Synthesis and luminescence properties of Ca3Ga2Si3O12:RE3+ (RE = Eu/Tb) powder phosphors

Rare earth ions (Eu(3+) or Tb(3+) )-activated Ca(3) Ga(2) Si(3) O(12) (CaGaSi) phosphors were synthesized by using a sol-gel method. Photoluminescence spectra of Eu(3+):CaGaSi phosphors exhibited five emission bands at 578, 592, 612, 652 and 701 nm, which were assigned to the transitions ((5)D(0) → (7)F(0), (7)F(1,)(7)F(2), (7)F(3) and (7)F(4)), respectively, with an excitation wavelength of λ(exci) = 392 nm. Among these, the transition (5) D(0) → (7) F(2) (612 nm) displayed bright red emission. In the case of Tb(3+):CaGaSi phosphors, four emission bands were observed at 488 ((5)D(4) → (7)F(6)), 543 ((5)D(4) → (7)F(5)), 584 ((5)D(4) → (7)F(4)) and 614 nm ((5)D(4) → (7) F(3) ) from the measurement of PL spectra with λ(exci) = 376 nm. Among these, the transition (5)D(4) → (7) F(5) at 543 nm displayed bright green emission. The structure and morphology of the phosphors were studied from the measurements of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) results.