Dy3+ -, Sm3+ -, Ce3+ - and Tb3+ -activated optical properties of microcrystalline BaMgP2 O7 phosphors

Abstract

Photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of rare earth (RE) ion (RE = Dy³⁺ , Sm³⁺ , Ce³⁺ , Tb³⁺ ) activated microcrystalline BaMgP₂ O₇ phosphors are presented in this work. Non-doped and doped samples of BaMgP₂ O₇ were prepared using a solid state diffusion method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), PL and TL. The XRD measurement confirmed the phase purity of the BaMgP₂ O₇ host matrix. The average particle size was found through SEM measurement to be around 2 μm. All activators using the PL technique displayed characteristic excitation and emission spectra that corresponded to their typical f → f and f → d transitions respectively. Thermoluminescence measurements showed that BaMgP₂ O₇ :RE (RE = Dy³⁺ , Sm³⁺ , Tb³⁺ , Ce³⁺ ) and co-doped BaMgP₂ O₇ :Ce³⁺ ,Tb³⁺ phosphors have also TL behaviour.

Keywords: BaMgP2O7; optical properties; phosphor; rare earth ions.