Absorption and luminescence spectroscopy of zinc borate glasses doped with trivalent lanthanide ions

Absorption and luminescence spectra and decay curves have been measured at temperatures down to 12 K for 4ZnO-3B 2O 3 glasses doped with Pr 3+ and Eu 3+. Analysis of the spectra has yielded information about the probability of the radiative transitions in the impurity ions and the strength of the electron-phonon coupling. The strongly non-exponential decay curves indicate the importance of energy transfer and migration processes accounting for the dynamics of the excited states of Pr 3+.