A novel blue emitting phosphor Ca1-ySryScBO4:Bi3+ with zero-thermal quenching for multi-scenario application.

In recent years, Bi3+ activated phosphors have received a lot of attention from researchers; however, the performance and application areas of phosphors are yet to be developed. In this work, a series of CaScBO4(CSBO):xBi3+ phosphors were successfully prepared using a high-temperature solid-state method. Under UV excitation, blue light emission was achieved at 430 nm with a quantum yield of 91%, and at 423 K, the emission intensity retained 82.8% of the original intensity at 298 K. By crystal field engineering, the substitution of Sr2+ at the Ca2+ site enhances the temperature stability of the material, and at 423 K, 473 K and 573 K, the samples maintain 104%, 103% and 85% of the emission intensity at room temperature, respectively. It indicates that the cation substitution causes the increase in the oxygen vacancy concentration, and the oxygen vacancy defect compensates the energy lost in electrons at high temperature, producing resistance to anti-TQ performance. Finally, a blue-violet LED was fabricated by using the phosphor and an ultraviolet LED chip, and white LEDs (CCT = 4683 K, Ra = 89.7) were obtained by co-packaging this phosphor with commercial phosphors and a UV chip. Importantly, the great potential of this phosphor in the field of plant lighting and biocontrol can be demonstrated.

Ultrasensitive Colorimetric Luminescence Thermometry by Progressive Phase Transition.

Luminescent materials that display quick spectral responses to thermal stimuli have attracted pervasive attention in sensing technologies. Herein, a programmable luminescence color switching in lanthanide-doped LiYO2 under thermal stimuli, based on deliberate control of the monoclinic (ß) to tetragonal (α) phase transition in the crystal lattice, is reported. Specifically, a lanthanide-doping (Ln3+ ) approach to fine-tune the phase-transition temperature in a wide range from 294 to 359 K is developed. Accordingly, an array of Ln3+ -doped LiYO2 crystals that exhibit progressive phase transition, and thus sequential color switching at gradually increasing temperatures, is constructed. The tunable optical response to thermal stimuli is harnessed for colorimetric temperature indication and quantitative detection, demonstrating superior sensitivity and temperature resolution (Sr = 26.1% K-1 , δT = 0.008 K). The advances in controlling the phase-transition behavior of luminescent materials also offer exciting opportunities for high-performance personalized health monitoring.

Achieving Luminescence of Sr3Ga1.98In0.02Ge4O14:0.03Cr3+ via [In3+] Substitution [Ga3+] and Its Application to NIR pc-LED in Non-Destructive Testing.

Cr3+-doped Sr3Ga2Ge4O14:0.03Cr3+ (SGGO:0.03Cr3+) phosphor was synthesized via a high-temperature solid-phase method. Considering the tunable structure of SGGO, Ga3+ ions in the matrix were substituted with In3+ ions at a certain concentration. The tuned phosphor produced a red-shifted emission spectrum, with its luminescence intensity at 423 K maintained at 63% of that at room temperature; moreover, the internal quantum efficiency increased to 65.60%, and the external quantum efficiency correspondingly increased to 21.94%. On this basis, SGIGO:0.03Cr3+ was encapsulated into a pc-LED, which was applied in non-destructive testing (NDT) experiments, successfully realizing the recognition of water and anhydrous ethanol, proving its potential application in the field of NDT.

High-Quantum-Efficiency Blue Phosphors with Superior Thermal Stability Derived from Eu3+-Doped Faujasite Y Zeolite.

Blue phosphors of high efficiency and superior thermal stability constitute the critical component for achieving high-quality white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). Herein, we report a highly efficient blue-emitting phosphor with superior thermal stability by heating Eu3+-doped Faujasite Y zeolite under a reducing atmosphere. The intensity and peak value of the phosphor are highly dependent on calcination temperature, and the intensity of PLE and PL spectra reaches a maximum at 1100 °C. Under the excitation of 360 nm, the phosphor shows a high quantum efficiency (90%) and thermal stability (the emission intensity at 423 K is about 125% of that at room temperature). WLEDs fabricated using this blue phosphor, a yellow Eu2+-SOD phosphor, and a commercially available red Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+ phosphor exhibit an excellent optical performance with a correlated color temperature of 4359 K and a color rendering index of 97. This work provides a new strategy for the synthesis of phosphors with high thermal stability and luminous efficiency.

