Preparation and photoluminescence properties of MgNb2O6:Eu3+, Bi3+ red-emitting phosphor

Rare earth Eu3+-doped MgNb2O6 red-emitting phosphor was prepared by solid-state reaction. Structure and photoluminescence properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electron microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence spectrophotometer. Meanwhile, the effect of the co-activator Bi3+ on the PL of the MgNb2O6:Eu3+ phosphor was studied. The results showed that the pure phase of MgNb2O6 could be available after firing at 1200 °C. The Mg1-xNb2O6:Eu3+ x phosphors could be effectively excited by the UV irradiation (273 nm) and emit red light at 615 nm due to the forced electric dipole 5D0 !7 F2 transitions on Eu3+, which indicated that Eu3+ occupied the non-inversion symmetry sites in the MgNb2O6 host lattice. So, the addition of the co-activator Bi3+ not only increased the excitation band of the MgNb2O6:Eu3+ phosphor at about 330 nm, but also strengthened the PL intensity at 615 nm. Therefore, MgNb2O6:Eu3+, Bi3+ might find application to InGaN chip-based white light emitting diodes.