Site selection spectroscopy in Eu3 +-doped lanthanum fluorozirconate glass and glass-ceramic

• Optical properties of Eu3 +-doped glass and GC are investigated by FLN technique.
• We studied the effect of ceramization on the symmetry of Eu3 + sites.
• Two main site distributions for Eu3 + ions are detected in the glass and the GC.
• Decay-time of 5D0 level shows an energy transfer between different sites.
• An increase of lifetime from glass to GC is exhibited by Eu3 +.

The optical properties of Eu3 +-doped glass and transparent glass-ceramic with composition (in mol%) 70.2ZrF4–23.4LaF3–0.6AlF3–5.8GaF3 were investigated by site selective spectroscopy in order to study the effect of ceramization on the symmetry of Eu3 + sites. The glass-ceramic obtained after thermal treatment of the glass ZLAG contains a unique crystalline phase of unknown structure. The analysis and comparison of FLN spectra in these materials are presented and different classes of sites are discussed. We found the presence of two main site distributions for Eu3 + ions of equivalent symmetry (C2v or lower) in the glass and two sites of different symmetry (C2v or lower and C4v or lower) in the glass-ceramic (GC). The estimated average crystal field strength for glass and GC decreases with the 5D0 → 7F0 energy. The results suggest that the two kinds of sites identified in the glass correspond to Eu3 + ions in and out of the former network. Decay-time measurements of 5D0 level of Eu3 + evidenced energy transfer between high and low energy sites and showed an increase of lifetime from the glass to the glass-ceramic.