Color-tunable photoluminescence and energy transfer of (Tb(1−x)Mn(x))(3)Al(2)(Al(1−x)Si(x))(3)O(12):Ce(3+) solid solutions for white light emitting diodes

(Tb(1−x)Mn(x))(3)Al(2)(Al(1−x)Si(x))(3)O(12):Ce(3+) solid solution phosphors were synthesized by introducing the isostructural Mn(3)Al(2)(SiO(4))(3) (MAS) into Tb(3)Al(5)O(12):Ce(3+) (TbAG). Under 456 nm excitation, (Tb(1−x)Mn(x))(3)Al(2)(Al(1−x)Si(x))(3)O(12):Ce(3+) shows energy transfers (ET) in the host, which can be obtained from the red emission components to enhance color rendering. Moreover, (Tb(1−x)Mn(x))(3)Al(2)(Al(1−x)Si(x))(3)O(12):Ce(3+) (x = 0–0.2) exhibits substantial spectral broadening (68 → 86 nm) due to the 5d → 4f transition of Ce(3+) and the (4)T(1) → (6)A(1) transition of Mn(2+). The efficiency of energy transfer (η(T), Ce(3+) → Mn(2+)) gradually increases with increasing Mn(2+) content, and the value reach approximately 32% at x = 0.2. Namely, the different characteristics of luminescence evolution based on the effect of structural variation by substituting the (MnSi)(6+) pair for the larger (TbAl)(6+) pair. Therefore, with structural evolution, the luminescence of the solid solution phosphors could be tuned from yellow to orange-red, tunable by increasing the content of MAS for the applications of white light emitting diodes (wLED).