Simultaneous modulation of multicolor upconversion emission and thermal‐sensing performance of Ba₅Zn₄Y₈O₂₁ phosphors

Abstract

In this study, we report the modulation of the emission color and optical temperature‐sensing properties of Er3+ in Ba5Zn4Y8O21 crystals. Er3+ single‐doped Ba5Zn4Y8O21 phosphors showed green emission under 980 nm excitation. When codoping with Yb3+ ions, the red emission component from the Er3+ ions increased significantly, and the sample emission turned orange. Yb3+–Er3+ codoped Ba5Zn4Y8O21 samples exhibited bright red emission with a maximum IR/IG value of 89.30 when excited with a longer wavelength, 1550 nm. A broad range of emission colors could be modulated by adjusting the dopant concentration. The possible modulation mechanisms and upconversion processes were analyzed based on the luminescence decay curves and power‐dependent emission intensities. Furthermore, the optical temperature‐sensing properties of Ba5Zn4Y8O21:Er3+ and Ba5Zn4Y8O21:Er3+, Yb3+ phosphors with thermal coupled energy levels (TCELs) and nonthermal coupled energy levels (N‐TCELs) of Er3+ ions were investigated using fluorescence intensity ratio technique. Based on the TCELs (2H11/2/4S3/2), the Er3+ single‐doped and Yb3+–Er3+ codoped Ba5Zn4Y8O21 phosphors present the similar optical thermometry behaviors under 980 and 1550 nm excitation. The highest absolute (Sa) and relative sensitivity (Sr) are 3.95 × 10−3 K−1 at 573 K and 1.31% K−1 at 303 K, respectively. Based on N‐TCELs (4F9/2/2H11/2), the temperature‐sensing performance depends on the Yb3+ dopant and excitation wavelength. The highest values for Sa and Sr reached 5.46 K−1 at 303 K and 1.38% K−1 at 573 K for the Ba5Zn4Y8O21:Er3+, Yb3+ phosphor under 1550 nm excitation, respectively. In addition, the present phosphor exhibited high stability and repeatability over a wide temperature range. These results indicate that the multicolor modulation upconversion Ba5Zn4Y8O21‐based phosphor can be considered a potential reusable optical thermometer for noncontact temperature detection.