Synthesis and properties of a yellowish-green Sr3La(AlO)3(BO3)4: Tb3+ phosphor with a high thermal stability

Abstract

A yellowish-green emitting Tb3+ doped Sr3La(AlO)3(BO3)4 phosphor with a high quantum efficiency and an excellent thermal stability has been synthesized by one calcination of the precursor via co-precipitation method and excessive amount of boric acid about 15 wt% at 1050 °C, meanwhile, the photoluminescence properties of samples are investigated in detail. The results demonstrate the broad excitation dominantly ranges from 300 nm to 400 nm, especially, the strongest excitation (377 nm and 370 nm) locates in near ultraviolet (n-UV) region, suggesting that the phosphor can match well with n-UV LED chips. Under n-UV light excitation of 377 nm, the phosphor can emit bright yellow-green light and the IQE can reach 35.68%. The temperature-dependent PL properties indicate that the phosphor has an excellent thermal stability, of which the intensity can still maintain 64% of the initial value at room temperature even at 300 °C. These results imply that the Sr3La(AlO)3(BO3)4:Tb3+ phosphor may have a great potential for integration with red Sr3La(AlO)3(BO3)4:Eu3+ and another blue one to obtain an n-UV white-light LED with fantastic properties.