Silver Cluster‐Mediated Polyoxotantalate 1D Molecular Heterostructure Toward Ultra‐Low‐Loss Active Optical Waveguides and Information Coding

ABSTRACT

This work investigates the first one‐dimensional (1D) silver cluster‐mediated polyoxotantalate molecular heterostructures of ‐[Ag ₉ ‐Ta ₆ ] _n ‐ ( 1g , 1y , and 1r ), combining silver clusters as versatile emitting units and polyoxotantalate as light propagation units. Its ultra‐low waveguiding loss coefficient of (1.03 ∼ 1.63 × 10 ⁻³  dB/µm) demonstrates this assembly of silver clusters and polyoxotantalate as an efficient platform in designing active optical waveguides. The solvent‐affected luminescent emission of silver clusters within this heterostructure enables the construction of emission‐tunable (green, yellow, and red) waveguides. Furthermore, the local photoluminescent (PL) behaviors of a single crystal could be changed via local thermal treatment, leading to the formation of an optical heterojunction. Spatially PL resolved spectra also confirm heterojunction microrods exhibit an obvious optical waveguide effect with a low waveguide loss coefficient (2.22 ∼ 2.93 × 10 ⁻³  dB/µm) during propagation. This study not only represents the first example following the function decomposition discipline but also establishes new types of silver cluster‐mediated polyoxotantalate‐based low‐dimensional ultralow‐loss optical waveguides for advanced optical communication and information coding.