Luminescence properties of Ce3+-doped NaPrP4O12 polyphosphate

Abstract

Studies on the crystal structure and luminescence properties have been performed for the NaPr1-xCexP4O12 polyphosphate series. Excitation and emission spectra of Pr3+ and Ce3+ luminescence from NaPrP4O12:Ce3+ clearly reveal an efficient Pr3+ → Ce3+ energy transfer via migration over the Pr3+-sub-lattice and a nonradiative resonant transfer to the Ce3+ ions. Analysis on scintillation characteristics of the NaPr1-xCexP4O12 series shows a maximum light yield of 11 000 ± 1000 ph MeV-1 for NaPr0.99Ce0.01P 4O12, proving the studied polyphosphates to be promising for application in the detection of x-ray and gamma quanta. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.