Upconversion emission and cathodoluminescence of Yb3+ ions activated BiOCl:Ho3+ phosphors

Upconversion (UC) emission and cathodoluminescence (CL) properties of Ho3+/Yb3+-codoped BiOCl phosphors were reported. Under 980 nm light excitation, all the samples exhibited strong green and red UC emissions corresponding to the (5F4,5S2)→5I8 and 5F5→5I8 transitions of Ho3+ ions, respectively. Furthermore, the UC emission intensity as a function of Yb3+ ion concentration was investigated to determine an optimum doping concentration and the UC mechanism was found to be a two-photon process. Additionally, excellent CL properties were observed in Ho3+/Yb3+-codoped BiOCl phosphors and the CL emission intensity increased with increasing the accelerating voltage and filament current.