High thermal stability and quantum yields of green-emitting Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2:Tb3+ phosphor by co-doping Ce3+

Abstract

A series of Tb3+ mono-doped and Ce3+-Tb3+ co-doped Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2 phosphors with high thermal stability and quantum yields were successfully prepared via the solid state reaction. The as-prepared Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2:Tb3+ samples showed broad excitation spectrum from 250 to 400 nm and presented characteristic emission transitions 5D4→7FJ (J=6, 5, 4, 3) of Tb3+ under 313 nm excitation, which were located at about 488, 541, 584 and 620 nm. The emission intensities of Tb3+ rose steadily in Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2 host with the increase of Tb3+ concentration even though Gd3+ ions were completely replaced by Tb3+ ions. The Ce3+ ion as a sensitizer could efficiently improve the performance of Tb3+ ion. First, with Ce3+ co-doping, the excitation spectrum of Tb3+ monitored at 541 nm showed a similar band that responds to the violet emission of Ce3+ monitored at 416 nm. Second, the quantum yields of Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2:Tb3+ phosphors could be enhanced from 26.6% to 80.2% by co-doping Ce3+. Finally, the co-doping of Ce3+ was also effective to improve the thermal stability of Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2:Tb3+. As the temperature rose to 150 °C, the emission intensity of Tb3+ remained at about 83.6% of that measured at room temperature, which was better than the commercial YAG:Ce phosphor in terms of their thermal quenching properties. These results indicated that the as-prepared Sr3Gd2(Si3O9)2:Tb3+,Ce3+ samples could be used as green emission phosphors for possible applications in near ultraviolet based WLEDs.