Infrared and visible emissions of rare-earth-doped CeO2 phosphor.

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of Er(3+)-doped CeO2 phosphor with variable concentrations of erbium. The sample was synthesized using a solid-state reaction method, which is useful for the large-scale production of phosphors and is also eco-friendly. The prepared sample was characterized using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The XRD pattern confirmed that sample has the pure cubic fluorite crystal structure of CeO2. The crystallite size of the prepared phosphor was determined by Scherer's formula and the crystallite size giving an intense XRD peak is 40.06 nm. The surface morphology of the phosphor was determined by field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEGSEM). From the FEGSEM image, good surface morphology with some agglomerates was found. The functional group in the prepared sample was analysed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. All samples prepared with variable concentrations of Er(3+) (0.1-2 mol%) were studied by photoluminescence analysis and it was found that the excitation spectra of the prepared phosphor shows broad excitation centred at 251 nm. Emission spectra at different concentrations of Er(3+) show strong peaks at 413 and 470 nm and a weaker peak at 594 nm. The dominant peaks at 413 and 470 nm are caused by the allowed electronic transition (4)S3/2 → (4)I15/2 and the weaker transition at 594 nm is due to the transition (4)F9/2 → (4)I15/2. Spectrophotometric determinations of peaks were evaluated using the Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage (CIE) technique. The emission spectra were also observed using an infrared (IR) laser 980 nm source, and three distinct peaks were found in the IR region at 848, 870 and 980 nm. The prepared phosphor has utility for application in display devices.