Bright green-emitting, energy transfer and quantum cutting of Ba3Ln(PO4)3: Tb3+ (Ln = La, Gd) under VUV-UV excitation.

Tb3+ doped Ba3Gd(PO4)3 and Ba3La(PO4)3 phosphors were synthesized using the traditional high temperature solid state reaction method. The excitation, emission, and decay spectra were measured at room temperature. Efficient energy transfer (ET) from Gd3+ to Tb3+ exists in Tb3+ doped Ba3Gd(PO4)3, and the ET efficiency increases with the increase of Tb3+ concentration. The visible quantum cutting (QC) via cross relaxation was observed upon exciting low-spin (7D(J)) 5d levels of Tb3+ ions. Ba3Tb(PO4)3 sample shows relatively strong emission intensity in comparison with Zn2SiO4: Mn2+ (ZSM) upon 172 nm excitation, and with a decay time τ(1/10) about 6.4 ms under 351 nm excitation, indicating the potential application of this phosphor for plasma display panels (PDPs) and Hg-free lamps.