Structural and luminescence characterization of terbium doped siliconitride phosphors for afterglow applications

Abstract Terbium ions-activated Sr2Si5N8 phosphors were synthesized via solid state reaction route for dark glow applications. The luminescence properties and the corresponding ligand environment were controlled with the synthesis temperatures. The phosphors prepared at various heating temperatures exhibited the typical Tb3+ emission lines around 545 nm upon UVC excitation. As the concentration of terbium ions increased, the emission intensity of Sr2-xTbxSi5N8 reached to a maximum at x = 0.06. The present phosphors exhibited long afterglow after UVC excitation and the afterglow intensity of phosphors increased sharply as the excitation wavelength decreased from 420 nm to 265 nm. The decay time of phosphors changed with the activator concentration. The present study demonstrated a series of Sr2-xTbxSi5N8 phosphors for the application in persistent luminescence devices.