Spectroscopic and photoluminescence properties of Ho3+ doped Ba0.65Sr0.35TiO3 nanocrystals

Ho3+ doped Ba0.65Sr0.35TiO3 (BST) nanocrystals was prepared by sol–gel method. The structural and morphological properties of the nanocrystals were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The absorption spectrum, photoluminescence spectrum and fluorescence time decay curve were measured at room temperature. Based on the Judd–Ofelt (J–O) theory, the J–O intensity parameters Ωt (t=2, 4, 6) of Ho3+ doped BST nanocrystals were calculated to be 0.67×10−20 cm2, 1.11×10−20 cm2 and 1.09×10−20 cm2, respectively. The emission probabilities, radiative lifetimes and branching ratios of the different Ho3+ transitions were also determined. The emission cross sections of the important intermanifold transitions 5F4,5S2→5I8, 5F5→5I8 and 5F4→5I7 have been calculated from the luminescence spectrum. The room temperature fluorescence lifetime of the 5S2→5I8 transition for Ho3+ in BST nanocrystals was measured and the radiative quantum efficiency was estimated to be 61.9%.