Versatile Phosphate Phosphors ABPO4 in White Light-Emitting Diodes: Collocated Characteristic Analysis and Theoretical Calculations

Abstract

The orthophosphate host family, A^IB^IIPO₄ (A^I = monovalent cation, B^II = divalent cation), has recently been made available as phosphors that combine with near-UV lighting chips for use in solid-state white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This study elucidates the crystalline structure and lattice parameters of the products via a solid-state reaction, using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and GSAS refinement. The versatility of the phosphor host A^IB^IIPO₄ is established by examining isovalent substitutions of four cations in the structure—Li or K for A^I, Sr or Ba for B^II—and three doped activators, RE = Eu²⁺, Tb³⁺, and Sm³⁺. The luminescence properties, decay time, and Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE) chromaticity index are determined for various concentrations of these activators and metal constituents of the host. The thermal stabilities of all of these compounds are determined for the first time from the crystal structure and the coordination environment of the rare-earth metal. The morphology, composition, and particle size were measured in detail. Finally, density functional calculations were performed using the generalized gradient approximation plus an on-site Coulombic interaction correction (GGA+U) scheme to investigate the electronic structures of the KSrPO₄ system. A concise model was proposed to explain the luminescence mechanism.