Ce3+–Eu2+ Co-doped BaCa13Mg2(SiO4)8 cyan phosphor—ultra-high energy transfer efficiency for white light emitting diodes†

The energy transfer of Ce³⁺–Eu²⁺ can often greatly increase the luminescence efficiency and expand the scope of application. In this study, blue to cyan color-tunable phosphors BaCa₁₃Mg₂(SiO₄)₈:Ce³⁺,Eu²⁺ were prepared. BaCa₁₃Mg₂(SiO₄)₈:Eu²⁺ cyan phosphors have limited applications in WLEDs because of their disadvantages, including the inadequate luminescence performance and imperfect matching of UV chips. Therefore, Ce³⁺ ions were used as sensitizers to enhance the optical performance of Eu²⁺ ions. The energy transfer efficiency between Ce³⁺ and Eu²⁺ in the BaCa₁₃Mg₂(SiO₄)₈ host was calculated to be 96.7%, and the incorporation of Ce³⁺ ions boosted the integrated intensity and quantum efficiency of the emission spectrum by approximately 80% and 20%, respectively. At 140 °C, the integral emission intensities could still keep at 81.5% of the initial integral intensities at 25 °C. The Ce³⁺, Eu²⁺ co-doped cyan phosphor-based WLED lamp could produce outstanding warm white light with CIE coordinates of (0.3722, 0.3222), demonstrating the enormous potential for WLED applications.