Color variation of ZnGa2O4 phosphor by reduction-oxidation processes

Abstract

The color of the emission of zinc gallate (ZnGa2O4) oscillates between ultraviolet and blue by hydrogen ambient reduction and air ambient oxidation heat treatments. The photoluminescence spectra and electron paramagnetic resonance signals show that ultraviolet emission of reduced ZnGa2O4 always accompanies 680 nm emission originating from single oxygen vacancies (VO*). The increasing difference in binding energy between Ga3+ and O2− in reduced ZnGa2O4 indicates that the configuration of octahedral sites is distorted due to VO* generation and it becomes more ionic which shifts the emission band from 430 to 360 nm. The x-ray diffraction patterns and Raman scattering spectra show that β-Ga2O3 from ZnGa2O4 is formed in both reduction and oxidation processes which suggests the vaporization of Zn ions. We propose a model in which the origin of 360 nm emission is the Ga–O transition at distorted octahedral sites with VO* in ZnGa2O4, whereas 430 nm emission originates from the Ga–O transition of regular octahedral sites without VO* in ZnGa2O4.