Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence of Mn doped zinc silicate nanophosphors for green and yellow field emissions displays

Mn 2+ -doped Zn 2 SiO 4 (ZSM 2+ ) was synthesized by a facile sol–gel technique. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) techniques. Under UV excitation, spectra showed that the α-ZSM 2+ phosphor exhibited a strong green emission around 525 nm and reached the highest luminescence intensity with the Mn doping concentration of 5 at.%. However, for the β-ZSM 2+ phase, an interesting yellow emission band centered at ~ 575 nm of Mn 2+ at the Zn 2+ tetrahedral sites was observed. In addition, an unusual red shift with increasing Mn 2+ content was also found and attributed to an exchange interaction between Mn 2+ . Both PL and CL spectra exhibit an intense green and yellow emission centered at ~ 525 and ~ 573 nm, respectively, due to the 4 T 1 ( 4 G)- 6 A 1 ( 6 S) transition of Mn 2+ . Furthermore, these results indicated that the Mn 2+ -doped zinc silicate phosphors may have potential applications in green and yellow emissions displays like field emission displays (FEDs).