Photon-conversion and sensitization evaluation of Eu³⁺ in a borate glass system.

Photon conversion is exhibited in a borate (LKZBSB) glass system containing Eu(3+), and the enhanced characteristic emissions of Eu(3+) with the codoping of Ce(3+) have been verified. A large Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter Ω2 of Eu(3+) indicates a high asymmetrical and strong covalent environment around rare-earth (RE) ions in LKZBSB glasses and spontaneous emission probability and a maximum emission cross section of the dominant 5D0→7F2 transition were derived to be 370  s(-1) and 1.28×10(-21)  cm2, respectively, revealing the potential UV→visible photon-conversion capacity of Eu(3+). Absolutely quantitative evaluation illustrates that Eu(3+) is a favorable photon-conversion center to achieve high photon-conversion efficiency. The addition of Ce(3+) is beneficial to realizing effective red emission of Eu(3+), which possesses commercial value by decreasing the dopant of expensive europium compounds. As an expectation, this photon-conversion LKZBSB glass system can promote the development of a photon downconversion layer for solar cells, which are particularly used in outer space with intense UV radiation.