Multicolor tunable emission and energy transfer in AlN:Tb 3+ ,Eu 3+ phosphors

Tb3+ and Eu3+ co-doped AlN phosphors are triumphantly synthesized by means of a simple solid-state route at 880 °C. The crystal structure, morphology, elements analysis and photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra are studied in detail. Tb3+ and Eu3+ co-doped AlN phosphors possess hexagonal structure and are composed of some irregular spherical particles. AlN:Tb3+ phosphors present intense emission under excitation wavelength at 338 nm, which is originating from 5D4 → 7FJ (J = 6, 5, 4, 3) transitions of Tb3+ ions. In addition, AlN:Tb3+,Eu3+ phosphors also display intense emission under excitation wavelength at 338 nm. The corresponding emission color of AlN:Tb3+,Eu3+ phosphors presents a trend of gradual change from green light to red light on account of energy transfer behavior from Tb3+ to Eu3+, which signifys that multicolor emitting AlN:Tb3+,zEu3+ phosphors can be applied in multicolor display.