Optical properties of Eu3+ ions in phosphate glasses

Eu3+-doped phosphate (P2O5 + K2O + SrO + Al2O3 + Eu2O3) glasses with varying Eu2O3 concentration have been prepared by standard melt quenching technique and are characterized through various spectroscopic techniques at room temperature. Luminescence spectra of these glasses exhibit the characteristic emission of Eu3+ ion with an intense and most prominent red emission attributed to D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition. Crystal-field analysis has been carried out to estimate the local symmetry in the vicinity of Eu3+ ions. Judd-Ofelt parameters have been evaluated from the luminescence intensity ratios of D-5(0) -> F-7(J) (J = 2, 4 and 6) to D-5(0) -> F-7(1) transitions as well as absorption spectrum under different constraints. Decay rates for the D-5(0) level of Eu3+ ions have been recorded by monitoring the emission at around 609 nm corresponding to D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition. The experimental lifetime for the D-5(0) level in title glasses is independent of Eu3+ ion concentration. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.