Preparation and characterization of a long persistent phosphor Na2Ca3Si2O8:Ce3+

A novel host lattice Na2Ca3Si2O8 was used for synthesizing long persistent phosphors for the first time. A blue-emitting long persistent phosphor was prepared successfully via a traditional high temperature solid-state reaction method. The phase structure was checked by XRD. The photoluminescence and persistent luminescence decay properties of Ce3+-doped samples were studied systematically. The defects acting as traps were investigated by thermoluminescence. It demonstrated that the doping Ce3+-ions into the Na2Ca3Si2O8 host not only largely enriched the intrinsic traps but also introduced abundant new extrinsic traps which play a determining role in the generation of persistent luminescence. The origin of the persistent luminescence was analyzed and a related mechanism was systematically discussed based on a schematic diagram as well. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America