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 substrate temperatures, doping concentrations and the flows of solution in the start spraying solution were studied. It is observed that the crystallinity of the films depends on the substrate temperature during deposition of the films. For substrate temperatures lower than 400°C, the deposited films are amorphous, whereas for substrate temperatures higher than 400°C the crystalline structure of the prepared material presents the metastable tetragonal or cubic phases. Preliminary measurements on cathodoluminescent 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 620 nm. Concentration quenching of the cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence occurs at activator concentration greater than 1.17 and 1.96 atomic percent (a/o), respectively.