Fluorescence line narrowing study of Cr ions in cordierite glass nucleating MgAlO nanocrystals

Abstract The luminescence of Cr 3+ ions in cordierite glass nucleating MgAl 2 O 4 nanocrystallites has been investigated. The time resolved fluorescence line narrowing measurements and the temperature dependence of the homogeneous line width show that most Cr 3+ ions are inside the nanocrystallites. Cr 3+ ions occupy non-equivalent crystal sites, due to the Mg 2+ –Al 3+ inversion effect. The values of the homogeneous line width compare well with those of previous studies in crystals. No surface effect has been observed due to the large size of the crystals.