SrTiO_(3) crystals containing varying concentrations of Pr and Ga were grown by a standard floating zone method and their photoluminescence characteristics were investigated. It was found that only a small fraction of Pr ions added are incorporated in...
SrTiO_(3) crystals containing varying concentrations of Pr and Ga were grown by a standard floating zone method and their photoluminescence characteristics were investigated. It was found that only a small fraction of Pr ions added are incorporated in the lattice. When the Ga ions are co-doped, the solubility of Pr ions is increased considerably. Comparing the ionic sizes of the host and dopants, it seems that the increase of solubility of Pr by Ga co-doping is due to charge compensation achieved by the additional Ga3+. The addition of Ga in Pr - activated SrTiO_(3) resulted also in a considerable enhancement of Pr^(3+) emission band at 615 nm. This result is attributed to the hole trapping effect of Ga^(3+) ions.