Steady state and time–resolved luminescence of Tb³⁺/Ce³⁺ doped ABS-BGP glasses

ABS-BGP (Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-BaCO₃-Gd₂O₃-P₂O₅) glasses doped with different concentrations of Ce³⁺ and Tb³⁺ were prepared by high temperature melting method. The luminescent properties using steady state and time-resolved luminescence were investigated. The time-resolved luminescence was studied by pulse photo- and cathodoluminescence type of excitation. The strong “blue” emission due to radiation transition of Ce³⁺ ions under selective excitation in nanosecond time range was recorded. The decay time of Tb³⁺ ions under the electron beam excitation at 542 nm is 2.2 ms. It was demonstrated that the luminescence efficiency does not depend on the Ce³⁺ concentration excited by the LED chip. The decay kinetics are characterized by a single exponential function with the decay time τ = 30 ns under photoexcitation. However there are two components of luminescence decay τ₁ = 35 ns, τ₂ = 540 ns when excited by a flow of electrons. The difference in luminescence decay kinetics under various type of excitation was discussed. The results indicate that ABS-BGP glasses would be excellent candidate for visible luminescent device applications.