Effect of pressure on luminescence properties of Ce3+: Lu2S3

We report the effect of pressure on d --> f luminescence properties of Ce3+:Lu2S3 up to similar to300 kbar. We observed that the d --> f luminescence upon compression exhibited a large redshift in energy and a strong quenching in intensity. The pressure-induced redshift was explained by an increased crystal-field strength and nephelauxetic effect. We attributed the pressure-induced quenching in the intensity to a pressure-induced crossing of the conduction band edge of Lu2S3 and the emitting 5d state of Ce3+ on the basis of temperature-dependent luminescence intensity measurements. A quantitative analysis of the temperature dependence at several pressures was completed and analyzed using a photoionization model. Excellent agreement of the model with the experimental results was found.