Effect of Particle Size on the Luminescent Properties of Europium Doped Yttrium Oxide Nano-Phosphors

摘要

Red light emitting Eu~(3+) doped Y_2O_3 phosphor nano-particles were synthesized by a sol-gel method combined with a furnace firing. The particle size, measured using dynamic light scattering (DLS), was between 36nm and 1 micron depending on the conditions. Final dopant concentrations were measured through inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The ICP results show a dopant loss of 58% during the processing for the europium doped yttria. Red photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL), at 614nm was observed from the phosphor particles under UV excitation and electron bombardment. Results show that the samples with a mean diameter of 30nm displayed a significant increase in PL brightness over the samples whose mean diameter was 215nm. The lag in PL, and CL intensity behind the commercial reference samples is attributed to the significantly lower dopant levels present in the experimental phosphors. Results also indicate that these processing methods and nano-phosphors may be a useful alternative to current materials and methods.