Spectroscopic investigation of La7Ta3W4O30:Sm3+ orange-red phosphor for white LEDs

The novel orange-red light emitting La₇Ta₃W₄O₃₀:xSm³⁺ (x = 0.005–0.20) phosphors were synthesized via the solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure, photoluminescence (PL) properties, optimum concentration, color purity, decay life, and thermal stability of the samples were systematically studied. Under the excitation of 404 nm, La₇Ta₃W₄O₃₀:Sm³⁺ emits intense orange-red light at 597 nm. The PL spectra of La₇Ta₃W₄O₃₀:Sm³⁺ phosphors are ascribed to the ⁴G_5/2 to ⁶H_J (J = 5/2, 7/2, 9/2, and 11/2) transitions of Sm³⁺ ions. The concentration quenching occurs at the doping level of 1 mol%. The quenching temperature is higher than 500 K. Finally, a white LED (w-LED) with the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates of (0.312, 0.296) and good color rendering index (Ra) of 86 was fabricated. As a consequence, all the results suggest that the orange-red phosphors La₇Ta₃W₄O₃₀:Sm³⁺ have potential applications in w-LEDs structures.