Near-Infrared and Blue Emissions of LuNbO4:Yb3+, Tm3+ Phosphors

$LuNbO_4:0.2Yb^{3+},xTm^{3+}$ powders were prepared using a solid-state reaction process. The effects of the amount of Tm on up-conversion(UC) and down-conversion(DC) luminescence properties are investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm that $Yb^{3+}$ and $Tm^{3+}$ ions are successfully incorporated into Lu sites. Under 980 nm excitation, the UC spectra of the powders predominantly exhibit strong near-infrared emission bands that peak at 805 nm, whereas weak 480 nm emission bands are observed as well. The emission bands are assigned to the $^1G_4{\rightarrow}^3H_6$ (480 nm) and 3 $^3H_4{\rightarrow}^3H_6$ (805 nm) transitions of the $Tm^{3+}$ ions via an energy transfer from $Yb^{3+}$ to $Tm^{3+}$; two- and three-photon UC processes are responsible for the 805 and 480 nm emissions, respectively. The DC emission spectra exhibit blue emission ($^1D_2{\rightarrow}^3F_4$) of $Tm^{3+}$ at 458 nm. The amount of Tm affects the emission intensity with the strongest emissions at x = 0.007 and 0.02 for the UC and DC luminescence, respectively. The results demonstrate that $LuNbO_4:Yb^{3+},Tm^{3+}$ phosphors are suitable for bio-applications.

LuNbO4:Yb3+, Tm3+ 형광체의 근적외선 및 청색 발광 특성