Highly thermally stable Cr3+ and Yb3+ codoped Gd2GaSbO7 phosphors for broadband near-infrared applications.

Gd2GaSbO7:Cr3+,Yb3+ phosphors with efficient broadband NIR emission were prepared by a solid-state reaction. Under the excitation of 448 nm, the Gd2GaSbO7:Cr3+ (GGS:Cr3+) phosphor exhibits a broadband NIR emission band centered at approximately 770 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 160 nm. In addition, Yb3+ codoping can distinctly improve the photoluminescence properties of the GGS:Cr3+ phosphor, leading to broadening of the FWHM and greatly enhancing the thermal stability of the phosphor. Moreover, the energy conversion process of Cr3+ → Yb3+ ions was analyzed in detail, demonstrating that the energy transfer mechanism conformed to electric dipole-dipole interaction. The NIR pc-LEDs assembled with the GGS:Cr3+ phosphor and blue LED chips possessed a maximum NIR output power of ∼21 mW at 100 mA driving current, indicating promising applications of the synthesized phosphor in NIR pc-LEDs.