Luminescence and luminescence kinetics of chromium doped gahnite glass ceramics

The fluorescence decay kinetics of Cr3+ impurity ions in a gahnite glass ceramic are analysed using a technique used previously in molecular spectroscopy that produces a continuous distribution of lifetimes rather than a number of discrete contributions. The results are shown to be consistent with Cr3+ ions occupying three different phases within the host material. These phases are identified and shown to make different contributions to the fluorescence spectra of the material. Examples are given for different combinations of excitation and fluorescence detection wavelengths and for different sample temperatures. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.