Tb3+-based multi-mode optical ratiometric thermometry.

Owing to some special superiority, luminescence ratiometric thermometry, mainly including dual excitations single emission and single excitation dual emissions, has gained popularity over the past few years. However, developing novel ratiometric thermometry that can work in multi-mode is still a challenge. Here we report a temperature measurement method based on the photoinduced luminescence of Tb3+ in the low-cost and easy to prepare calcium tungstate. Both the conventional luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) and recently developed single-band ratiometric (SBR) strategies have been achieved in our materials. On the one hand, upon excitation of the charge transfer state, the emissions from the excited 5D4 and 5D3 states present different responses to temperature. A thermometry depending on the LIR between these two emissions has thus been developed, with adjustable relative sensitivity that is sensitive to the excitation wavelength. On the other hand, both the emissions from the excited 5D4 and 5D3 states respond dissimilarly to the temperature variation. A SBR thermometer has thus been constructed with two excitation modes, reaching the maximum relative sensitivity of 1.83% K-1 at 573 K. The present work is expected to inspire other researchers to exploit more multi-mode optical ratiometric thermometries.

Achieving Persistent Luminescence Performance Based on the Cation-Tunable Trap Distribution.

Deep-red persistent luminescence (PersL) materials have promising applications in fluorescence labeling and tracking. PersL spectral range and PersL duration are considered to be the key factors driving the development of high-performance deep-red PersL materials. To address these two key issues, the performance of PersL materials was continually optimized by doping with cations (Si4+ and Al3+ ions), relying on the material of Li2ZnGe3O8:Cr3+ from the previous work of our group, and a 4.8-fold increase in PersL radiation spectrum intensity and more than twice the PersL duration was achieved (PersL duration up to 47 h). Ultimately, the obtained PersL materials are used to demonstrate their potential use in multi-level anti-counterfeiting, tracking and localization, respectively. This study provides a unique and novel entry point for achieving high-performance PersL materials by optimizing the PersL material host to modulate the electronic structure.

Luminescence and energy transfer of single-phase white-emitting phosphor Ba2Mg(PO4)2:Ce3+, Eu2+ for white LEDs.

A series of Ba2Mg(PO4)2:Ce3+, Eu2+ phosphors were synthesized by the traditional high temperature solid-state method, and the crystal structures and luminescence properties of the samples were discussed systematically. The energy transfer from Ce3+ to Eu2+ in Ba2Mg(PO4)2 was proved to be of resonant type via a dipole-dipole interaction mechanism. With a precisely controlled relative proportion of Ce3+/Eu2+, the emission color of the samples can vary from blue (0.157, 0.071) to white (0.352, 0.332) and ultimately to yellow (0.452, 0.466) under the 323 nm ultraviolet light radiation excitation. The result reveals that the Ba2Mg(PO4)2:Ce3+, Eu2+ phosphor may have potential application as a single-phased white-emitting phosphor for light emitting diodes.

Luminescence Properties and Energy Transfer in SrLa2Sc2O7 Co-Doped with Bi3+/M (M = Eu3+, Mn4+, or Yb3+).

Series of Eu3+/Mn4+/Yb3+-doped SrLa2Sc2O7:Bi3+ (SLSO: Bi3+) were synthesized by a high-temperature solid-state method, and the energy transfer of Bi3+→Eu3+/Mn4+/Yb3+ was observed. Under ultraviolet radiation, a 550 nm emission peak was observed, which is attributed to Bi3+ occupying the Sr2+/La3+ sites. Additionally, the other peaks were found to be 615, 707, and 980 nm, which are assigned to the Re3+ (Eu3+ and Yb3+) and Mn4+ occupying two different cationic sites. An obvious energy transfer (ET) from Bi3+ to Eu3+/Mn4+/Yb3+ was observed, and the tunable color, emitting from yellow to red, was obtained; the ET efficiency was about 86.2%, 78.6%, and 27.5% in SLSO, respectively. We found that the large overlap area between the emission spectrum of the sensitizer and the excitation spectrum of the activator could produce efficient energy transfer, which provided the idea for designing experiments in the future for some highly efficient energy transfer processes.

