Luminescence properties and energy transfer of GdAl3(BO3)4:Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphor

Ce3+ and Tb3+ singly doped and co-doped GdAl3(BO3)4 phosphors were synthesized by solid state reaction. The crystal structure, the luminescent properties, the lifetimes and the temperature-dependent luminescence characteristic of the phosphors were investigated. Through an effective energy transfer, the emission spectra of GdAl3(BO3)4:Ce3+, Tb3+ phosphor contains both a broad band in the range of 330-400 nm originated from Ce3+ ions and a series of sharp peaks at 484, 541, 583, and 623 nm due to Tb3+ ions. The energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ in GdAl3(BO3)4 host is demonstrated to be phonon assisted nonradiative energy transfer via a dipole-dipole interaction.