Increasing the luminescence yield of zirconia

The effect of high-temperature treatment in vacuum in the presence of carbon as a reducing agent on the luminescent properties of zirconia is studied. It is shown that an increase in the intensity of pulsed cathodoluminescence at 480 nm and thermoluminescence in the dominant peak at 500 K is due to the thermochemical coloration of the initial samples with the formation of oxygen vacancies detected by electron paramagnetic resonance. The described procedure for increasing the luminescence yield of ZrO$_2$ can be applied when it is used in optoelectronics, photonics, and radiation dosimetry.