Visible to infrared low temperature photoluminescence of rare earth doped bismuth germanate crystals

In this paper, the influence of a series of rare earth (Eu, Tm, Nd) and Cr ion doping on the optical properties of BGO was investigated by means of photoluminescence (PL) from visible to IR region in the 10–300 K temperature range using different types of detectors, namely, photomultiplier tube (PMT), InGaAs (IGA), and Si. Several samples were investigated having dopants concentrations of 0.3 wt%Nd, 0.4 wt%Tm, 0.06 wt% Cr and 3 ppm Eu. The PL spectra of the samples showed different luminescence behaviour which is assigned to the 4f intra shell transition from rare earth ions. The temperature dependence of the PL from rare earth doped BGO crystals is also examined. - Highlights: • Visible to infrared low temperature photoluminescence properties have been investigated. • Nature of several sharp and strong emission lines due to rare earth ions were discussed. • Rare earth doped BGO can clearly affect the luminescence response of the crystal.