Luminescence properties of LiY6O5(BO3)3:Eu3+/Sm3+ phosphor

• Method for preparing pure LiY6O5(BO3)3 powder is developed.
• Eu3+, Sm3+ co-doped LiY6O5(BO3)3 powder gives strong red emission.
• Co-doped Sm3+ ions broaden excitation band without changing color index.

Eu3+, Sm3+ single-doped and co-doped LiY6O5(BO3)3 phosphors are prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The Eu3+-doped and Sm3+-doped phosphors give bright red emission centered at 613 and 604 nm under 395- and 406-nm excitation, respectively, while the Eu3+, Sm3+ co-doped phosphor just gives Eu3+-characterized emission whether excited by 395 or 406 nm. This indicates that the co-doped Sm3+ ions can broaden the excitation band of the phosphor without changing its color index, which might match better with the near-ultraviolet (NUV) chips in white light-emitting diode (W-LED) application. The Sm3+-concentration-dependent luminescence properties ascribed to the energy transfer between Eu3+ and Sm3+ is discussed.