Wideband near-infrared phosphor by stacking Sm3+ doped glass underneath Yb3+, Nd3+ co-doped glass

We synthesized Sb2O3‐B2O3‐Bi2O3 glasses doped with Sm3+ in order to increase the spectral width of an Yb3+, Nd3+ co‐doped glass phosphor. We successfully realized wideband luminescence from 850 nm to 1220 nm by stacking the Sm3+ doped glass phosphor (1.1Sm2O3‐44.4Sb2O3‐44.6B2O3‐9.9Bi2O3, in nominal molar composition, thickness of 1mm) underneath the Yb3+, Nd3+ co‐doped glass phosphor (1.2Yb2O3‐1.1Nd2O3‐43.9Sb2O3‐44.1B2O3‐9.7Bi2O3, thickness of 1mm). On the other hand, luminescence of the Sm3+, Yb3+, and Nd3+ tri‐doped glass phosphor (1.1Sm2O3‐1.2Yb2O3‐1.1Nd2O3‐44.4Sb2O3‐44.6B2O3‐9.9Bi2O3, thickness of 2 mm) was almost the same as that of the Yb3+, Nd3+ co‐doped glass phosphor. These results indicate that stacking the Sm3+ doped glass phosphor underneath the Yb3+, Nd3+ co‐doped glass phosphor is a good approach to realize the wideband near‐infrared phosphor. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)