Enhanced blue emission from Eu, Dy co-doped sol–gel Al2O3–SiO2 glasses Original Research Article

The influence of Dy3+ ions on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of Eu doped sol–gel Al2O3–SiO2 glasses has been studied. The emission spectrum of Eu single doped glass mainly consists of three emission bands: a blue Eu2+ emission at 422 nm, a green emission at 516 nm ascribed to defects and a red Eu3+ emission at 618 nm. When a small amount of Dy3+ ions were introduced to the Eu doped glasses, the blue Eu2+ emission was enhanced remarkably, while the red Eu3+ emission was weakened. This is because incorporating Dy3+ ions could influence the energy transfer from Eu2+ to Eu3+ ions in the Eu doped sol–gel Al2O3–SiO2 glasses. Excess Dy3+ ions had a fluorescence quenching effect to the Eu2+ emission.