Achievement of broadband near-infrared phosphor Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+, Ce3+ via energy transfer for food analysis

Abstract Cr3+-doped Ca3Y2Ge3O12 broadband near-infrared phosphor was synthesized by the high-temperature solid-state reaction method. Under the excitation of 475 nm, the emission peak of Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Cr3+ is at 823 nm and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is 155 nm. The introduction of Ce3+ as a sensitizer leads to the enhancement of CYG:Cr3+ emission intensity. The emission range of CYG:Ce3+, Cr3+ can perfectly cover the frequency doubling absorption band of C-H, O-H and other hydrogen groups. There is an energy transfer process between Ce3+ and Cr3+, and the energy transfer efficiency is as high as 94.21%. According to the near-infrared response to hydrogen group and Lambert Beer law, the dependence of absorbance Lg(I0/I) on sugar content was explored, and then the reliability and accuracy of the method were verified. The results show that the phosphor Ca3Y2Ge3O12:Ce3+, Cr3+ phosphor has prospects for a potential application in nondestructive food detection.