Eu(III)-doped aluminium yttrium oxide

Abstract

In this work, we report the synthesis and the photoluminescence features of Eu(III)-doped yttrium-aluminium oxide obtained by non-hydrolytic sol-gel routes. After heating the powders above 600°C the XRD patterns show the presence of the Y4Al2O9 (YAM) and Y 3Al5O12 (YAG) phases. At 800 and at 1500°C the PL spectra display the Eu(III) lines characteristic of the YAM monoclinic phase. The 5D0→V7F2 transition is favored relatively to the 5D0→7F 1 lines. However, at 1100°C the cubic YAG is the preferential phase and the 5D0→7F1 transition dominates the spectrum. The Eu(III) ions lie in a centrosymmetrical site. The different solvents used in the sol-gel synthesis also change the relative proportion between these two phases. This is monitored analyzing the modifications in the relative intensity between the 5D 0→7F2 and the 5D 0→7F1 transitions.