Luminescence of 5d–4f transitions of Pr³⁺ in natural fluorite CaF₂, anhydrite CaSO₄ and apatite Ca₅(PO₄)₃F

Natural fluorite, anhydrite and apatite under deep UV excitation exhibits several narrow emission bands in the spectral range of 225–300 nm with the strongest peaks at 230–240 nm and 260–290 nm and with half-widths of 20–30 nm. They are characterized by narrow excitation band peaking at 220 nm and very short decay times of 20–50 ns. Those spectral-kinetic parameters enable their interpretation as 4f5d–4f transitions in Pr³⁺ luminescence center. Such kind of luminescence has been studied extensively over the past several decades in synthetic phosphors, including those which are analogous to natural compounds, but it is the first time 5d–4f luminescence transitions of Pr³⁺ is being proved in minerals.