Multicolor tunable emission and energy transfer in AlN:Tb3+,Eu3+ phosphors

Tb 3+ and Eu 3+ co-doped AlN phosphors are triumphantly synthesized by means of a simple solid-state route at 880 °C. The crystal structure, morphology, elements analysis and photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra are studied in detail. Tb 3+ and Eu 3+ co-doped AlN phosphors possess hexagonal structure and are composed of some irregular spherical particles. AlN:Tb 3+ phosphors present intense emission under excitation wavelength at 338 nm, which is originating from 5 D 4 → 7 F J ( J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions of Tb 3+ ions. In addition, AlN:Tb 3+ ,Eu 3+ phosphors also display intense emission under excitation wavelength at 338 nm. The corresponding emission color of AlN:Tb 3+ ,Eu 3+ phosphors presents a trend of gradual change from green light to red light on account of energy transfer behavior from Tb 3+ to Eu 3+ , which signifys that multicolor emitting AlN:Tb 3+ , z Eu 3+ phosphors can be applied in multicolor display.