Spectroscopic properties of Ce3+ doped silica annealed at different temperatures

Ce3+-doped silica was synthesized by sol-gel technique. The absorption band at 252nm of Ce3+-doped silica is close to the main absorption band of Ce(NO3)(3) solution. Three different luminescence bands were observed in the samples annealed at temperatures from 100 to 1200 degrees C, and the intensity of these luminescence bands changed with the alteration of the heat-treating temperatures. In addition to two well-known main luminescence bands of 4f-5d transition of Ce3+ with the wavelength at 357 and 450nm, a rarely reported luminescent band with the wavelength at 344nm was also observed, which was attributed to some kind of oxygen-related defects of silica. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.