Luminescence and charge compensation in SnO2doped with rare-earth ions

Abstract

Tin oxide has been doped with several of the rare-earth ions, namely europium, terbium, thulium, holmium and neodymium. The effects of coactivators such as lithium, phosphorus and niobium have been investigated as well. Of the rare-earth ions, only europium, terbium and thulium plus coactivator, when added to tin oxide, caused the characteristic RE³⁺ lines in the visible region of the spectrum. Inclusion of the others just results in broad-band emission characteristic of the host lattice. Consideration of the lattice defects and ion sites in tin oxide explains these results qualitatively.