LAUSR

Abstract Tb 3+ doped SiO 2 -ZnO-BaO glasses are prepared by melting quenching method and their unique photoluminescent properties for the UV excitation are studied by using emission/excitation spectra and decay curves. Glasses in the composition (mol%) of 60SiO 2 -xZnO-(40-x)BaO-0.2Tb 3+ (x=30, 20, 10) show the strongest emission peaking at 436 nm which is different from majority of other reported work. Lower content of the free OH groups mainly contribute to this phenomenon due to the decreased probability of the multi-phonon aided non-radiative relaxation process from 5 D 3 to 5 D 4 energy levels of Tb 3+ ions. The Tb 3+ concentration also affects the 5 D 3 / 5 D 4 emissions as a result of the cross-relaxation effect on two nearby Tb 3+ ions ( 5 D 3 - 5 D 4 ⇒ 7 F 6 - 7 F 0 ). Moreover, by adjusting Tb 3+ concentration and/or ZnO/BaO concentration ratio of the host glass we obtained the adjustable emission with the required CIE chromaticity from blue to green, suggesting that the present Tb 3+ -doped SiO 2 -ZnO-BaO glasses are potential as blue/green dual-color luminescent materials for different applications.