Control of the visible emission in the SrZrO3 nano-crystals with the rare earth ion doping

We investigated the emission property of SrZrO3 nano-crystals (NCs) with the doping of rare earth (RE) ions, Eu3+ and Tm3+, by using 325 nm photo-excitation. SrZrO3 NCs show a sizable violet-blue emission, while the Eu3+ and Tm3+ ions are well known to be good red and blue phosphors, respectively. Combined emissions of the host and the RE ion dopant might suggest a new white luminescent source. The RE ion doped SrZrO3 NCs were initially synthesized by using the combustion method, and then the as-synthesized crystals were annealed at different temperatures from 650 degrees C to 1450 degrees C. The Eu3+-doped SrZrO3 NCs showed the sharp red emission near 600 nm, in addition to a violet-blue emission of the host material in itself. While the red emission is enhanced in the high temperature post-annealing, the blue emission is suppressed in an opposite way. This close relation between the emissions of the host and dopant was observed similarly in the Tm3+-doped NCs. We could control the emission property in the SrZrO3:Eu3+/Tm3+ NCs from blue to red by thermal annealing and RE ion doping.