A series of single-composition emission-tunable Ca9Y(PO4)7:Eu2+,Mn2+ phosphors were synthesized by solid-state reaction. The energy transfer from Eu2+ to Mn2+ in Ca9Y(PO4)7 host matrix was studied and demonstrated to be a resonant type via a dipole−quadrupole mechanism with the critical distance of ∼ 11 Å. The wavelength-tunable white light can be realized by coupling the emission bands centered at 486 and 638 nm ascribed to the contribution from Eu2+ and Mn2+, respectively. By properly tuning the relative composition of Eu2+/Mn2+, chromaticity coordinates of (0.31, 0.33) can be achieved under excitation at 250−440 nm. Moreover, white-light-emitting diodes were fabricated through the integration of 365 nm chips and single composition white-light-emitting phosphors (Ca0.975Eu0.01Mn0.015)9Y(PO4)7 into a single package shows a cool white light of 7200 K, color rendering index of 76, and color coordinates of (0.30, 0.31) close to that of ideal white light can be achieved.

The crystal structure of Eu(2+)-activated Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7):Eu(2+) phosphor was refined and determined from XRD profiles by the Rietveld refinement method using a synchrotron light source. This phosphor crystallizes in the monoclinic structure with the I2/a space group. The SZSP:xEu(2+) phosphors showed a broad yellow emission band centered at 511 and 571 nm depending on the concentration of Eu(2+), and the composition-optimized concentration of Eu(2+) in the Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7):Eu(2+) phosphor was determined to be 2 mol %. The estimated crystal-field splitting and CIE chromaticity coordinates of Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7):xEu(2+) (x = 0.001-0.05 mol) were 20181-20983 cm(-1) and (0.3835, 0.5074) to (0.4221, 0.5012), respectively, and the emission band showed a redshift from 547 to 571 nm with increasing Eu(2+) concentration. The nonradiative transitions between the Eu(2+) ions in the Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7) host were attributable to dipole-dipole interactions, and the critical distance was approximately 19.8 Å. The combination of a 400 nm NUV chip with a blend of Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7):0.02Eu(2+) and BAM:Eu(2+) phosphors (light converters) gave high color rendering indices between 79.38 and 92.88, correlated color temperatures between 4325 and 7937 K, and tuned CIE chromaticity coordinates in the range (0.381, 0.435) to (0.294, 0.310), respectively, depending on the SZSP:0.02Eu(2+)/BAM:Eu(2+) weight ratio. These results suggest that the Sr(8)ZnSc(PO(4))(7):0.02Eu(2+)/BAM:Eu(2+) phosphor blend has potential applications in white NUV LEDs.

Novel single-phased white light-emitting KCaY(PO(4))(2):Eu(2+),Mn(2+) phosphors for light-emitting diode (LED) applications were synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction. The emission hue could be controlled by tuning the Eu(2+)/Mn(2+) ratio via the energy transfer; the the emission hue of KCaY(PO(4))(2):Eu(2+),Mn(2+) varied from blue (0.1853, 0.2627) to white-light (0.3350, 0.3203) and eventually to purple (0.3919, 0.2867). The mechanism of energy transfer from a sensitizer Eu(2+) to an activator Mn(2+) in KCaY(PO(4))(2):Eu(2+),Mn(2+) phosphors was demonstrated to be an electric dipole-quadrupole interaction. Combining a NUV 405-nm chip and a white-emitting KCaY(PO(4))(2):1%Eu(2+),4%Mn(2+) phosphor produced a white-light NUV LED, demonstrating CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.314, 0.329) and a color temperature of 6507 K.

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A blue phosphor Ca 2 PO 4 Cl : Eu 2+ was synthesized by solid state reaction and evaluated as a candidate for white LEDs. The luminescent intensity of Ca 2 PO 4 Cl : Eu 2+ was found to be 128% under excitation at 380 nm, 149% under 400 nm, and 247% under 420 nm, as high as that of BaMgAl 10 O 17 : Eu 2+ . Furthermore, Ca 2 PO 4 Cl : Eu 2+ reveals high quantum efficiency and excellent thermal stability. By utilizing a mixture of blue-emitting Ca 2 PO 4 Cl : Eu 2+ , green-emitting (Ba,Sr) 2 SiO 4 : Eu 2+ and redemitting CaAlSiN 3 : Eu 2+ as light converters, an intense white GaN-based n-UV-LED (400 nm) was fabricated to exhibit an excellent color-rendering index R a of 93.4 at a correlated color temperature of 4590 K. Based on the results, we are currently evaluating the potential application of Ca 2 PO 4 Cl : Eu 2+ as a blue-emitting near-UV convertible phosphor.