Luminescence properties and energy transfer of the near-infrared phosphor Ca3In2Ge3O12:Cr3+,Nd3.

The double doping strategy based on energy transfer is an effective way to regulate the NIR spectral distribution. In this work, Ca3In2Ge3O12:xNd3+ (CIG:xNd3+) and Ca3-x In1.93Ge3O12:0.07Cr3+,yNd3+ (CIG:0.07Cr3+,yNd3+) phosphors are successfully prepared via a high-temperature solid-state method. CIG:0.07Cr3+ shows broadband emission centered at 804 nm, which covers most of the excitation peaks of Nd3+ ions. Under excitation at 480 nm, Cr3+ can provide effective energy transfer to Nd3+. In addition, CIG:0.07Cr3+,0.15Nd3+ has good temperature stability, and maintains 68.98% of the room-temperature intensity at 150 °C. The phosphors can convert short-wave photons to long-wave photons and enhance solar cell utilization, demonstrating the potential application of this material in solar spectral conversion technology.

Improving the luminescence property of the novel yellow-emitting phosphor SrLa2Sc2O7:Bi3+ with charge compensators (Li+, Na+, K+) and its application in NUV-based white LEDs.

In this work, a novel yellow-emitting phosphor SrLa2Sc2O7(SLSO):Bi3+ was synthesized by a high temperature solid-state method, with a wide coverage from 400 nm to 800 nm under near-ultraviolet (NUV) excitation and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of up to 180 nm. The phosphor emits bright yellow light, which is observed using optical microscopy. Alkali metal (Li+, Na+, K+) ions were used as charge compensators to enhance the luminescence intensities of SrLa2Sc2O7:Bi3+. Finally, the yellow SrLa2Sc2O7:Bi3+,Li+ and blue Sr5(PO4)3Cl:Eu2+ phosphors were homogeneously mixed with silica gel and coated on a NUV light emitting diode (LED) at 370 nm to obtain white LEDs with a high color rendering index (Ra = 91.3), a low correlated color temperature (CCT = 4879 K) and color coordinates (0.34, 0.30). This work can provide a good candidate for making white LEDs.

Efficient near-infrared broadband garnet phosphor for pc-LED and its application to vascular visualization and night vision.

Ultra-broadband near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has unparalleled application prospects in intelligent detection and phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (pc-LED), which are most likely to become the next generation of NIR light sources, has become a hot spot for research nowadays. To cope with the demand for more NIR spectroscopy applications, more efficient NIR phosphors need to be developed. Here, by screening the subject with a smaller band gap and by screening the suitable ion electronegativity of the lattice position where the Cr3+ is located, and then through the energy transfer, a series of Gd3Zn2GaGe2O12:xCr3+, yYb3+ (GZGG:Cr3+/Yb3+) NIR broadband garnet phosphors were found for the first time. By controlling the energy transfer process, the internal quantum yield (IQY) (54.9%), external quantum yield (EQY) (24.65%), bandwidth (260 nm), and thermal stability (60% at 150 °C) of NIR emission were substantially improved. The obtained phosphors are packaged with blue light chips into pc-LED, which can be applied in different fields such as vascular visualization and night vision.

A non-rare earth ion doped broadband emission phosphor located in NIR-II for ethanol concentration detection.

In this work, a new NIR phosphor Ca2GeO4:xCr was developed, whose emission range (1000-1700 nm) is well within NIR-II, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 215 nm. Interestingly, by sintering under an air atmosphere, the Cr3+ ions in the raw material are oxidized to Cr4+, and the near-infrared light emitted by the material is not the usual luminescence of Cr3+ ions located in NIR-I, which can be attributed to the dominant substitution of Cr4+ ions doped into the lattice sites. A pc-LED fabricated with this phosphor can detect different concentrations of ethanol, which demonstrates its good potential for non-destructive testing applications.

Near-Infrared Broadband ZnTa2O6:Cr3+ Phosphor for pc-LEDs and Its Application to Nondestructive Testing.

