Enhanced luminescence and degradation resistance in Tb modified Yttrium Borate core–nano silica shell phosphor under UV and VUV excitation

Composition variation in optimized solid state reaction conditions has been done to achieve intense green emission in YTbxBO3 phosphor under UV and VUV (147 nm resonant Xe*, 172 nm Xe2* excimer band) excitation. Inert interface layer created by fabricating a shell of silica nanoparticles over individual phosphor grain protected the phosphor surface from deterioration and oxidation of luminescent ion (Tb3+) thus completely arresting phosphor degradation. At optimum Tb content of 20 mol%, integrated photoluminescence intensity of developed YTbxBO3 phosphor is four times higher than commercial green YBT. With short decay time of 4 ms, YTbxBO3 core–nano silica shell green emitting phosphor has great application potential in PDP panel and phosphor coated Xe lamps.