[en] Full text: Fluctuation in the price of rare earth oxides as well as challenging purification of these elements can be an issue in the research, application and manufacture of some strategically important materials. The most important and commercially available luminescence materials are based on the rare earths, e.g. Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ and SrAl₂O₄ :Eu²⁺;Dy³⁺. Thus, novel non-rare earth doped materials are needed as alternative phosphors. The most common non-rare earth doped materials cited in the literature use Ti³⁺, Mn²⁺ and Cr³⁺ as dopants. The Ti³⁺ (a 3d¹ ion) luminescence arises from the e_g → t_2g d-d transition the energy of which depends strongly the crystal field, thus enabling the color tuning of emission [1]. The main drawback of Ti³⁺ as an emitting center is the complex redox chemistry involving the Ti³⁺ - Ti^IV pair and the participation of TiIV in charge transfer processes during excitation. Rapid microwave methods used to prepare Ti doped Lu₂O₃ materials yields crystalline dense luminescent ceramics. Single Ti doped and Mg co-doped materials were prepared. The emission process is discussed based on experimental data taking in account the energetics in the system. Structural data, such as synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with UV absorption, rising time, decay times, photoluminescence excitation and emission techniques are used to probe the luminescence processes of these novel phosphors. The effect of structural defects due to aliovalent substitution of Mg²⁺ and Ti^IV in the Lu³⁺ sites were studied by thermoluminescence. The defects promote different parts in the emission bands tuning the luminescence. The ratio Ti³⁺/Ti^IV seems to be affected by the defect structure as well. References: [1] J.M. Carvalho, L.C.V. Rodrigues, J. Hölsä, M. Lastusaari, L.A.O. Nunes, M.C.F.C. Felinto, O.L. Malta, H.F. Brito, Influence of Titanium and Lutetium on the Persistent Luminescence of ZrO2 , Opt. Mater. Express 2 (2012) 331–340. (author)