High color purity red emission of Y2Ti2O7:Yb3+, Er3+ under 1550 and 980 nm excitation

Abstract Red emission with high color purity in Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 :Yb 3+ ,Er 3+ material is successfully obtained by high-concentration doping of Yb 3+ and Er 3+ under 980 and 1550 nm excitation based on the special layer structure of pyrochlore crystal. It shows that Yb 3+ ion content and excitation wavelength greatly influence the red emission percent of total up-conversion luminescence intensity of Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 :Yb 3+ ,Er 3+ . Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 :Yb 3+ ,Er 3+ shows much better red color purity at 1550 nm excitation than at 980 nm. Furthermore, the co-doping of Yb 3+ ions considerably boosts the red emission under 980 or 1550 nm pumping with different luminescence mechanisms compared with Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 :Er 3+ sample. The red emission percent of total up-conversion luminescence intensity gradually increases with the increment of Yb 3+ concentration at both excitation sources. The red-to-green emission ratio of the sample is 6.97 (980 nm) and 23.26 (1550 nm) when the Yb 3+ content is 30 mol%.