Eu3+-Doped (Gd, La)AlO3 Perovskite Single Crystals: Growth and Red-Emitting Luminescence

Eu3+-doped GdAlO3 (Eu:GAP) and Gd0.5La0.5AlO3 (Eu:GLAP) perovskite single crystals were successfully grown using the optical floating zone (OFZ) method. The microstructure, optical, photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence (under X-ray excitation, XEL) were investigated. Under the PL excitation of 275 nm, obvious emission bands peaking at 556 nm, 592 nm, 617 nm, 625 nm, 655 nm, and 706 nm were demonstrated, which correspond to the 5D0 → 7Fj (j = 0–4) transitions of Eu3+. The grown Eu:GAP single crystal showed a stronger PL intensity compared with that of Eu:GLAP in the red light region. After annealing at 1000 °C for 4 h in weak reductive atmosphere (Ar + 5% H2), a slight redshift and dramatic enhancement of PL and XEL intensity occurred. In addition, Eu:GLAP show a more intense XEL emission than that of Eu:GAP. Considering their different densities, these two kinds of red luminescence phosphors are proposed to be promising in a wide field of X-ray imaging, warm white, or plant lighting, respectively.