Emission color variation of M2SiO4:Eu (M=Ba, Sr, Ca) phosphors for light-emitting diode

The luminescent properties of alkaline earth orthosilicates M₂SiO₄ (M=Ba, Sr, Ca) doped with Eu²⁺ ions are investigated. Two emission bands are assigned to the f-d transitions of Eu²⁺ ions doped into two different cation sites in host lattices confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance signal. Two emission bands show the different emission color variation with substituting M²⁺ cations with smaller cations. This behavior is discussed in terms of two competing factors of the crystal field strength and covalence. Also the decay times are in order of 600-1000 ns. These phosphors with maximum excitation of around 370 nm can be applied as a color-tunable phosphor for light-emitting diode based on ultraviolet chip/phosphor technology.