Synthesis, structure and luminescence of SrLiAl3N4:Ce3+ phosphor

Here we report a new phosphor, Ce-doped SrLiAl3N4, which can be effectively excited by green light at ~ 517 nm. A series of synthetic experiments are performed to find an optimal scheme. This phosphor has two emission bands at ~ 545 and ~ 610 nm corresponding to the d-f electronic transition of Ce3+. Large centroid shift of 5d level results in a green light-excitable feature. Compared to other Ce3+-doped nitrides, the crystal field splitting of 5d energy levels for this phosphor, i.e. about 11,300 cm−1, is much smaller due to larger volume and smaller distortion of coordination polyhedron of Ce3+. The phosphor shows an excellent luminescent thermal quenching behavior. At 150 °C, the emission intensity retains about 93% of the initial value at room temperature upon 517 nm excitation. This property can be ascribed to rigid structure and large gap between 5d levels and bottom of conduction band.