Synergistic enhancement of photoluminescence and advanced deep learning model through YOLOv8x in combined effects of carbon dots and Sr₉Al₆O₁₈:Sm³⁺ phosphors

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A series of orange-red-emitting Sr₉Al₆O₁₈:Sm³⁺ (1–11 mol %) phosphors are synthesized using the combustion method, while carbon dots (CDs) are produced from urea and citric acid. The incorporation of CDs into the Sr₉Al₆O₁₈:Sm³⁺ (SAO:Sm3+) matrix reduced both negative and positive defects, enhancing the crystallinity of the phosphor. A significant spectral overlap is observed between the emission of CDs and the absorption of SAO:Sm³⁺. An 11.9-folds enhancement in luminescence intensity is detected from the 5 wt% CDs@SAO:Sm³⁺ composite, along with an extended fluorescence lifetime. The energy transfer between CDs and Sm³⁺ is demonstrated, with the increased PL intensity attributed to the Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) mechanism. The CDs@SAO:Sm³⁺ composites demonstrated excellent selectivity and high contrast when developing latent fingerprints (LFPs). Level I–III structural characteristics of LFPs are easily recognized under ulta violet (UV) light. Furthermore, YOLOv8x, an effective deep learning model, has been modified for the important forensic science task of LFPs recognition. YOLOv8x is able to precisely locate LFPs in complex backgrounds by employing the real-time object detection capabilities of the architecture. With this adjusting, detection speed and accuracy are much increased, making it an effective tool for forensic analysis and law enforcement applications. The optimized orange-red-emitting CDs@SAO:Sm³⁺ composites is synthesized with soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to produce a transparent anti-counterfeiting ink. The resulting film exhibited excellent flexibility, foldability, and superior thermal and optical properties. In summary, the highly efficient CDs@SAO:Sm³⁺ composite is a versatile luminescent material with multifunctional capabilities, making it ideal for flexible films, LFPs detection, and white light-emitting diodes (w-LEDs) applications.