Optical spectra of Ln3+(Nd3+, Sm3+, Dy3+, Ho3+, Er3+)-doped Y3GaO6

Ln3+ (Ln=Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er)-doped Y3GaO6 compounds were prepared by solid-state reaction, and their optical spectra such as absorption, photoluminescence, excitation and time-resolved spectra have been measured for Ln=Nd, Sm, Dy, Ho, Er. X-ray powder diffraction shows that the lattice parameters of the compounds (Y0.96Ln0.04)3GaO6 decrease with the decrease of the radii of trivalent Ln3+ ions, indicating that Ln3+ ions have substituted for Y3+ ions in the lattice. Optical spectra show that there are obvious absorptions at ultraviolet to visible region. The strong emissions in visible and infra-red region show that Y3GaO6 is a suitable host for rare-earth-doped laser crystal and phosphor materials.