Identification of a Blue Photoluminescent Composite Material from a Combinatorial Library

Abstract

A quaternary combinatorial masking strategy was used in conjunction with photolithography to generate compositionally diverse thin-film phosphor libraries containing 1024 different compositions on substrates 2.5 centimeters square. A parallel imaging system and scanning spectrophotometer were used to identify and characterize compositions in the library with interesting luminescent behavior. Optimal compositions were identified with the use of gradient libraries, in which the stoichiometry of a material was varied continuously. This process led to the identification of an efficient blue photoluminescent composite material, Gd3Ga5O12/SiO2. Experimental evidence suggests that luminescence in this material may arise from interfacial effects between SiO2 and Gd3Ga5O12.

Fulfilling the promise of the materials genome initiative with high-throughput experimental methodologies

“…7: (a) hypothesis-driven design and synthesis of a "library" sample with variations in the materials parameter(s) of interest [118][119][120][121] (typically composition); (b) rapid, local, and automated interrogation of the library for the properties of interest; 53,[122][123][124][125][126][127][128] and (c) analysis, mining, display, and curation of the resultant data. [129][130][131] Each step presents current challenges that must be overcome before HTE methodologies can be widely deployed.…”

High throughput methods applied in biomaterial development and discovery

“…An early example was the synthesis of a library of minerals as thin films on a single 'chip' using a sequential masking and unmasking procedure with ion sputtering to produce a range of material compositions [7]. Subsequently, many variations on this theme of combining components to create a range of material types and/or compositions have been published including photoluminescent composite materials [8], polymer films [9], conductive polymers for the creation of electronic circuitry components [10,11], metal salt catalysts [12], transition metal catalysts [13], metal nanoparticles [14,15], ceramics [16][17][18] and organic light emitting diodes [19].…”

The fast and the curious: High‐throughput experimentation in synthetic polymer chemistry

“…19 Libraries of inorganic materials have been prepared by a combination of thin-film deposition and physical masking and were screened for (super)conductivity 10,11 after the deposition of electrodes or for fluorescence. 12,13 In combinatorial catalyst research, the activity of catalyst libraries has been screened with, for example, microelectrode arrays, 14 IR cameras, 15 and mass spectrometry. 18 In contrast to the aforementioned fields, polymer research is rather difficult.…”