Design, luminescence properties and applications of Cr3+-doped ScTaO4: a broadband near-infrared phosphor

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) emitting LED devices have broad applications. Using a visible light LED chip to excite Cr³⁺-activated phosphors to obtain NIR light has attracted extensive attention. In this study, a near-infrared luminescent material, Cr³⁺-doped Sc_1−xTaO₄, was synthesized by the element substitution method. It demonstrated a long emission wavelength (940 nm) and wide full width at half maximum (FWHM) (186 nm). The morphology, structure and photoluminescence of the samples were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy techniques. Moreover, the relationship between the NIR emission properties of Cr³⁺ and the substituted ions in the crystal matrix was studied. Based on this material, we fabricated near-infrared LED devices, which exhibited good near-infrared luminescence properties.