Near-infrared luminescence spectroscopy of Al2O3 : V3+ and YP3O9: V3+

Near-infrared luminescence and excitation spectra of Al2O3 : V3+ and YP3O9 : V3+ are presented. In Al2O3 : V3+ the trigonal and spin-orbit splitting of the 3T1g (Oh notation) ground state is determined: spinor levels (with D3 symmetry designations) are at 0 (A1), 8.1 (E), 992 (E) and 1134 cm−1 (E, A2 and A1 overlapping). Errors in the literature concerning these splittings are corrected. A full crystal field calculation is used to rationalize all the information from absorption and luminescence spectra. There is spectroscopic evidence for inequivalent V3+ sites in YP3O9 : V3+. The quantum efficiency in both systems is low in contrast to V3+ doped in chloride and bromide host lattices. A simple model is presented to account for this difference.