Low temperature thermoluminescence properties of Eu and R doped CaAl2O4

The thermoluminescence (TL) of calcium aluminate persistent luminescence materials doped with Eu²⁺ and co-doped with R³⁺ ions were studied between 20 and 325 K. The basic material, CaAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺, showed three TL bands between 150 and 300 K in the glow curve. Changing the R³⁺ co-dopant to the adjacent element in the rare earth series affects significantly the thermoluminescence intensity and even the position of the glow curve maximum. The physical effect seemed to be removing the traps since the La³⁺, Y³⁺, and Lu³⁺ ions suppressed the thermoluminescence. The Pr³⁺, Ho³⁺, and Dy³⁺ co-doping enhanced mainly the low temperature traps and these materials have an intense but relatively short persistent luminescence at room temperature. The Nd³⁺ and Tm³⁺ ions enhanced the TL bands close to room temperature and are thus the most suitable co-dopants to induce intense and long persistent luminescence. The quenching of the thermoluminescence by Sm³⁺ was concluded to be due to the presence of Sm²⁺ that removes totally the traps.