Temperature/electric field induced photoluminescence-modulation effect in dysprosium-doped barium titanate ferroelectric ceramics

Lanthanide(Ln^(3+))based ferroelectric phosphors,with an integration of PL emission and ferroelectric effect,are unveiling an exciting realm of possibilities for multifunctional ferroelectric-optic materials.However,how the ferroelectric host enables the tuning on the PL emissions through modulating the local structure(e.g.,lattice site,symmetry,strains etc.)of the Ln^(3+)activator is not established yet.In this work,a luminescent-ferroelectric material,i.e.Dy^(3+)doped BaTiO_(3) ceramic(Ba_(1–x)Dy_(x)TiO_(3)(x=0–0.07),abbr:BTO:Dy^(3+)),was explored to address the aforementioned issues.The BTO:Dy^(3+)ceramics were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method.The crystal structure,photoluminescence(PL)and electric properties(dielectric constant,ferroelectric hysteresis and piezoelectric hysteresis loop)were systematically investigated.The BTO:Dy^(3+)ceramics show two predominant emission peaks,corresponding to the blue magnetic dipole transition(477 nm,4F_(7/2)→6H_(15/2))and yellow electric dipole transition(573 nm,4F_(7/2)→6H_(13/2)),the intensity ration of which can be modulated by the ferroelectric polarization that causes the slight lattice deformation.Such a polarization-emission modulation combining with the Dy3+doping could accelerate the color change,from yellow to blue,which is characterized to detect the phase transition,with a method and mechanism were proposed,that is,the phase change is reflected by the PL characteristic peak intensity ratio.Therefore,the current results offer a convenient photoluminescence method for detecting the ferroelectric phase transition and a feasible approach to study the interaction between the photoluminescence and polarization in ferroelectric materials,for providing new insights for the development of multifunctional materials.