Enhanced luminescence in Ce3+/Dy3+: Sr3Y2(BO3)4 phosphors via energy transfer

A series of xCe3+/yDy3+: Sr3Y2−x−y(BO3)4 (x = 0–0.8, y = 0–0.5) phosphors have been successfully synthesized by a solid-state reaction route. Microstructure, emission spectra, decay curves and energy transfer process in the samples were investigated and discussed. With increasing of Ce3+ content (x) from 0.005 to 0.80, the variation of Ce3+ content at the two different Y3+ sites induces red-shifting of emission band from 410 to 457 nm in the Ce3+ single-doped sample. Efficient energy transfer from Ce3+ to Dy3+ occurs owing to the spectral overlap between Ce3+ emission and Dy3+ excitation, which results in a great enhancement of Dy3+ emission. The energy transfer process is proposed to be dominated by the electric dipole–quadrupole interaction, and the critical distance is determined to be 1.60 nm.