Strong green light emission in Ho doped Bi4Ti3O12 ferroelectric ceramics

A series of polycrystalline Bi4-xHoxTi3O12 (BiT:xHo(3+)) (x=0.0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) samples were synthesized through the solid-state reaction method, and their microstructural, photoluminescence, ferroelectric (FE), and dielectric properties were investigated. Under the excitation of 455 nm light, the sample exhibits a strong green emission peak centered at 545 nm which corresponds to the transition from S-5(2) to I-5(8). The optimal emission intensity was obtained when x=0.05 for the BiT:xHo(3+) system. More importantly, enhanced ferroelectric and dielectric properties were also obtained with Ho doping. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.