Photoluminescence and electrical properties of Er-doped (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-based transparent ceramics

Er-doped 0.98(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-0.02Ba(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O-3 transparent fluorescent ceramics were prepared using traditional solid-phase method. The (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) ceramics were modified by introducing the second group elements Ba(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O-3 and rare earth ions Er3+. The effects of Er3+ on the structure, optical and electrical properties of transparent ceramics (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-Ba(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O-3 were investigated. The ceramics form a single perovskite structure and have a pseudo-cubic phase structure. Nanoscale grain size was obtained for ceramics, and the smallest average grain size is 80 nm. The ceramics have high transmittance. The ceramic 0.1 mol% Er-doped 0.98(K0.5Na0.5)NbO3-0.02 Ba(Bi0.5Nb0.5)O-3 achieved the highest transmittance for this system with 62% and 52% at near-infrared light (1000 nm) and visible light (700 nm), respectively. The ceramics have up-conversion luminescence properties and also maintain good electrical properties. Under 980 nm excitation, the samples showed two green emission bands (518-536 nm, 536-557 nm) and one red emission band (646-677 nm). In addition, the ceramics have relaxation ferroelectricity, and a high dielectric constant. These functional ceramics with multiple properties will have greater research significance and application value.

Automated summary

In this study, Er-doped transparent fluorescent ceramics were synthesized using the solid-phase method. The effects of Er3+ on the structure, optical, and electrical properties were investigated. The ceramics showed high transmittance, up-conversion luminescence, and relaxation ferroelectricity.