Synthesis and luminescence properties of Sr3GdNa(PO4)3F: Sm3+ phosphor

A series of Sr3Gd(1-x)Sm (x) Na(PO4)(3)F (x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09) phosphors were synthesized through a conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction. The excitation and emission spectra indicate that these phosphors can be efficiently excited in the range from 350 to 430 nm which matches perfectly with the near-UV light, and emit orange-red light with CIE coordinates (0.5811, 0.4181). The concentration quenching mechanism of Sm3+ ions was ascribed to the dipole-dipole interaction. The activation energy E for thermal quenching is calculated to be 0.242 eV. And the lifetime of the Sr3Gd(1-x)Sm (x) Na(PO4)(3)F (x = 0.03, 0.05, 0.07, 0.09) phosphor was determined to be 0.8669, 0.8643, 0.8525, 0.8232 ms, respectively. These orange-red-emitting phosphors might be promising for use in n-UV white LEDs.