Broadband near-infrared (NIR) phosphors are necessary materials for developing portable NIR light sources. Moreover, exploiting an NIR phosphor with a main peak located beyond a wavelength of 900 nm remains a challenge because this spectral range has great potential in biological nondestructive testing and solution testing. In this study, a range of Cr3+-doped ZnTa2O6 (ZTO) phosphors were completely synthesized by a solid-state method, which show broadband Cr3+ emission centered at 935 nm with a large full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 185 nm due to two distorted octahedral sites. A packaged phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (pc-LED) device is used to penetrate a 5-cm-thick chicken breast and identify diverse solutions based on differences in the measured transmission spectra. The results indicate broad application prospects in the field of biological tissue penetration and solution analysis.

Garnet-structured persistent luminescence phosphor Ca3Al2Ge3O12:Cr3+ for dynamic anticounterfeiting applications.

Fluorescent materials have gradually become a hot spot in the field of anti-counterfeiting. Multifunctional phosphors used in anti-counterfeiting designs still have the problems of disordered reading sequences, difficulty in detection, and easy forging. To resolve these problems, we propose a new flexible dual-mode anti-counterfeiting design using a series of phosphors Ca3Al2Ge3O12:Cr3+ (CAG) with deep red persistent luminescence peaking at 722 nm. By adjusting the doping concentration of Cr3+ from 2% to 6%, deep red persistent luminescence with different afterglow intensities and durations can be achieved. By performing a series of thermoluminescence (TL) experiments under different conditions, the defects in materials were comprehensively and systematically analyzed. The defects contributed to the deep and shallow traps; this led to an obvious improvement in its long persistent luminescence (LPL). Such a dual-mode system with flexibility and simplicity properties is a good choice not only for anti-counterfeiting, but also for multi-layer information encryption, and a series of demo experiments based on the digital tube, Moss code, QR code, bar-code, school celebration pattern, and love letter information encryption design were implemented. Their dynamic anti-counterfeiting applications have been demonstrated, which provides a new way to rationally design multi-functional luminescent materials.

Chromium(III)-Doped Phosphors of High-Efficiency Two-Site Occupation Broadband Infrared Emission for Vessel Visualization Applications.

The exploration of efficient broadband near-infrared (NIR) emitting materials is essential to establishing new NIR applications. In this work, an excellent NIR phosphor Mg7Ga2GeO12:Cr3+, with an emission band of 650-1350 nm and a full width at half maximum of 266 nm, was successfully prepared. When Ga3+ ions were replaced by In3+ ions, its emission intensity increased 4 times, and the internal and external quantum efficiency reached 86 and 37%, respectively. A NIR phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (pc-LED) component was made by combining a synthetic Mg7Ga1.84In0.07GeO12:0.09Cr3+ phosphor with a 450 nm blue luminescent chip. The vascular and skeletal distribution on human fingers and the back of the hand can be seen under the display of a commercial NIR camera, indicating that Mg7Ga1.84In0.07GeO12:0.09Cr3+ phosphors have promising applications in the field of the blood vessel and bone visualization.

Eu3+-based dual-excitation single-emission luminescent ratiometric thermometry.

Recently, single-band ratiometric (SBR) thermometry becomes a hot-spot in the research field of optical thermometry. Here we propose a new SBR thermometry by combining the temperature-induced red shift of charge transfer state (CTS) of W-O and Eu-O with the ground state absorption (GSA) and excited state absorption (ESA) of Eu3+. The emitting intensity of the 5D0-7F2 transition of Eu3+ is monitored under CTS, GSA and ESA excitations at different temperatures. It is found that the SBR thermometry, depending on the combination of [GSA + CTS] of Eu3+ doped calcium tungstate, has the highest relative sensitivity of 1.25% K-1 at 573 K, higher than conventional luminescent ratiometric thermometry such as the 2H11/2 and 4S3/2 thermally coupled states of Er3+.

The high thermal stability of white emitting phosphor Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ ,La3+ /Lu3+ for white light emitting diodes.

