Photoluminescence properties of thermographic phosphors YAG:Dy and YAG:Dy, Er doped with boron and nitrogen

This paper investigates Dy3+-doped and Dy3+, Er3+-co-doped yttrium aluminum garnets (YAG) with the admixture of boron nitride with the aim of using them as efficient thermographic phosphors at high temperatures. The phosphors were synthesized using a conventional high-temperature solid-state method. The influence of two fluxes, B2O3 and LiF/NH4F, and the effect of activator and coactivator concentrations were investigated. Additionally, the effect of B3+ and N3− substituting for Al3+ and O2− ions, respectively, in the YAG:Dy3+ co-doped with Er3+ was studied for the first time. The changes in the host lattice led to a much stronger photoluminescence compared with the samples without B3+ and N3− substitution. The admixture of BN also improves the thermal sensitivity of the YAG:Dy and YAG:Dy, Er thermographic phosphors.