Luminescence studies of Sm3+ single-doped and Sm3+, Dy3+ co-doped NaGdTiO4 phosphors

Sm3+ single-doped and Sm3+, Dy3+ co-doped NaGdTiO4 phosphors were synthesized via a traditional high temperature solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure was characterized by means of x-ray diffraction. The luminescence properties and energy transfer in Sm3+ single-doped and Sm3+, Dy3+ co-doped NaGdTiO4 phosphors were systematically studied. The electric dipole-dipole interaction between Sm3+ ions was identified as the main mechanism for the concentration dependent fluorescence quenching in Sm3+ single-doped samples. It is confirmed that there is almost no energy transfer between Sm3+ and Dy3+ in Sm3+, Dy3+ co-doped samples. The introduction of Sm3+ can compensate the red emission component and adjust the colorimetric performance of Dy3+-doped NaGdTiO4 phosphors. Moreover, different emitting colors can be obtained from Sm3+, Dy3+ co-doped NaGdTiO4 phosphor by changing the excitation pathway.