“White” phosphor on the basis of Gd2(MoO4)3: Tm,Tb,Eu single crystal

•Gd2(MoO4)3 single crystal simultaneously doped with luminescent centers Tm, Tb and Eu was grown.•The luminescence spectrum of Gd2(MoO4)3:Tm,Tb,Eu contains red, green and blue bands.•Gd2(MoO4)3:Eu,Tb,Tm crystal converts UV flux (excitation at 365 nm) into white light.•The color temperature of prepared “white phosphor” is near 4900 K (summer sunlight).

A single-crystal sample of Gd2(MoO4)3 simultaneously doped with europium, terbium and thulium is grown. The Tm, Tb and Eu dopants are employed as the luminescent centers emitting light in the red, green and blue ranges. Spectroscopy investigation reveals that simultaneous luminescence of the centers of all three types to produce white light occurs only under the sample excitation with ultraviolet (UV) light within the wavelength range 350 < λ < 370 nm. A commercial UV light-emitting diode (LED) with λLED = 365 nm is applied in order to show that the Gd2(MoO4)3:Tm,Tb,Eu crystal converts its UV flux into white light. So, it is demonstrated that white light may be produced using one matrix with luminous centers of three types.

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