Direct observation of single dopant atom in light-emitting phosphor of β-SiAlON:Eu2+

Abstract

Rare-earth doped nitride attracts considerable attention because of its application as a light-emitting phosphor. The atomic site of dopants in a crystal is important for the development of advanced materials. Here, we directly observe a single Eu dopant atom in phosphor ␤-SiAlON using scanning transmission electron microscopy ͑STEM͒. A STEM annular dark-field image reveals that a Eu dopant exists in a continuous atomic channel in a ␤-Si 3 N 4 structure. The image contrast of the single Eu dopant is confirmed based on the comparison of experimental and simulation results.

The z value dependence of photoluminescence in Eu2+-doped β-SiAlON (Si6−zAlzOzN8−z) with 1≤z≤4

“…Denis et al [21] reported that the Eu 2+ -doped (Ba,Sr) 13 There is no available crystallographic site for Eu 2+ ion in -SiAlON, so it is difficult to correlate the luminescence with the chemical environment of Eu 2+ in -SiAlON. It has continuous channels to accommodate for Eu 2+ ions, as confirmed by STEM without any detailed crystallographic information [15]. By modeling analysis, Li et al [14] showed that the Eu 2+ ion occupies the 2b site (0,0,0) in the channels and coordinates to six (N/O) atoms.…”

Photoluminescence properties of β-SiAlON:Yb2+, a novel green-emitting phosphor for white light-emitting diodes

“…Since it is not necessary for β-SiAlON to accommodate the metal ions for charge compensation, rare-earth ions have been confirmed to locate in the continuous channel by electron microscopy [16] or Pr 3+ ), which provide more options for the use in white LEDs [7,11], [17][18][19]. Doping these rare-earth ions into β-SiAlON host lattice also can obtain optimal PL properties.…”

Preparation of Eu-doped β- and 15R-SiAlONs by ammonia nitridation of the precursor obtained using aluminum glycine gel

“…At high z composition, the product was contaminated with SiAlON polytypoids [12,14]. Most recently, K. Kimoto et al proposed that Eu 2+ ions were located in the channel parallel to c-axis of the -SiAlON crystal structure using scanning transmission electron microscopy [15].…”