Multicolor emissions and photoluminescence properties for Ca3Al4ZnO10:Ce3+/Eu3+/Tb3+/Mn2+ phosphors

Ce3+/Eu3+/Tb3+/Mn2+ ion single- or codoped Ca3Al4ZnO10 (CAZO) luminescent materials were successfully synthesized by the high-temperature solid-state reaction. We studied the photoluminescence properties in detail. Under UV radiation, the CAZO:Ce3+ phosphor displays a strong and wide blue emitting band from the doping Ce3+ ion. The CAZO: Eu3+/Tb3+/Mn2+ samples emit the orange, blue-green and yellow-green light due to their characteristic f-f and d-d emissions, respectively. Moreover, the Tb3+ and Mn2+ codoped CAZO samples give simultaneous emissions of Tb3+ and Mn2+, leading to the emission colors changing from green to yellow. Under UV light excitation, multi-color emissions can be obtained by modifying the relative doping concentration of Tb3+ and Mn2+. More importantly, a near white emission was obtained in CAZO:0.003Tb(3+), 0.007Mn(2+) samples.