temperature sensors which measure temperature by monitoring the decay time of fluorescence. The work will focus on sensors which utilize oxide crystals doped with rare earth ions which exhibit a strong temperature dependence in their multiphonon relaxation or phonon assisted energy transfer. The lifetime measurements will yield information on the lattice anhormonicity effects in Y3A15012 and Y203 at elevated temperatures. This knowledge will guide the selection of future materials for such sensors, but also in understanding the behavior of these materials in high temperature composites and opto-thermal devices.
