Location of trivalent lanthanide dopant energy levels in (Lu0.5Gd0.5)2O3

The location of Ln(3+) dopant energy levels relative to bands in (Lu0.5Gd0.5)(2)O-3 was studied. A several-steps analysis of XPS measurements on heavy lanthanides sesquioxides Ln(2)O(3) (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) and on Sc2O3 and Y2O3 reference materials were used to locate Ln(3+) dopant ground state relative to the top of the valence band in (Lu0.5Gd0.5)(2)O-3 within an error bar of +/-0.4 eV. The agreement between XPS data and model was found improved relative to previous studies. When compared to XPS analysis, prediction based on optical absorption shows a slight underestimation attributed to the lack of precision in Ce4+ charge transfer band measurement. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3597788]