A single band of photoluminescence (PL) has been detected at room temperatu
re from the Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O-3 (x=0-1.0) surface. The intense and stable PL ba
nd covers 475+/-50 nm (or 2.67+/-0.25 eV) wavelengths and the corresponding
photoexcitation (PE) band is in the range of 305+/-45 nm. It is found that
changing the x value causes a negligible shift of the PL and PE peaks, and
the light emission is subject to the Pb presence. The minimal lifetime of
the excited photons was found to be 0.03 ms at x=0.5 and the maximum lifeti
me of 0.60 ms can be achieved by either decreasing or increasing the x valu
es. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.