Strong red emission in lead-free ferroelectric Pr3-doped Na 0.5Bi0.5TiO3 thin films without the need of charge compensation

Abstract

We report on the strong red emission properties of lead-free perovskite ferroelectric Pr3-doped Na0.5Bi0.5TiO 3 (NBT: Pr3) thin films without the need of charge compensation. The thin films were prepared by a chemical solution deposition method combined with a rapid thermal annealing process at 700 C. The strong red emission assigned to prominent 1D2→3H 4 transitions of the Pr3 ions at 611 nm was observed together with a very weak blue-green emission, indicating the commercial use potential of the lead-free perovskite NBT: Pr3 ferroelectric thin film materials. The energy transfer from the host lattice to the Pr3 ions should be responsible for the strong red emission, while the weak blue-green emission might be due to the quenching of 3P0 induced by a low-lying Pr3/Ti4Pr↔4/Ti 3 intervalence charge transfer state. The lead-free NBT: Pr 3 thin films also exhibit good ferroelectric and dielectric properties. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.