Photo- and electroluminescence properties of lanthanide tungstate-doped porous anodic aluminum oxide

Abstract A new cathode material for the potential use in light-emitting devices, based on porous anodic alumina (PAA), aluminum and ITO layers has been synthesized. Porous alumina samples with ordered pore arrays were prepared electrochemically from high purity Al sheet in H2SO4 and H3PO4. To be able to apply the matrix obtained in the electroluminescence cell, the thickness of the barrier layer of aluminum oxide was decreased by slow reduction of the anodization voltage to zero. The luminescence and electroluminescence (EL) properties of the Al2O3 matrix admixtured with Eu3+ and Tb3+ ions as well as europium and terbium tungstates, were determined. The particles of inorganic luminophore were synthesized on the walls of the matrix cylindrical nanopores in the two-step process of immersion in solutions of TbCl3 or EuCl3 and Na2WO4. The effect of the nanopores diameter and the thickness of the porous Al2O3 layer on the intensity and relative yield of electroluminescence was analyzed, the best results were obtained for 80–90 µm PAA layers with 140 nm nanopores.