Highly enhanced photoluminescence and X-ray excited luminescence of Li doped Gd2O3:Eu3+ thin films

Transparent Li-doped Gd2O3:Eu3+ thin-film phosphors were prepared by a modified sol–gel method. The effect of the Li+ ions on luminescent properties of the thin film was investigated. The results indicated that incorporation of Li+ ions into Gd2O3 lattice could result in a remarkable increase on photoluminescence or X-ray excited luminescence, and the strongest emission was observed from Gd1.84Li0.08Eu0.08O3−δ film, in which the intensity was increased by a factor of 1.9 or 2.3 in comparison with that of Gd1.92Eu0.08O3 film. And it could be achieved the highest intensity for sintering the Gd1.84Li0.08Eu0.08O3−δ film at 700 °C. Such a temperature is much lower than the typical solid-state reaction temperature for its powder phosphors. This kind of transparent thin-film phosphors may promise for application to micro X-ray imaging system.