Photoluminescence and long persistent luminescence properties of a novel green emitting phosphor Ca3TaAl3Si2O14:Tb3+

Abstract

A Tb3+ doped Ca3TaAl3Si2O14 phosphor has been prepared successfully through a conventional solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the Tb3+ doping does not show obvious effect to the crystal structure of Ca3TaAl3Si2O14 (CTAS) host lattice. The luminescent properties were studied systematically by measuring photoluminescence spectra, decay curves, afterglow spectra and thermo-luminescence glow curves. The pure CTAS host with strong absorption in the range of 250–400 nm and could give a blue emission centered at about 493 nm. When Tb3+ ions were doped, the blue long afterglow (LAG) emission from Tb3+ was observed after stimulated by 254 nm ultraviolet lamp. The optimal doping concentration of Tb3+ for LAG performance was experimentally to be approximately 0.5 mol%. Based on the experimental results, a model was constructed and the relevant mechanism of afterglow was illustrated in detail.