Chromium(III)-Doped Fluoride Phosphors with Broadband Infrared Emission for Light-Emitting Diodes

Two types of infrared fluoride phosphors, Cr3+-doped K3AlF6 and K3GaF6, were developed in this research. The K3Al1-xF6:xCr(3+) and K3Ga1-yF6:yCr(3+) fluoride phosphors were proven to be pure phase via X-ray diffraction refinement, which demonstrated that the procedure can be applied to large-scale production. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements indicated that Cr3+ ions in cubic with respect to noncubic are coupled better with K3GaF6 than with K3AlF6. The main differences between these two phosphors, the site symmetry and pressure behavior of the spectra, were obtained in temperature-and pressure-dependent spectra. According to the calculation results, Cr3+ in fluorine coordination at ambient pressure indicates an intermediate crystal field. For the phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated from these two phosphors, the spectral range is from 650 to 1000 nm, which resulted in a radiant flux of 7-8 mW with an input power of 1.05 W. The research reveals detailed luminous properties, which will lead to a new way of studying Cr3+-doped fluoride phosphors and their application in LEDs.