Nazarov Mihail, Tsukerblat Boris, Byeon Clare Chisu, Arellano Ivan, Popovici Elisabeth-Jeanne, Noh Do Young
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea.
Appl Opt. 2009 Jan 1;48(1):17-21. doi: 10.1364/ao.48.000017.
The terbium-activated yttrium tantalite (YTaO(4):Tb(3+)) phosphor is of great interest due to the interesting spectroscopic properties of rare earth ions in crystals and also practical use in x-ray imaging. Using the group-theoretical approach, we analyze the selection rules for the transition between Stark components of Tb(3+) in symmetry of the actual crystal field and the polarization for the allowed transitions. The luminescence upon UV, vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV), and x-ray excitation is presented and discussed. The YTaO(4):Tb(3+) phosphors are found to be efficient VUV-excited luminescent materials that could be used not only in x-ray intensifying screens, but also in mercury-free fluorescent lamps or plasma display panels.
