Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of Eu3+-activated SrZnO2

Synthesis, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence (PL) investigations of SrZnO2 doped with Eu3+ were carried out in order to characterize the material. The emission spectra showed a broad band emission at 525 nm attributed to oxygen defect centers in the host matrix, along with peaks corresponding to the D-5(0) -> F-7 (j) (j = 1, 2) transitions of Eu ion under 250 nm excitation. PL decay time studies were done to confirm these investigations. Time-resolved emission spectrometric (TRES) study was carried out to extract the emission spectra of the Eu ion which was buried under the broad band emission. After giving suitable delay times and by choosing a proper time gate, transitions due to D-5(0) -> F-7 (j) (j = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4) could be observed. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters and other radiative properties for the system were evaluated from this emission spectrum and decay time data by adopting standard procedure. The color coordinates of the system were also evaluated and plotted on a standard CIE index diagram. The observations showed that the SrZnO2:Eu(3+)material has near white light emission (also considering the emission from host) whereas, the extracted emission spectrum due to only Eu ions has a near red emission.