Optical heating and luminescence thermometry combined in a Cr3+-doped YAl3(BO3)4

Enhancing the inherent NIR photoluminescence in SrLaLiTeO6 through Cr3+-Yb3+ co-substitution for high performance pc-LEDs

Until now, double perovskite tellurates have not been reported to exhibit inherent NIR photoluminescence. Therefore, the current study's revelation of inherent NIR luminescence in SrLaLiTeO6 double perovskite centered at 970 nm under 340 nm excitation is particularly intriguing. This phenomenon is attributed to the photoluminescence of Te4+ ions. This study also examines the NIR luminescence of Cr3+-Yb3+ co-doped SrLaLiTeO6. The host and SrLaLiTeO6:3%Cr3+, y%Yb3+ (y = 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 mol%) were synthesized using the solid-state ceramic route. The successful incorporation of Cr3+ and Yb3+ ions into the host lattice was confirmed through XRD, Raman, and diffuse reflectance spectral analyses. Under 270 nm excitation, the photoluminescence (PL) of SrLaLiTeO6:Cr3+ exhibits a blueshift of the PL band to 965 nm due to the 4T2(4F) → 4A2g(4F) emission component of Cr3+ ions. The excited-state lifetime of SrLaLiTeO6:0.5%Cr3+ was measured at 36 μs, but this decreased to 26 μs as the Cr3+ concentration reached 10 mol%, primarily due to the enhancement of non-radiative energy transfer between Cr3+ ions. Incorporating Yb3+ into the system results in additional spectral lines with an enhanced intensity in the range of 970 nm to 1125 nm when excited at 270 nm. These emission lines correspond to the 2F5/2 → 2F7/2 transitions of Yb3+ ions, indicating an efficient energy transfer from Cr3+ to Yb3+. Furthermore, the study also reveals that Yb3+ emission is observed even without Cr3+ ions in SrLaLiTeO6 under 340 nm excitation, suggesting the possibility of energy transfer from the host to Yb3+ ions. The thermal stability and crystal field parameters of the synthesized phosphors are also explained in detail. To explore the potential of these phosphors in practical applications, phosphor-converted NIR LEDs were fabricated using SrLaLiTeO6, SrLaLiTeO6:3% Cr3+, and SrLaLiTeO6:3% Cr3+, 1%Yb3+.

Manganese Luminescent Centers of Different Valence in Yttrium Aluminum Borate Crystals

We present an extensive study of the luminescence characteristics of Mn impurity ions in a YAl3(BO3)4:Mn crystal, in combination with X-ray fluorescence analysis and determination of the valence state of Mn by XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) spectroscopy. The valences of manganese Mn2+(d5) and Mn3+(d4) were determined by the XANES and high-resolution optical spectroscopy methods shown to be complementary. We observe the R1 and R2 luminescence and absorption lines characteristic of the 2E ↔ 4A2 transitions in d3 ions (such as Mn4+ and Cr3+) and show that they arise due to uncontrolled admixture of Cr3+ ions. A broad luminescent band in the green part of the spectrum is attributed to transitions in Mn2+. Narrow zero-phonon infrared luminescence lines near 1060 nm (9400 cm−1) and 760 nm (13,160 cm−1) are associated with spin-forbidden transitions in Mn3+: 1T2 → 3T1 (between excited triplets) and 1T2 → 5E (to the ground state). Spin-allowed 5T2 → 5E Mn3+ transitions show up as a broad band in the orange region of the spectrum. Using the data of optical spectroscopy and Tanabe−Sugano diagrams we estimated the crystal-field parameter Dq and Racah parameter B for Mn3+ in YAB:Mn as Dq = 1785 cm−1 and B = 800 cm−1. Our work can serve as a basis for further study of YAB:Mn for the purposes of luminescent thermometry, as well as other applications.