Structure and luminescent properties of electrodeposited Eu3 +-doped CaF2 thin films

•Eu3 +-doped CaF2 thin films were obtained using electrodeposition.•The lattice parameters of CaF2:xEu3 + increase with increasing of Eu3 + content.•Dominant doped Eu3 + ions situate at higher symmetry site in CaF2 host.•The highest photoluminescence quantum yield of films is about 64.24%.

The crystal structure and photoluminescence properties of CaF2 films doped with varied concentrations of Eu3 + ions prepared via the facile electrodeposition method under mild conditions have been systematically studied. The lattice parameters of the electrodeposited Ca(1 − x)F(2 + x):Eux (x: 0–0.30) increase with the increasing doping concentration of Eu3 + due to the charge compensation by additional fluoride interstitial ions. The high ratio of photoluminescence intensity between the magnetic dipole transition (5D0 → 7F1) at 590 nm and the electron dipole transition (5D0 → 7F2) at 614 nm of Eu3 + in all electrodeposited films indicates that the dominant europium ions are situated at the site with high symmetry in the CaF2 host. With the increase of the Eu3 + concentration, the photoluminescence quantum yield shows a tendency of decreasing, and the highest quantum yield of film is about 64.24%.