Luminescence and energy transfer of Tm(3+) and Dy(3+) co-doped Na(3)ScSi(2)O(7) phosphors

A series of Tm(3+) and Dy(3+) ions single- or co-doped Na(3)ScSi(2)O(7) (NSSO) phosphors were prepared by a conventional solid state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, photoluminescence (PL) properties, fluorescence decay curve and energy transfer behavior of the samples were studied. The XRD patterns show that all the diffraction peaks of the samples are consistent with the JCPDS standard data. Under UV excitation, the singly doped NSSO phosphors with Tm(3+) and Dy(3+) ions show blue and yellow characteristic emission. The emission color of NSSO:Tm(3+),Dy(3+) can be adjusted by the corresponding Tm(3+)–Dy(3+) energy transfer. In addition, the chromaticity coordinate of NSSO:0.04Tm(3+),0.13Dy(3+) is (0.3195, 0.3214), which is close to the ideal white light (0.333, 0.33). These results show that NSSO:Tm(3+),Dy(3+) has potential application value in white light emitting diodes (WLEDs).