Preparation and luminescence properties of Eu2+-doped BaSi2O5 glass-ceramics

We report on the preparation of Eu2+-doped BaSi2O5 glass-ceramics by crystallizing an Eu3+-doped barium-silicate glass at temperatures in the range from 750 to 1100 °C. Single phase BaSi2O5 glass ceramics can be obtained by thermal annealing at temperatures of about 950 °C. The luminescence intensity of Eu2+ increases dramatically if monoclinic BaSi2O5 is formed. Monoclinic Eu2+:BaSi2O5 shows efficient, broad band luminescence between 450 and 550 nm by excitation in the near UV. Annealing at temperatures >1000 °C leads to orthorhombic BaSi2O5 with much smaller Eu2+ luminescence. Static and time-resolved luminescence measurements indicate that Eu2+ ions are incorporated into the BaSi2O5 crystallites while Eu3+ ions remain in the amorphous phase.