Luminescence properties and energy transfer mechanism of Ce3Â +/Sm3Â + co-doped Na2O-Y2O3-SiO2 glass for white light emission

A series of Ce3 +/Sm3 + doped glasses were prepared in this study and their luminescence properties were analyzed. A combination of blue and orange-red emission band was observed from these glasses, and tunable white light emission could be observed by adjusting concentration ratio of Ce3 + to Sm3 + under UV light excitation. Energy transfer (ET) from Ce3 + to Sm3 + is discovered by directly observing significant overlap of the excitation spectrum of Sm3 + and the emission spectrum of Ce3 + ions. The energy transfer from Ce3 + to Sm3 + via a dipole-dipole mechanism was confirmed by the luminescence spectra, the decay lifetime and the calculation of energy transfer efficiency of the glasses. Based on the results in this study, the Ce3 +/Sm3 + doped glasses could be used as a potential matrix material for ultraviolet light emitting diode (LED) chip based white LEDs.