Spectra and energy levels of Eu3+ in cubic phase Gd2O3

In pulsed laser deposition of the sesquioxide semiconductor Gd2O3, adjusting the chamber oxygen pressure controls the crystalline structure of the host. This technique was used to deposit thin films of nominally 1.6% by weight europiumdoped, cubic phase Gd2O3 using 50 mTorr of oxygen. Structural measurements using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction confirm the films were polycrystalline, cubic phase Eu:Gd2O3. The spectroscopic assignment of emission lines to specific radiative transitions within the trivalent Eu ion is confirmed by theoretical analysis of the appropriate crystal field Hamiltonian. Detailed crystal-field splittings are presented for the ⁵DJ=0-2 and ⁷FJ=0-5 multiplet manifolds of Eu³⁺ in this host material. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.