title: A novel apatite, Lu5(SiO4)3N:(Ce,Tb), phosphor material: synthesis, structure and applications for NUV-LEDs.
abstract: The lutetium containing nitride apatite Lu5(SiO4)3N was prepared by a solid state reaction at high temperature for the first time. Rietveld refinement indicated that the Lu5(SiO4)3N compound has a hexagonal space group of P63/m with cell parameters a = b = 9.700 Å and c = 7.238 Å. Additionally, the results revealed that there are two distinct lutetium sites in the Lu5(SiO4)3N host lattice, i.e. a Lu(1) site with nine coordination (Wyckoff site 4f) and a Lu(2) site with seven coordination (Wyckoff site 6h). Furthermore, the ratio of the number of Lu atoms in Lu(1) and Lu(2) sites is 3 : 2. The band gap for Lu5(SiO4)3N was determined to be 4.12 eV based on the density functional theory (DFT). In the Ce(3+) doped Lu5(SiO4)3N:0.03Ce(3+) compound, the emission peak centered at 462 nm was observed with the Commission International de I'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.148, 0.184), indicating blue-emission. Remarkably, in Ce(3+) and Tb(3+) co-doped Lu4.97-y(SiO4)3N:0.03Ce(3+),yTb(3+) compounds, the color-tunability was observed with increasing Tb(3+) co-doping rate on moving from blue at Tb(3+) = 0.00 to green at Tb = 0.09, due to the energy transfer from Ce(3+) to Tb(3+) ions being matched well with the decay curve results. Under the excitation at 359 nm, the absolute quantum efficiency (QE) for Lu5(SiO4)3N:0.03Ce(3+) was determined to be 42.13%. This phosphor material could be a platform for modeling a new phosphor and application in the solid-state lighting field.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Materials Utilization of Nonmetallic Minerals and Solid Wastes, National Laboratory of Mineral Materials, School of Materials Sciences and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China. clayl@cugb.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Qidi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Libing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Haikun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lefu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mei