Enhancement of luminescence in ZnMgO thin-film nanophosphors and application for white light generation

A series of ZnMgO thin-film nanophosphors with varied Zn : Mg ratio has been prepared by chemical bath deposition. The structure, photoluminescence, time-resolved decay and chromaticity of the films are presented. ZnMgO films absorb light efficiently in the near UV (330-400 nm) and the emission covers a large part of the visible spectrum. Luminescence enhancement is maximum for 25% Mg. All ZnMgO films show luminescence lifetimes in the microsecond range while low Mg content (0 - 10%) films also exhibit fast decay (10(-10) s). Measured colorimetric coordinates of (0.28, 0.32) when excited by 350 nm light make them suitable for generation of white light in conjunction with near UV LEDs. (C) 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.