Efficient Cr3+-activated NaInP2O7 phosphor for broadband near-infrared LED applications

Recently, Cr3+-activated phosphors have garnered attention for broadband near-infrared phosphor converted light-emitting diode (NIR pc-LED) applications, but usually display low efficiency. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel efficient broadband NIR phosphor NaIn1-xP2O7:xCr(3+) (in brief NIP:Cr3+) for NIR pc-LEDs. The NIP:0.04Cr(3+) phosphor exhibits broadband NIR emission with a peak maximum at 856 nm and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 133 nm under 480 nm excitation. The crystal field parameters, luminescence decay curves, and temperature-dependence photoluminescence characteristics of the NIP:Cr3+ phosphor were investigated and discussed to understand its optical properties further. The NIP:0.04Cr(3+) phosphor has a superior internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of similar to 71.3%, and its external quantum efficiency (EQE) increased from similar to 30.1% to similar to 35.7% via the introduction of Li2CO3 as the flux. In addition, a NIR pc-LED was fabricated by combining the as-synthesized phosphor with a 460 nm blue LED chip, which can achieve a NIR output power of 39.11 mW and a photoelectric efficiency of 10.93% at 120 mA drive current, and the fabricated pc-LED performs well in night vision applications. These findings indicate that the NIP:Cr3+ phosphor has considerable application potential in broadband NIR pc-LEDs.