Rare earth ion (RE = Tb/Eu/Dy) doped nanocrystalline oxyfluoride glass‐ceramic 5BaF2–95SiO2

Abstract A series of 5BaF 2 ‐95SiO 2 : RE 3+ (rare earth, RE = Tb/Eu/Dy) glass‐ceramics samples, containing BaF 2 nanocrystals with a size of about 5 nm, are successfully synthesized by a sol‐gel method under different atmospheric conditions. The structural characteristics, the optical properties, and the thermal stability of the target materials were carried out in this work. According to the X‐ray diffraction results, it was observed that the initial Ba(NO 3 ) 2 crystals are transformed into BaF 2 crystals in SiO 2 glasses during the heat treatment at 650°C. After the calcination, the emission peak intensity related to rare earth ions is significantly higher than that in the xerogel. Meanwhile, the addition of Dy 3+ can enhance the emission intensity of Tb 3+ in the co‐doped materials. The internal quantum efficiency of the 0.3%Tb 3+ ‐0.3%Dy 3+ co‐doped product reaches up to ∼50.8%. In addition, the color coordinates of the International Commission (CIE) indicate that the Dy‐0.3%Eu co‐doped 5BaF 2 –95SiO 2 sample could provide red, orange, or blue color emission depending on the Dy 3+ doping concentration. Moreover, the thermal stability of all the 5BaF 2 –95SiO 2 :RE 3+ (RE = Tb/Eu/Dy) glass‐ceramic shows well, especially 5BaF 2 –95SiO 2 :0.3%Eu 3+ ‐0.1%Dy 3+ , whose emission intensity would still maintain more than 90% of the initial strength as rising in temperature. Therefore, by designing the Dy 3+ doping concentration, the 5BaF 2 ‐95SiO 2 :0.3%Eu 3+ ‐0.1%Dy 3+ glass‐ceramic has potential practical values in high‐performance white light emitting diode.