Photoluminescence investigation of rare-earth activated GdCa3(GaO)(3)(BO3)(4) phosphors under UV excitation

Abstract

A borate compound was adopted as a new host material of Eu3+ and Tb3+ activators to fabricate efficient luminescence materials. The phosphor compositions, Gd1-xEuxCa3(GaO)(3)(BO3)(4) and Gd1-xTbxCa3(-Ca-3(GaO)(3)(BO3)(4), were synthesized by conventional solid-state reactions. The crystalline phases of the resulting powders were identified using an X-ray diffraction system. Their photoluminescence properties were investigated under long-wavelength UV excitation. The Eu3+-doped and Tb3+-doped GdCa3(-GaO)(3)(BO3)(4) phosphors efficiently emitted red and green light, respectively. The temperature dependency of emission intensity was measured in a range from room temperature to 150 degrees C. The emission intensities of the red and green phosphors at 150 degrees C are 87% and 91% of those at room temperature, respectively. in addition, the decay times of both the red and green phosphors are shorter than 3 ms. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.