Terbium luminescence in alumina xerogel fabricated in porous anodic alumina matrix under various excitation conditions

Abstract

Terbium-doped alumina xerogel layers are synthesized by the sol-gel method in pores of a porous anodic alumina film 1 μm thick with a pore diameter of 150–180 nm; the film is grown on a silicon substrate. The fabricated structures exhibit terbium photoluminescence with bands typical of trivalent terbium terms. Terbium X-ray luminescence with the most intense band at 542 nm is observed for the first time for such a structure. Morphological analysis of the structure by scanning electron microscopy shows the presence of xerogel clusters in pore channels, while the main pore volume remains unfilled and pore mouths remain open. The data obtained confirm the promising applications of fabricated structures for developing matrix converters of X-rays and other ionizing radiations into visible light. The possibilities of increasing luminescence intensity in the matrix converter are discussed.