Making the invisible visible: a new way to boost light emission at the nanoscale

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1096433

"rare-earth metal ions, photoactive lanthanide-doped upconverting nanoparticles' core, exhibit complex energy levels structure allowing interaction with wide range of wavelengths... excitation with 2 near-IR beams upconverts emission intensity several-fold/ changes to visible... enables visualizing IR beyond standard detectors' sensitivity... IR detection/ its conversion to visible, enhanced microscopy resolution, optical computing"