CeF3-based glass ceramic: a potential luminescent host for white-light-emitting diode.

Rare earth (RE) ion doped glass ceramics containing hexagonal CeF(3) nanocrystals with a mean size of 12 nm were fabricated. Using Eu(3+) as the structural probe, Stark splitting emissions and the low forced electric dipole D5(0)-->F7(2) transition of Eu(3+) revealed the partition of RE ions into low-phonon-energy CeF(3) nanocrystals. Efficient energy transfers from Ce(3+) to Tb(3+) or Dy(3+) were found, and the energy transfer efficiency was evaluated. Under ultraviolet excitation, intense white-light emission was observed in Dy(3+)-doped samples owing to Dy(3+) resided in CeF(3) crystalline environment, indicating their potential application in white-light-emitting diodes.