S.S. Pedro

Structural and photoluminescent properties of the MgGa 2 O 4 :Co 2+ ceramic compound revisited after two decades

In this work, we revisit and show how the structural and photoluminescent properties of the MgGa2O4 ceramic compound have been kept unchanged for more than two decades. The obtained results confirm the high quality, radiative efficiency, and chemical stability of this ceramic, proving that the material is a strong candidate to be used in optical device applications with relatively long useful life.

Optical and Structural Properties of Zn2TiO4:Mn2+

Polycrystalline Zn2TiO4 samples with Mn2+ doping level of 0%, 0.1%, 1.0%, and 5.0% have been produced by conventional solid-state method and their optical and structural properties investigated. Rietveld refinement of x-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formed phases and the crystallographic parameters. The chemical composition was obtained by x-ray fluorescence measurements. The optical properties were studied by photoluminescence, excitation, reflectance, and photoacoustic spectroscopy. All measurements were performed at room temperature. The photoluminescence spectrum of the pure sample (0% Mn2+) showed a band in the red region associated with Zn2TiO4, while the sample with 0.1% Mn2+ exhibited two bands, in the green and red spectral regions, assigned to Mn2+ ions at tetrahedral and octahedral sites. No emission was observed for the samples with 1.0% or 5.0% Mn2+. The excitation results for the sample with 0.1% Mn2+ ions showed characteristic peaks of Mn2+ transitions. Tanabe–Sugano theory was used to obtain the crystal field Dq, B, and C Racah parameters from the energy peak positions in the excitation spectrum of the sample with 0.1% Mn2+. Photoacoustic measurements revealed a broad band, characteristic of semiconductor materials, hiding the Mn2+ transitions.

Espectroscopia fototérmica e difração de raios x: técnicas complementares para a investigação do Cr3+ no sistema LiGaSiO4-LiGa5O8-Li5GaSi2O8

In this work we tried to establish a convenient ceramics preparation method to obtain LiGaSiO4 phase as the predominant one in LiGaSiO4-LiGa5O8-Li5GaSi2O8 system containing few Cr3+ ions as substitutional impurity. The powder samples were produced by solid state reaction from high purity Li2CO3, Ga2O3, SiO2 and Cr2O3 powders. At first, the oxides were mixed during 2 h in an agate mortar and pressed into discs with dimensions 10 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness. The discs were fired in air for 72 h at 1000oC under atmospheric pressure. This first sample of discs was cooled down inside the furnace. With the objective of varying the ratio between the phases, a new sample was prepared by 6 h milling followed by pressing into discs with 2 t charge and 90 h firing at 1000oC. The two samples obtained were investigated by X-ray diffraction, for determining the phases formed. Finally, photothermal spectroscopy measurements were carried out. The broad absorption and emission bands in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions presented by these materials constitute the motivation for their study. These bands are tunable and allow a large number of applications: in medicine, communications and solid state lasers, for example.