Luminescence and energy transfer of color-tunable Lu2MgAl4SiO12:Eu2+,Ce3+,Mn2+ phosphors

Energy transfer among the co-doped activators is an efficient route to achieve color-tunable emission in inorganic phosphors. Herein, photoluminescence tuning from blue to cyan has been achieved in the Lu2MgAl4SiO12:Eu2+,Ce3+ phosphors by varying the Ce3+ concentration with a fixed Eu2+ content. With the further introduction of a Mn2+-Si4+ couple into the host lattice, the emission color can be tuned to red through the energy transfer of Eu2+ and Mn2+. The luminescence properties and the energy transfer mechanism were studied in detail. The energy transfer from Eu2+ to Ce3+ is certified as a dipole-quadrupole interaction with the energy transfer efficiency of 41.4% and Eu2+ to Mn2+ belongs to a dipole-dipole interaction with the energy transfer efficiency of 94.3%. The results imply that this single-phased Lu2MgAl4SiO12:Eu2+,Ce3+,Mn2+ phosphor has a potential prospect for application in near-UV chip pumped white light emitting diodes.