Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of YVO4:Yb3+,Er3+ microspheres

In this paper, YVO4:Yb3+,Er3+ microspheres have been successfully prepared through a facile hydrothermal method assisted with disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and citric acid. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy disperse X-ray spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra were used to characterize the samples. The results reveal that the as-prepared YVO4:Yb3+,Er3+ samples are well-crystallized and spherical in shape. Moreover, the microspheres with diameters of 6-8 mu m are assembled by numerous submicron cuboids. Under the excitation of a 980 nm laser diode, the samples show the characteristic emissions of Er3+ and the green emissions at 525 nm of H-2(11/2) -> I-4(15/2) are dominantly strong. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.