Spectroscopic investigation of rare earth activated potassium calcium pyrophosphate K2Ca1-xRExP2O7 (RE = Tb3+, Dy3+, Sm3+ and Eu3+) phosphors

This study investigates the spectroscopic properties of rare earth activated potassium calcium pyrophosphate K2Ca1-xRExP2O7 (RE = Tb3+, Dy3+, Sm3+ and Eu3+) phosphors synthesized by a solid-state reaction method. The synthesized phosphor samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, and Photoluminescence spectroscopy. The phosphors exhibit a strong excitation band in near UV to blue region in the range 350–400 nm showing spectral overlap with the emission band of a UV light emitting diode (LED) chip. Spectroscopic analysis has also been carried out using the Judd-Ofelt theory. The obtained luminescence properties and calculated spectroscopic parameters indicate usefulness of these phosphors in solid-state lighting, white light emitting phosphor for near UV excited LEDs and other displays applications.