Intrinsic luminescence and energy transfer processes in pure and doped YVO4 crystals

Luminescence properties of nominally pure and neodymium doped YVO4 single crystals have been studied by means of time‐resolved luminescence spectroscopy technique. It was detected that, besides the main well‐known blue excitonic emission band near 2.8 eV, an additional UV emission band at ∼3.1 eV appears in the spectra of intrinsic luminescence at low temperatures (∼80 K) for all crystals studied. Decay time of the UV band is much faster in comparison with the blue one and the UV band is quenched at temperatures above 150 K. Origin of the UV emission band is discussed. A significant rise front was observed in the relaxation kinetics of Nd3+ emission under band‐to‐band excitation. The time constant of the rise front of the Nd3+ emission is very close to decay time of the blue emission in a wide temperature range. It is suggested that the energy transfer process from the host lattice to neodymium ions occurs via excitonic states. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)