The near-infrared (NIR) light source is desirable for realtime nondestructive examination applications, which include the analysis of foodstuffs, health monitoring, iris recognition, and infrared cameras. The emission spectra of such an infrared light source should also be as broad as possible for effective performance, in view of the fact that the broad absorption and reflection of light by the organic elements present in foodstuffs and human health fall in the blue and NIR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, respectively. In this letter, a blue light-emitting diode (LED) excitable super broadband NIR phosphor light source is developed with a high fwhm of 330 nm and radiant flux of 18.2 mW for the first time. The observation of superbroad-band luminescence from two distinct luminescence centers is studied and evidenced by electron paramagnetic resonance, X-ray absorption near-edge structure, steady-state luminescence, and timeresolved luminescence at ambient and high-pressure environments. Finally, the luminescence mechanism is discussed with the relevant configurational coordinate diagrams.
Portable near-infrared (NIR) light sources are in high demand for applications in spectroscopy, night vision, bioimaging, and many others. Typical phosphor designs feature isolated Cr 3+ ion centers, and it is challenging to design broadband NIR phosphors based on Cr 3+ −Cr 3+ pairs. Here, we explore the solidsolution series SrAl 11.88−x Ga x O 19 :0.12Cr 3+ (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12) as phosphors featuring Cr 3+ −Cr 3+ pairs and evaluate structure−property relations within the series. We establish the incorporation of Ga within the magentoplumbite-type structure at five distinct crystallographic sites and evaluate the effect of this incorporation on the Cr 3+ −Cr 3+ ion pair proximity. Electron paramagnetic measurements reveal the presence of both isolated Cr 3+ and Cr 3+ − Cr 3+ pairs, resulting in NIR luminescence at approximately 650−1050 nm. Unexpectedly, the origin of broadband NIR luminescence with a peak within the range 740−820 nm is related to the Cr 3+ −Cr 3+ ion pair. We demonstrate the application of the SrAl 5.88 Ga 6 O 19 :0.12Cr 3+ phosphor, which possesses an internal quantum efficiency of ∼85%, a radiant flux of ∼95 mW, and zero thermal quenching up to 500 K. This work provides a further understanding of spectral shifts in phosphor solid solutions and in particular the application of the magentoplumbites as promising next-generation NIR phosphor host systems.
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