Enhancement of luminescence efficiency of f–f transitions from Tb3+ due to energy transfer from Ce3+ in Al2O3 crystalline ceramic powders prepared by low temperature direct combustion synthesis

In this Letter, we report the structural and luminescent properties of Tb:Ce:Al2O3 crystalline ceramic powders prepared through combustion synthesis at low temperature (∼280 °C). The presence of Ce3+ (1.0 mol%) in the sample resulted in an enhancement of Tb3+ (1.0 mol%) overall emission intensity by a factor of ∼50. The analysis of the luminescence dynamics for the 5D4 → 7F6 transition (∼545 nm) of Tb3+ demonstrated that the mechanism responsible for the large enhancement of luminescence observed is efficient energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+.