Effects of Eu3+ and Dy3+ doping or co-doping on optical and structural properties of BaB2Si2O8 phosphor for white LED applications

A series of Eu3+ and Dy3+ doped/co-doped as well as un-doped BaB2Si2O8 phosphors were synthesized via solid state reaction method. The PL result showed typical blue and green emission from Dy3+ and red emission from Eu3+. The f-f transitions involving the lanthanide ions along with dopant site occupancy were discussed thoroughly. Phonon assisted energy transfer process was observed from Eu3+ to Dy3+, which enhanced the emissions of Dy3+. Combinations of the emissions from Eu3+ and Dy3+ showed a possible white to red tuneable emission on the CIE diagram. The white warmth emissions of the phosphor were revealed to be adjustable through designing the dopant concentration and excitation wavelengths. An unusual energy transfer that originated from Eu3+ to Dy3+ was also discovered and the energy transfer mechanism was discussed. Proposed energy transfer mechanism was investigated using luminescence decay lifetime. All the phosphor exhibited efficient excitation in the UV range which matched well with the emissions from GaN-based LED chips. This presented the BaB2Si2O8 phosphor as a promising candidate for white LED applications. The effects of doping on the structural properties and the optical band gap of BaB2Si2O8 phosphor were also discussed in this study.