Near infrared emission in Nd3+ and Nd3+/Yb3+co-doped LiY(WO4)2 phosphor

In this paper, a series of Nd 3+ and Nd 3+ /Yb 3+ co-doped LiY(WO 4 ) 2 phosphor materials synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction(SSR) technique are investigated. Crystal structure and optical properties of as synthesized samples were tested through the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis and fluorescence spectrophotometer respectively. Nd 3+ and Nd 3+ /Yb 3+ (0.5–5 mol%) co-doped LiY(WO 4 ) 2 phosphors were prepared and reported first time. The PXRD analysis ascertains the wolframite structure with the space group P 2/n . Scanning Electron Microscopy confirms the morphology of the as prepared sample and EDX confirms the elemental composition. The host emission was obtained at 483 nm when it was excited with 282 nm wavelength. NIR emission observed at 1068 nm attributed to 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 for Nd 3+ doped LiY(WO 4 ) 2 when it was excited with 590 nm attributed to 4 I 9/2 → 4 G 5/2 . Also, Nd 3+ /Yb 3+ co-doped emission observed at 1002 nm ( 2 F 5/2 → 2 F 7/2 ) when it was excited with 589 nm ( 4 I 9/2 →4G 5/2 ). The results suggest that Nd 3+ and Nd 3+ /Yb 3+ co-doped LiY(WO 4 ) 2 is an efficient NIR emitting phosphor suitable for LASER, bio-imaging, optical temperature sensors and other optical applications.