Luminescence and X-ray absorption studies on 0.5% Ce(3+) doped BaCa2MgSi2O8 phosphor

0.5% Ce(3+) doped BaCa2MgSi2O8 phosphor was prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method. Luminescence spectra as well as fluorescence decay were monitored in the VUV-UV range. Ce(3+) emissions are assigned to cerium ions on a Ba(2+) site, and the five 4f-5d excitation bands of Ce(3+) were determined at low temperature. The light yield is estimated to be around 10,600 ph MeV(-1) under X-ray excitation. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) was explored to study the energy transfer efficiency to optical centers from each element in the phosphor; the results show that the contributions to luminescence are not identical for each element.