A novel red phosphor Mg2GeO4 doped with Eu3+ for PDP applications

A novel red emitting phosphor, Eu3+-doped Mg2GeO4, was prepared by the solid-state reaction. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of Mg2GeO4:Eu3+. Field-emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observation indicated a narrow size-distribution of about 0.5–2 μm nm for the particles with spindle-like shape. Photoluminescence (PL) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excitation characteristics of the phosphor Mg2GeO4:Eu3+ were studied. We have also studied the effect of preparation conditions such as temperature, heating time on the PL data. Photoluminescence measurements indicated that the phosphor exhibits bright red emission at about 609 nm under UV excitation. And the vacuum ultraviolet spectra present that the novel red phosphor Mg2GeO4:Eu3+ shows strong absorption in the VUV region, which ensures the efficient absorption of the Xe plasma emission lines. The phosphor Mg2GeO4:Eu3+ shows the strongest emission at 613 nm corresponding to the electric dipole 5D0–7F2 transition of Eu3+ excited at 147 nm. The optical properties study suggests that it is a potential candidate for plasma display panels (PDPs) application.