Enhanced Thermal Stability of Red-Emitting Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+ Phosphors from Triggered Applicable Trap Level via Rare Earth Ions Co-Doping

To solve the problem of thermal stability of the red-emitting phosphor Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+ with great valuable luminescence performance, trivalent rare earth ions Ln(3+) (Ln = Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Nd, and Pr) are co-doped into Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+ lattice to form thermally robust phosphors Sr2Si5N8:Eu2+,xLn(3+)(Ln(x)-258, 0 = x = 0.05). The successful incorporation of rare earth ions in the crystal structure and the regulation of luminescent properties are proven by a variety of material characterization techniques and analysis. Although the co-doping of the selected rare earth ions reduces the luminescence intensity of the phosphor, the Dy0.01-258 sample still has a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 78.6%. More importantly, the co-doping of Dy3+ with x = 0.01 significantly improves the luminescent thermal stability of phosphors at high temperature and the luminescence intensity of Dy-0.01-258 samples at 200 degrees C can be maintained at 94.7% of room temperature. The thermoluminescence spectrum shows that the defects brought about by co-doping of Dy3+ with x = 0.01 introduce trap energy levels, which can compensate for the Eu2+ luminescence at high temperature. At the same time, the cathodoluminescence mapping and spectra show that the phosphor has a high saturation current under high-energy electron bombardment, which indicates that this nitride phosphor also has the potential to be used in field emission display (FEDs). Based on its extraordinary EQE and thermal stability data, this nitride phosphor is the first-rate among the red phosphors for pc-wLEDs, and has excellent application prospects in FEDs.