Elaboration and optical study of BaCO₃-RE₂O₃ materials

Nanopowders of undoped and co-doped barium carbonate (BaCO₃) with (Eu3⁺, Dy3⁺) ions were prepared using the self-combustion method. In the first part, we investigated the effect of the europium ion concentration on the BaCO₃ matrix. The results obtained by XRD revealed that the samples consist of the orthorhombic BaCO₃ phase. We used the Judd-Offelt theory to calculate the Judd parameters and deduce the spontaneous emission probabilities, the lifetimes of the emitting levels and the quantum yield of the emission. The results showed that 1% Eu3⁺-doped BaCO₃ exhibited favourable characteristics for laser emission in the red region. In the second part, we studied the spectroscopic properties of the Eu3⁺/Dy3⁺ ions in the matrix. The results obtained via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) confirm the presence of Eu3⁺ and Dy3⁺ ions in BaCO₃ through the resonance of their unpaired electrons. Analysis of the optical properties of rare-earth-doped BaCO₃ revealed the existence of energy transfer from Dy3⁺ ions to Eu3⁺ ions.