A novel blue-greenish emitting phosphor Ba3LaK(PO4)3F:Tb3+ with high thermal stability

Ba3La1-mK(PO4)(3)F:mTb(3+)(m = 0.01-0.50) phosphors have been prepared by a traditional high temperature solid-state reaction. XRD analysis verified the apatite-type phase structure of the as-prepared samples, and the morphology has been checked by the Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The emission spectrum of Ba3LaK(PO4)(3)F:Tb3+ phosphor consists of two regions, blue emission band from 380 to 470 nm and green emission band from 470 to 650 nm. With increasing Tb3+ ions doped concentration (m), the color hue of Ba3La1-mK(PO4)(3)F:mTb(3+) adjusts from blue to green. On the basis of concentration quenching method, the critical distance between Tb3+ ions is calculated to be 7.98 angstrom, suggesting that multipolar interaction predominate in quenching process. In addition, the temperature-dependence PL spectra of Ba3LaK(PO4)(3)F:0.01Tb(3+) and Ba3LaK(PO4)(3)F:0.40Tb(3+) phosphor are given,which exhibit superior thermal stability. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.