Sensitizing Full-Spectrum Lanthanide Luminescence within a Semiconductor CaZnOS Host

Lanthanide ions are appealing for luminescence applications due to their sharp and tunable emission lines spanning the whole spectral range. However, the parity-forbidden nature of the electronic transition in lanthanide ions typically results in ineffective excitation processes, which is a major obstacle to practical applications of lanthanide-based luminescent materials. Herein, a general method to sensitize lanthanide luminescence within a semiconductor host of CaZnOS is developed. Efficient energy transfer from the host to a series of lanthanide ions with the assistance of Cu+ or Mn2+ codopants is demonstrated, which introduces intermediate energy states to mediate the energy transfer processes. Accordingly, a wide spectrum of emission is achieved by a single band excitation in the near-ultraviolet region. Due to the efficient host sensitization, a phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (LED) is constructed by integrating the lanthanide-doped CaZnOS with an ultraviolet LED chip, which is used for near-infrared studies of biological tissues.

Automated summary

This study presents a general method to enhance lanthanide luminescence within a semiconductor host, demonstrating efficient energy transfer with the assistance of codopants, and successfully constructing a phosphor-converted LED.