Variable Photoluminescence Intensity Ratio with the Excitation Wavelength in Eu3+-Doped Perovskite-Type Alkaline Earth Zirconates─Possibility of a Unique Visualization of Ultraviolet Light

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra arising from 4f-4f dipole transitions of Eu3+ doped at both the A and B sites of perovskite-type alkaline earth zirconates obtained at various excitation wavelengths were evaluated. Changes in the excitation wavelength caused obvious differences in the PL intensity ratio of the induced electric dipole (ED) 5D0 → 7F2 transition to the magnetic dipole (MD) 5D0 → 7F1 transition for Eu3+-doped SrZrO3 and CaZrO3, in which only the B site had a center of symmetry. Two charge transfer (CT) bands associated with the excitation of Eu3+ were observed in the spectra of these oxide samples, which arose from the difference in the electronic structure of the Eu-O coordination at the A and B sites. We conclude that simultaneous Eu3+ substitution at sites with and without a center of symmetry, which have different charge transfer energies, induced the observed novel PL changes with a changing excitation wavelength. Our results may enable the development of a new type of ultraviolet light detector.