The influence of rare-earth ions on the low-temperature thermoluminescence of Bi4Ge3O12

Abstract

Low-temperature (20-290 K) thermoluminescence spectra of Bi4Ge3O12 reveal a range of trapping levels, some of which are common to both undoped and doped material. The emission spectra for undoped and transition-metal-doped Bi4Ge3O12 indicate that at low temperatures, intrinsic luminescence centres result in broad-band emission typical of signals from relaxed excitons or possibly excited bismuth ions. For material containing rare-earth ions, the signals are characteristic of the rare-earth dopants, even when the rare-earth ions are present in concentrations as low as 3 ppm. The temperatures of the glow peaks seen at ~54, 105 and 141 K for undoped material are strongly modified by the rare-earth ions. The trapping and recombination sites, monitored by rare-earth emission, are intimately linked, probably within large complex structures. For these three glow peaks the peak temperature varies smoothly with the ionic radii of the rare-earth impurities. These movements are substantial, with changes of up to 50 K, as a function of the rare-earth radii. Of all the rare-earth ions, europium forms the most stable recombination centres. This is probably because the trivalent europium ion is similar in size to the host (bismuth) ion for which it substitutes. Tentative models for trapping sites and thermoluminescence mechanisms are proposed.