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Yes. Under carefully controlled laboratory conditions, laser light can cool a solid through anti-Stokes fluorescence: the solid emits photons carrying away more energy than the incoming laser photons supplied. That extra energy comes from the material’s thermal vibrations. A 2006 experiment reported this effect in specially prepared erbium-doped crystal and glass samples—not in ordinary erbium metal or a consumer device.
How can shining light remove heat?
In ordinary circumstances, absorbing light adds energy to a material. Anti-Stokes laser cooling works because the pump laser is tuned to the red, lower-energy side of an absorption feature. After an erbium ion absorbs a pump photon, it can emit a fluorescence photon with more energy than that absorbed photon.
The difference is drawn from vibrations in the surrounding solid, called phonons. Those vibrations carry thermal energy; when they contribute energy to the escaping photon, the material loses heat. The laser does not make cold. Cooling is the result of this energy accounting: the departing light carries away more energy than the pump light deposited.
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This process only produces net cooling if the useful fluorescence outweighs competing heat sources. The material must emit efficiently, while parasitic absorption and nonradiative processes—which turn excitation energy into heat instead of escaping light—must be sufficiently small. A bright glow by itself does not show that a sample is getting colder. The mechanism and its efficiency limits are discussed in the 2026 primer on solid-state laser cooling and a 2003 review of condensed-phase optical refrigeration.
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What did the 2006 erbium study show?
Joaquin Fernandez, Angel J. Garcia-Adeva, and Rolindes Balda reported the first observation of anti-Stokes laser-induced cooling in an erbium-doped crystal and glass in a 2006 Physical Review Letters paper. They calculated internal cooling efficiencies using photothermal deflection spectroscopy and used infrared thermal scans as evidence of bulk cooling capability. The publisher’s paper record describes the observation and measurement methods.
The publisher’s displayed abstract omits the chemical formulas. The associated 2006 preprint record identifies the samples as Er3+:KPb2Cl5 crystal and Er3+:CNBZn glass. These were purpose-prepared laboratory materials; the experiment is not evidence that a block of ordinary erbium metal, a household object, or a commercial refrigerator was cooled by a laser.
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The abstract reviewed here does not state a temperature drop, pump wavelength, or cooling power for the erbium experiment. Those figures should not be inferred from results for other materials. For example, the 21 K result reported for an older ytterbium-doped glass experiment is not an erbium result.
How should a laser-cooling claim be evaluated?
Temperature measurements can be misleading if the setup itself adds heat or creates measurement artifacts. A credible demonstration needs evidence that distinguishes genuine cooling from those effects, rather than relying on a visible fluorescence signal or a single temperature reading.
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- Check the energy balance: useful fluorescence must remove more energy than parasitic absorption and nonradiative processes add.
- Look for heating-versus-cooling behavior: measurements should show how the sample responds as conditions change, not just report one apparent temperature shift.
- Use reliable thermometry and thermodynamic consistency checks: these help rule out artifacts and test whether the reported cooling fits the physical energy balance.
- Expect clear reporting: material characteristics, cooling metrics, and temperature-measurement methods should be described consistently.
These validation principles are set out in the 2025 recommendations for demonstrating condensed-phase optical refrigeration and the 2026 methods primer.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How do later temperature milestones relate to erbium?
Later figures in optical refrigeration describe other materials or different kinds of evidence; they are not additional erbium results. A 2026 Physical Review Research paper discusses 87 K as a demonstrated minimum for rare-earth-ion-doped crystals across the broader field. The same paper models an approximately 38 K minimum internal temperature for a Yb:YLF nanocrystal near an optical cavity under realistic conditions. That approximately 38 K figure is a theoretical prediction, not a demonstrated temperature. Neither figure establishes a temperature milestone for the 2006 erbium samples.
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When comparing research materials, useful axes include the host material and dopant, fluorescence quantum efficiency, parasitic absorption, pump wavelength, temperature range, and whether a result is experimentally measured or modeled. The evidence summarized here is not enough to rank erbium hosts against one another.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesSources: Ju et al., Physical Review Research (2026); Fernandez et al., 2006 preprint.
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