Structural and luminescent properties of europium doped TiO₂ thick films synthesized by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique

The structural and luminescent properties of trivalent europium-doped titanium dioxide films synthesized by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique at several substrate temperatures are reported. These films are nanocrystalline and present a mixture of tetragonal (anatase and rutile) crystal structures of the titania as determined by x-ray diffraction. The rutile crystal structure became predominant as the substrate temperature during deposition was increased. Under UV and electron beam excitation, these coatings showed strong luminescence due to f-f transitions and the dominant transition was the hypersensitive ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂ red emission of Eu³⁺. The photo- and cathodoluminescence characteristics of these films were studied as a function of growth parameters such as substrate temperature and europium concentration. Excitation with a wavelength of 396 nm resulted in photoluminescent emission peaks located at 557, 580, 592, 615, 652 and 703 nm, associated with the electronic transitions of the Eu³⁺ ion. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity as a whole is observed to decrease as the deposition temperature is increased. Also, with increasing doping concentration, a quenching of the PL is observed. The chemical composition and surface morphology characteristics of the films are also reported.