Green photoluminescence from erbium-doped molybdenum trioxide

Abstract Er-doped MoO 3 materials were prepared by a facile method. The X-ray diffraction and Raman results show that the MoO 3 phase belongs to the orthorhombic phase and the Er ions have been successfully doped into the lattice space of MoO 3 . The near band edge emission and defect-related emissions from MoO 3 and the intense sharp characteristic emission lines corresponding to Er 3+ intra-4f shell transitions are resolved in the photoluminescence spectra at room temperature. The existence of the shoulder peaks due to the Stark splitting effects indicates the low symmetry of crystal field around Er 3+ ions. An energy transfer mechanism from MoO 3 host to Er 3+ ions is proposed.