Photoluminescence and energy transfer of Ce3+ and Tb3+ doped oxyfluoride aluminosilicate glasses

The transmission and photoluminescence (PL) properties of Ce3+ or Tb3+ doped and Tb3+/Ce3+ 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 Ce3+ [5d (D-2) -> F-2(5/2,7/2)] and an intense sharp green emission (543 nm) derived from Tb3+ (D-5(4) -> F-7(5)) in the Ce3+ and Tb3+ doped glasses, respectively. Concentration quenching is not observed even the mole ratio of Tb3+ is up to 8% in Tb3+ doped glass. This indicates that the as-made host glass provides a good distribution of Tb3+ activators in glass matrix. For Tb3+/Ce3+ codoped glasses, a strong green emission corresponding to Tb3+ (D-5(4) -> F-7(5)) and an energy transfer phenomenon from Ce3+ to Tb3+ were observed upon excitation with an UV wavelength (289 nm). It was also observed that their PL intensity depends on the concentration of Ce3+ when the concentration of Tb3+ is fixed. The mechanism involved in the energy transfer between Ce3+ and Tb3+ was explained with an energy level diagram. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.