Hybrid Density Functional Study of the Local Structures and Energy Levels of CaAl₂O₄:Ce³

First-principles calculations were carried out for the electronic structures of Ce³⁺ in calcium aluminate phosphors, CaAl₂O₄, and their effects on luminescence properties. Hybrid density functional approaches were used to overcome the well-known underestimation of band gaps of conventional density functional approaches and to calculate the energy levels of Ce³⁺ ions more accurately. The obtained 4f-5d excitation and emission energies show good consistency with measured values. A detailed energy diagram of all three sites is obtained, which explains qualitatively all of the luminescent phenomena. With the results of energy levels calculated by combining the hybrid functional of Heyd, Scuseria, and Ernzerhof (HSE06) and the constraint occupancy approach, we are able to construct a configurational coordinate diagram to analyze the processes of capture of a hole or an electron and luminescence. This approach can be applied for systematic high-throughput calculations in predicting Ce³⁺ activated luminescent materials with a moderate computing requirement.