Photoluminescence and thermal sensing properties of Er3+ doped silicate based phosphors for multifunctional optoelectronic device applications.

Single phase Er3+ activated Na 2 CaSiO 4 (NCSO) phosphors were synthesized successfully via sol-gel technique. As-synthesized NCSO: Er3+ samples have been characterized using various techniques to explore crystallinity, morphology, photoluminescence (PL) features, thermal sensing properties and thermal stability. An intense green emission peak has been observed at 558 nm under 379 nm (near-UV) excitation for NCSO: Er3+ phosphors. Moreover, the Er3+ ions concentration has been optimized at 6.0 mol% in NCSO host lattice to achieve maximum intensity, beyond which the emission intensity reduces due to concentration quenching. Temperature-dependent PL studies indicate excellent thermal stability as the emission intensity persists up to 71% and 66% of the room temperature intensity at 383 K and 423 K, respectively. The chromaticity coordinates (0.328, 0.654) under 379 nm excitation for the optimized NCSO: Er3+ phosphor situated in the green region. Further, the superior temperature sensing behaviour of the proposed phosphor is highly expected from the obtained relative sensitivity value of 1.88% K−1. Above mentioned results indicate the potentiality of the green emitting NCSO: Er3+ phosphor for multifunctional optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]