VUV Optical Properties of Rare Earth Doped YPO4 Prepared by Different Routes

Authors

Zachary Way, Central Washington University
Maxwell K. Wallace, Central Washington University
Anthony L. Diaz, Central Washington University

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Chemistry

Publication Date

10-14-2017

Abstract

The optical properties of nanocrystalline YPO₄:Ln³⁺ (Ln = Eu, Sm, Tb) prepared via co-precipitation are compared to larger crystallites of YPO₄:Ln³⁺ prepared via traditional solid state reaction. In larger crystals (~330 nm) a distinct peak is observed at 150 nm in the excitation spectra, the intensity of which decreases markedly in smaller crystals (~20 nm). Using excitation and reflectance spectroscopy, host–to–activator energy transfer efficiencies were calculated for Y_1-xPO₄:Ln_x³⁺ (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.10). From the transfer efficiency data, we estimate that trapping by Eu³⁺ and Sm³⁺ is at least five times more efficient than trapping by Tb³⁺ for excitation at the band edge. The fraction of energy lost to the surface or grain boundaries for excitation at 150 nm and 138 nm is also estimated. We propose that in the samples prepared via co-precipitation, an amorphous phase forms at grain boundaries that is responsible for the loss of efficiency under 150 nm excitation.

Comments

This article was originally published Open Access in ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Recommended Citation

Way, Z., Wallace, M. K., & Diaz, A. L. (2017). VUV Optical Properties of Rare Earth Doped YPO4 Prepared by Different Routes. ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, 7(1), R3163–R3170. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0201801jss

Journal

ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

© The Author(s) 2017.