Photoluminescence and energy transfer of Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ doped oxyfluoride aluminosilicate glasses

Abstract

The transmission and photoluminescence (PL) properties of Ce 3+ or Tb 3+ doped and Tb 3+/Ce 3+ codoped oxyfluoride aluminosilicate glasses were reported. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were applied to confirm the structure and thermal stability of samples. PL spectra revealed a bright and broad violet-blue emission derived from Ce 3+ [5d ( 2D) → 2F 5/2,7/2] and an intense sharp green emission (543 nm) derived from Tb 3+ ( 5D 4 → 7F 5) in the Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ doped glasses, respectively. Concentration quenching is not observed even the mole ratio of Tb 3+ is up to 8% in Tb 3+ doped glass. This indicates that the as-made host glass provides a good distribution of Tb 3+ activators in glass matrix. For Tb 3+/Ce 3+ codoped glasses, a strong green emission corresponding to Tb 3+ ( 5D 4 → 7F 5) and an energy transfer phenomenon from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ were observed upon excitation with an UV wavelength (289 nm). It was also observed that their PL intensity depends on the concentration of Ce 3+ when the concentration of Tb 3+ is fixed. The mechanism involved in the energy transfer between Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ was explained with an energy level diagram.