UV-excited blue- to green-emitting Tb3+ -activated sodium calcium metasilicate colour tunable phosphor for luminescence devices.

Tb3+ -doped Na4 Ca4 Si6 O18 (NCMS:Tb3+ ) phosphors were synthesized using a solid-state reaction route with increasing dopant concentration. The phase identification studies for NCMS:Tb3+ phosphors were carried out using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The XRD patterns for the as-synthesized phosphors showed satisfactory agreement with the standard pattern (JCPDS card no. 75-1687) for the pure phase of the Na4 Ca4 Si6 O18 compound. The morphology and size of particles were illustrated from scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs. The photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectrum of Tb3+ -doped Na4 Ca4 Si6 O18 phosphor depicts the strong excitation peak obtained in the UV spectral region. The trivalent terbium-activated NCMS phosphors excited in the UV region (232 nm wavelength) exhibited intense emission in the blue (350-470) and green (470-650) spectral regions. When increasing the concentration of Tb3+ ions in the host matrix, the emission colour shifted from the blue to the green region due to cross-relaxation energy transfer (CRET) mechanisms and showed the tunable behaviour of the Tb3+ -activated as-synthesized NCMS phosphor. These results demonstrated that the Tb3+ -activated sodium calcium metasilicate phosphor has immense potential to contribute as a green- and blue-green-emitting component in lighting and display device applications.

Thermally stable red luminescence from Eu3+ -activated telluro zinc phosphate glass under near-ultraviolet light excitation for photonic applications.

Telluro zinc phosphate (TZP) glasses doped with different concentrations of Eu3+ ions were prepared and their physical, structural, and luminescence properties were studied in detail to reveal the utility of the as-prepared glass for white light-emitting diode (w-LED) applications. The broad hump in the diffraction pattern specified the amorphous behaviour of the TZP glass. The various vibrational shoulder linkages were characterized using the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The optical absorption spectrum was measured in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible (Vis) light region for the Eu3+ -doped TZP (TZPE) glass and the optical band gap was found to be 3.12 eV. Eu3+ -doped TZP glasses showed several emission peaks in the visible region including an intense red emission peak due to the 5 D0 →7 F2 transition under an excitation wavelength of λex  = 393 nm, which was matched with the emitting wavelength of the near-UV LED chip. Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates were situated in the red region and nearly matched with the coordinates of the commercial red phosphor (Y2 O3 S:Eu3+ ). The decay profile of the TZPE50 glass exhibited a single exponential fit with a decay time ( τ ) of 1.76 ms. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) studies demonstrate that the as-prepared glass consist of excellent thermal stability. The detailed analysis and results confirmed that the red-emitting TZPE glasses were potential candidates for white-LED and other photonic applications.

Synthesis and optimization of photoluminescence properties in potential reddish orange emitting niobate phosphor for photonic device applications.

A series of samarium ions (Sm3+ ) activated barium sodium niobate (Ba2 NaNb5 O15 ) samples have been successfully synthesized via employing a solid-state reaction technique. Single phase, crystalline tetragonal Ba2 NaNb5 O15 were formed and the crystallite size of the prepared sample varied with doping of Sm3+ ions. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of Ba2 NaNb5 O15 :Sm3+ illustrate that the particles possess a non-uniform spherical structure with some agglomeration. The prepared Ba2 NaNb5 O15 :Sm3+ phosphors were efficiently excited with near-ultraviolet (n-UV) (406 nm) and emit strong visible emission peaks in the range 550-725 nm. The phenomenon of concentration quenching was detected after x = 0.10 mol of Sm3+ ions concentration for Ba2 NaNb5 O15 , which arises due to non-radiative energy transfer through dipole-dipole interaction among activator ions. Colour coordinates (0.586, 0.412) for the optimized phosphor lies in the visible reddish orange region. A bi-exponential decay behaviour was observed for the photoluminescence decay curve of the optimized phosphor sample with an average decay time in milliseconds. The temperature dependent emission intensity confirms that the Ba2-x NaNb5 O15 :xSm3+ (x = 0.10 mol) phosphor exhibits adequate thermal stability having high value of activation energy (ΔE = 0.201 eV). The comprehensive study and analysis of the as-prepared samples suggest that the intense reddish orange emitting thermally stable Ba2 NaNb5 O15 :Sm3+ phosphor can act as a potential luminescent material in phosphor coated lighting, solar cells and other photonic devices.