Tunable Luminescence in Sr(2)MgSi(2)O(7):Tb(3+), Eu(3+)Phosphors Based on Energy Transfer

A series of Tb(3+), Eu(3+)-doped Sr(2)MgSi(2)O(7) (SMSO) phosphors were synthesized by high temperature solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, Rietveld refinement, photoluminescence spectra (PL), and luminescence decay curves were utilized to characterize each sample’s properties. Intense green emission due to Tb(3+) (5)D(4)→(7)F(5) transition was observed in the Tb(3+) single-doped SMSO sample, and the corresponding concentration quenching mechanism was demonstrated to be a diople-diople interaction. A wide overlap between Tb(3+) emission and Eu(3+) excitationspectraresults in energy transfer from Tb(3+) to Eu(3+). This has been demonstrated by the emission spectra and decay curves of Tb(3+) in SMSO:Tb(3+), Eu(3+) phosphors. Energy transfer mechanism was determined to be a quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. And critical distance of energy transfer from Tb(3+) to Eu(3+) ions is calculated to be 6.7 Å on the basis of concentration quenching method. Moreover, white light emission was generated via adjusting concentration ratio of Tb(3+) and Eu(3+) in SMSO:Tb(3+), Eu(3+) phosphors. All the results indicate that SMSO:Tb(3+), Eu(3+) is a promising single-component white light emitting phosphor.