Ultra-broadband near-infrared phosphor Li3Sc2(PO4)3:Cr3+ realized by two-sites occupation

The near-infrared phosphor converted light-emitting diodes (NIR pc-LEDs) have been broadly used in the fields of night vision, biomedicine, nondestructive testing and food analysis. Over the past few years, many Cr3+ doped NIR phosphorus has been reported. However, the realization of ultra-broad band NIR emission with high quantum efficiency remains a great challenge. Here, we report an ultra-broad band NIR emitting phosphor Li3Sc1.92(PO4)(3):0.08Cr(3+) with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 240 nm. The reason for the ultra-broad emission band is that the host Li3Sc2(PO4)(3) provides two different kinds of ScO6 octahedral sites for Cr3+ ions to occupy. This FWHM is better than most NIR emitting phosphors reported so far. Our research indicates that Li3Sc2(PO4)(3):Cr3+ phosphors have great potential in night vision and NIR spectroscopy.