Structure and luminescence properties of a novel broadband green-emitting oxyapatite-type phosphor

In recent years, synthetic apatite-doped rare-earth luminescent materials and their optical properties have attracted extensive worldwide attention. In this study, a series of novel green phosphors Sr(2)Y(3)(SiO(4))(2)(PO(4))O:Eu(2+) with apatite structure was fabricated via a high temperature solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction, structure refinement, photoluminescence excitation, emission spectra, and temperature-dependent emission intensity were employed to describe the phase and property of the samples. Under the excitation of 365 nm, the phosphors emit strong green emission in the broad band range from 400 nm to 700 nm, which almost covers the visible light spectrum. The quenching concentration of Eu(2+) in Sr(2)Y(3)(SiO(4))(2)(PO(4))O was about 0.05, which was attributed to the dipole–dipole interactions. The evidence that the as-prepared phosphor can be successfully excited by near ultraviolet light indicates that it can be potentially used as a near UV-convertible phosphor for white light-emitting diodes.