A series of Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ was prepared using a solid-state method, and the phosphor emitted white light by tuning the ratio of Dy3+ /Eu3+ . The effects of La3+ /Lu3+ on the structure and luminescence properties of Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ were explored. Under the influence of bond length and twist, the luminescence intensity of the materials increased first and then decreased under excitation with ultraviolet light. The lattice distortion of the trivalent cation La3+ -substituted Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ and Eu3+ phosphors was reduced, the symmetry of polyhedron occupied by the luminescence centre improved, and the thermal stability of the luminescence centre improved to a certain extent. White light emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated by combining a 370 nm LED chip and the Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ ,La3+ (Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ ,Lu3+ ) phosphor. The results showed that Mg2 Y2 Al2 Si2 O12 :Dy3+ ,Eu3+ ,La3+ /Lu3+ may have potential application in the area of white LEDs.

Down-conversion luminescence and temperature sensing characteristics of LaSrGaO4 :Er3.

Erbium(III) ion (Er3+ ) has abundant energy levels that can emit light covering a quite broad wavelength range in many hosts. Here we synthesized LaSrGaO4 :Er3+ phosphors by a high-temperature solid-state method. Upon excitation at the ultraviolet (UV) band, LaSrGaO4 :Er3+ phosphors could emit green, red and near-infrared emission simultaneously. The temperature dependent emission characteristics of the as-prepared samples was then studied and two kinds of luminescent ratiometric thermometry were constructed. The first one is on the basis of two green emission bands that stems from the 2 H11/2 → 4 I15/2 and 4 S3/2 → 4 I15/2 transitions of Er3+ . The intensity ratio between these two emission bands was found to follow well with the Boltzmann distribution, and its maximum relative sensitivity was calculated to be 0.84% K-1 at 299 K. The other one depends on the 4 F9/2 → 4 I15/2 transition of Er3+ and self-luminescence of the host LaSrGaO4 , considering that these two emission lines have different temperature response. The relative sensitivity of this type of luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) thermometry could reach 1.86% K-1 at 299 K, we have successfully developed materials with one of the largest relative sensitivities to date, which provides some basis for the subsequent development of a new type of non-contact temperature sensor.

Ultra-sensitive luminescence ratiometric thermometry from 2E→4A2 transitions of AlTaO4:Cr3.

In recent years, non-contact ratiometric luminescence thermometry has continued to gain popularity among researchers, owing to its compelling features, such as high accuracy, fast response, and convenience. The development of novel optical thermometry with ultrahigh relative sensitivity (Sr) and temperature resolution has become a frontier topic. In this work, we present a novel, to the best of our knowldege, luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) thermometry method that relies on AlTaO4:Cr3+ materials, based on the fact that they possess both anti-Stokes phonon sideband emission and R-line emission at the 2E→4A2 transitions and have been confirmed to follow the Boltzmann distribution. In the temperature range 40-250 K, the emission band of the anti-Stokes phonon sideband shows an upward trend, while the bands of the R-lines show the opposite downward trend. Relying on this fascinating feature, the newly proposed LIR thermometry achieves a maximum relative sensitivity of 8.45%K-1 and a temperature resolution of 0.038 K. Our work is expected to provide guiding insights for optimizing the sensitivity of Cr3+-based LIR thermometers and provide some novel entry points for designing excellent and reliable optical thermometers.

Structural modulation designed a thermally robust blue-cyan emitting phosphor Y2Mg0.8Sr0.2 Al4SiO12:Eu2+ for the high color rendering index white LEDs.

In this work, the novel, to the best of our knowledge, blue-cyan Y2Mg0.8Sr0.2Al4SiO12:Eu2+ (YM0.8S0.2AS:Eu2+) phosphors were synthesized by the solid-state method. At 150°C, the emission intensity of Y2Mg0.8Sr0.2Al4SiO12:0.005Eu2+ can retain 96.38% of the relative intensity, which means that this phosphor shows high thermal stability. A white light-emitting diode (LED) device is fabricated by combining a 370 nm near ultraviolet LED chip and commercial phosphors (green, (Ba,Sr)2SiO4:Eu; red, CaSiAlN3:Eu). The white LED has an excellent property with the correlated color temperature CCT=5236K and superhigh color rendering index Ra=96.1, which indicates the potential application in white LED fields.