Development of a potential blue-emitting phosphor Ba₃BPO₇:Tm³⁺, Na⁺ excited by near-ultraviolet

Abstract

The present work developed a potential blue-emitting phosphor Ba₃BPO₇:Tm³⁺, Na⁺ excited by near-ultraviolet (UV), which was prepared via conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction. The structural and morphological properties of the as-prepared phosphors were evaluated by the powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The luminescence properties of Tm³⁺ in Ba₃BPO₇ host including photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra, decay curves, and chromaticity coordinates were investigated in detail. Under near-UV (357 nm) excitation, the as-prepared phosphor shows sharp emission peak at 452 nm due to the ¹D₂ → ³F₄ transition of Tm³⁺, leading to satisfactory blue emission with short decay lifetime (microsecond-level) and high color purity. Furthermore, the critical distance and concentration quenching mechanism were also investigated based on the concentration quenching phenomenon of Tm³⁺ in Ba₃BPO₇ host. The obtained results indicate Ba₃BPO₇:Tm³⁺, Na⁺ phosphor could have potential application in the area of solid state lighting based on the near-UV w-LEDs.