Luminescence and energy transfer of Tb[3+]-doped BaO-Gd2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses.

Transparent Tb[3+]-doped BaO-Gd2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses with the greater than 4g/cm[3] were prepared by high temperature melting method and its luminescent properties have been investigated by measured UV-vis transmission, excitation, emission and luminescence decay spectra. The transmission spectrum shows there are three weak absorption bands locate at about 312, 378 and 484nm in the glasses and it has good transmittance in the visible spectrum region. Intense green emission can be observed under UV excitation. The effective energy transfer from Gd[3+] ion to Tb[3+] ion could occur and sensitize the luminescence of Tb[3+] ion. The green emission intensity of Tb[3+] ion could change with the increasing SiO2/B2O3 ratio in the borosilicate glass matrix. With the increasing concentration of Tb[3+] ion, [5]D4→[7]FJ transitions could be enhanced through the cross relaxation between the two nearby Tb[3+] ions. Luminescence decay time of 2.12ms from 546nm emission is obtained. The results indicate that Tb[3+]-doped BaO-Gd2O3-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses would be potential scintillating material for applications in X-ray imaging.