Structure refinement and two-center luminescence of Ca3La3(BO3)5:Ce3+ under VUV-UV excitation

A series of Ca(3)La(3(1-x))Ce(3x)(BO(3))(5) phosphors were prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction technique. Rietveld refinement was performed using the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, which shows occupation of Ce(3+) on both Ca(2+) and La(3+) sites with a preferred location on the La(3+) site over the Ca(2+) site. The prepared samples contain minor second phase LaBO(3) with contents of ~0.64-3.27 wt % from the Rietveld analysis. LaBO(3):1%Ce(3+) was prepared as a single phase material and its excitation and emission bands were determined for identifying the influence of impurity LaBO(3):Ce(3+) luminescence on the spectra of the Ca(3)La(3(1-x))Ce(3x)(BO(3))(5) samples. The luminescence properties of Ca(3)La(3(1-x))Ce(3x)(BO(3))(5) samples under vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and UV excitation were investigated, which exhibited two-center luminescence of Ce(3+), assigned to the Ce(1)(3+) center in the La(3+) site and Ce(2)(3+) center in the Ca(2+) site, taking into account the spectroscopic properties and the Rietveld refinement results. The influences of the doping concentration and the excitation wavelength on the luminescence of Ce(3+) in Ca(3)La(3(1-x))Ce(3x)(BO(3))(5) are discussed together with the decay characteristics.