Prof. Łukasz Marciniak's team from the Institute of Low Temperature and Structural Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences has undertaken an ambitious task of developing thermally stable and efficient NIR phosphors to be applied in pc-LED NIR diodes for use in the agricultural industry or for food quality control. To achieve this, it will be necessary to overcome the phenomenon of enhancing the thermal extinction of luminescence by using different materials than before. The research team is working on using a combination of Fe3+ at the tetrahedral site and Bi3+ sensitisation to increase the cross-section and luminescence efficiency through energy transfer.

The project is carried out within the framework of the Canaletto bilateral programme, together with the Ca' Foscari University of Venice. The combination of the structural and morphological knowledge of the Italian team with the spectroscopic knowledge of the Polish team allows expecting benefits not only for the project, but also for the exchange of experience between both parties and for the improvement of the early career researchers involved in the project.