Cathodoluminescence Study of Bi3+-Doped YNbO4 Phosphor

Abstract

Cathodoluminescence measurements have been used to investigate the variations of the emission wavelengths and intensities of the Bi3+-doped YNbO4 phosphor synthesized by solid-state reaction technique. It is seen that, as the Bi mole fraction increases, the peak of the cathodoluminescence spectrum increases in wavelength up to the mole fraction of 0.005 and then decreases. Also their intensity increases up to the mole fraction of 0.005 and then decreases, while the broadening decreases and then increases. This indicates that a higher cathodoluminescence intensity than that of YNbO4 itself is obtained by doping with Bi. It is attributed to the increase of transitions inside Bi electronic energy levels, the transition between Bi and O via charge transfer, and the Burstein-Moss effect.