Luminescence properties of BaAl12O19:Tb, Ce and energy transfer between Ce3+, Tb3+

BaAl12O19:Tb,Ce phosphors were prepared by sol-gel technique, the crystalline structures of samples characterized by XRD, and the luminescence properties and energy transfer between Ce3+ and Tb3+ were investigated. The results indicated that the emission intensity and the excitation wavelength range of Tb3+ increased when Ce3+ was doped. It demonstrated that the Ce3+ added in the BaAl12O19:Tb could deliver energy to Tb3+, and Ce3+ was not luminous by itself. The relative emission intensity of Tb3+ at wavelength of 548 nm was the strongest by Tb3+/Ce3+ ratio of 2:1, when excited at 310 nm, which was the characteristic adsorption wavelength of Ce3+.