Photochromism of Sm3+-doped perovskite oxide: Ultrahigh-contrast optical switching and erasable optical recording

Inorganic photochromic materials, exhibiting great potential for optical switcher and erasable optical recording, have attracted more and more attention due to their robust fatigue resistance and excellent stability. However, the optical switching contrast of downshifting emission-based photochromic materials is still inferior. To address this issue, in this work we report a Sm 3+ -doped perovskite oxide (BaZrO 3 ) photochromic material with good fatigue resistance. With the combination of red emission and photochromism properties, optical switching with the highest contrast value of 90.05% for the downshifting emission-based photochromic material till now is achieved. The good reproducibility is demonstrated. The mechanisms of photoluminescence , photochromism and optical switching are discussed in detail. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, the implementation of erasable optical recording is also realized through the fabrication of photochromic discs and flexible films using the as-obtained BaZrO 3 : Sm 3+ .