Photoluminescence Properties of Color‐Tunable Ca ₃ La ₆ ( SiO ₄ ) ₆ : Ce ³⁺ , Tb ³⁺ Phosphors

Abstract

A series of newly developed color‐tunable Ca 3 La 6 ( SiO 4 ) 6 : Ce 3+ , Tb 3+ phosphors were successfully prepared in this study. The crystal structures of the prepared phosphors were revealed to be hexagonal with space group P 6 3 /m, and the lattice parameters were evaluated via utilizing the Rietveld refinement method. Upon excitation at 288 nm, the emission spectra of Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ ions co‐doped Ca 3 La 6 ( SiO 4 ) 6 phosphors included a blue emission band and several emission lines. The blue emission band with a peak at 420 nm originated in the f – d transitions of Ce 3+ ions, and the emission lines in the range of 450–650 nm were assigned to the 5 D 4 → 7 F J (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions of Tb 3+ ions. Increasing the doping content of Tb 3+ ions considerably strengthened Tb 3+ emission and reduced Ce 3+ emission owing to the energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ ions. The mechanism of the energy transfer was confirmed to be a dipole–dipole interaction. The effective energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ ions caused a color shift from purplish‐blue to yellowish‐green. Color‐tunable Ca 3 La 6 ( SiO 4 ) 6 : Ce 3+ , Tb 3+ phosphors have the potential to be utilized in light‐emitting diodes with proper modulation of the amount of Tb 3+ ions.