Cathodoluminescent and photoluminescent properties of terbium doped ZrO2 films prepared by pneumatic spray pyrolysis technique

Terbium doped ZrO2 cathodoluminescent and photoluminescent films have been prepared by pneumatic spray pyrolysis deposition process. Different substra te temperatures, doping concentrations and the flows of solution in the sta rt spraying solution were studied. II is observed that the crystallinity of the films depends on the substrate temperature during deposition of the fi lms. For substrate temperatures lower than 400 degreesC, the deposited film s are amorphous, whereas for substrate temperatures higher than 400 degrees C the crystalline structure of the prepared material presents the metastabl e tetragonal or cubic phases. Preliminary measurements on cathodoluminescen t emission are presented. In the case of photoluminescence, the excitation and emission spectra were obtained; for an excitation wavelength of 250 nm, all the photoluminescent spectra show peaks located at 489, 548, 588 and 6 20 nm. Concentration quenching of the cathodoluminescence and photoluminesc ence occurs at activator concentration greater than 1.17 and 1.96 atomic pe rcent (a/o), respectively. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.