Effects of structural phase changes on the luminescence of Eu-doped (1-x)BaTiO3-xCaZrO3

We investigated the structural and luminescent properties of Eu3+-doped (1-x)BaTiO3-xCaZrO3 (BCTZ:Eu). The changes in the structural symmetry of BCTZ:Eu with CaZrO3 substitution and Eu3+ doping was determined using Rietveld refinement of the X-ray diffraction patterns. Under ultraviolet photoexcitation, the specimens exhibited typical red-orange emission peaks resulting from the f–f transitions from Eu3+ ions. The intensities and asymmetry ratios of the emission intensities, as well as Stark splitting of the emission bands from Eu3+ were found to be strongly dependent on the structural phase transformation of BCTZ from tetragonal to rhombohedral. These findings suggest that BCTZ:Eu possesses a great potential for multifunctional devices that have both ferroelectric and luminous properties.