[en] Full text: Scientific community has great interest in rare earth ions doped inorganic materials due to its interesting optical properties. Several rare earth doped inorganic materials have been used in solid-state lasers, lighting emitting diodes, and displays. The Al₆Ge2_O13 crystalline phase is a potential host for rare earth ions, which was not studied. This crystalline phase possess orthorhombic structure and high concentration of aluminum ions that can allow the incorporation of rare earth ions to be used in solid-state lasers, optical amplifiers and displays. Europium ions present some interesting optical characteristics for technological applications, such as: well-defined spectral lines and red/orange (Eu³⁺) emissions. In this work, we synthesized pure and Eu³⁺ doped Al₆Ge₂O₁₃ samples by an easy and low cost sol-gel route using the GeO₂ , Al(NO₃ )₃ .9H₂O and Eu(NO₃ )₃ .6H₂O as precursors, tetramethylammonium hydroxide and ethanol as solvents. Homogeneous and transparent gels and thin films were obtained. Materials were heat-treated from 800 and 1100 °C to eliminate organic compounds and evaluate the crystallization process, and characterized by XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies. Transmittance and diffuse reflectance in the UV-Vis-NIR regions and photoluminescence emission spectra under excitation at 394 nm were collected. The decay lifetime was determined for the emission at 612 nm (⁵D₀ ->⁷F₂ transition of Eu³⁺). Only the Al₆Ge₂O₁₃ orthorhombic phase was obtained with high photoluminescence emission having potential use in displays as red phosphors. References: [1] G.N.Conti, S.Berneschi, M.Brenci, S.Pelli, S.Sebastiani, G.C.Righini, C.Tosello, A.Chiasera, M.Ferrari, Appl.Phys.Lett. 89, 121102, 2006. [2] A.Martucci, G.Brusatin, M.Guglielmi, C.Strohhofer, J.Fick, S.Pelli, G.C.Righini, J.Sol-Gel Sci.Tech. 13, 535, 1998. (author)