A novel emitting color tunable phosphor Ba3Gd(PO4)3: Ce3+, Tb3+ based on energy transfer

A novel emitting color tunable phosphor Ba3Gd(PO4)3: Ce3+, Tb3+ was synthesized by the traditional high temperature solid state reaction method. The photoluminescence (PL) and energy transfer (ET) properties of Ce3+ and Tb3+ doped Ba3Gd(PO4)3 host were studied in detail. The obtained phosphors show both a blue emission from Ce3+ and a yellowish-green emission from Tb3+ with considerable intensity under ultraviolet (UV) excitation (~310 nm). When the content of Ce3+ was fixed at 0.05, the emission chromaticity coordinates could be adjusted from blue to green region by tuning the contents of Tb3+ ions from 0.01 to 0.5 through an ET process. The critical distance between Ce3+ and Tb3+ is 16.16 Å. The ET mechanism from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions was proved to be dipole–dipole interaction. The developed phosphor exhibits a strong excitation in UV spectral region and high efficient ET from Ce3+ to Tb3+ ions. It may find applications as a green light-emitting UV-convertible phosphor in white LED devices. Furthermore, a white light emission phosphor Ba3Gd(PO4)3: Ce3+, Tb3+, Mn2+ was also investigated.