Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence properties of novel rare-earth free narrow-band bright green-emitting ZnB2O4:Mn2+ phosphor for LEDs and FEDs

A novel rare-earth free narrow-band green-emitting Mn2+ doped ZnB2O4 phosphor has been synthesized successfully through solid-state method, and the photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence properties of samples were investigated in detail. The phosphor can emit bright green light peaking at 541 nm with FWHM about 41 nm under both UV and blue light excitation. The broad excitation ranges from 235 nm to 535 nm, especially the strongest excitation locates in blue region, which indicates that the phosphor can match well with not only UV LED chips but also blue LED chips. The temperature-dependent PL properties show that the phosphor has good thermal stability and outstanding color stability. From the CL spectra, it is obvious that the phosphor also exhibits intense green emission with high color purity and good color stability under low-voltage excitation, and the results indicate that the phosphor owns high saturation voltage and saturation current. In view of the outstanding performance in the PL and CL, the ZnB2O4:Mn2+ can be considered to apply in both LED and FED devices.