New red phosphors BaZr(BO3)2 and SrAl2B2O7 doped with Eu 3þ for PDP applications

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excitation and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of Eu3þ ion doped borate phosphors; BaZr(BO3)2:Eu 3þ and SrAl2B2O7:Eu 3þ are studied. The excitation spectra show strong absorption in the VUV region with the absorption band edge at ca. 200 nm for BaZr(BO3)2:Eu 3þ and 183 nm for SrAl2B2O7:Eu 3þ, respectively, which ensures the efficient absorption of the Xe plasma emission lines. In BaZr(BO3)2:Eu 3þ, the charge transfer band of Eu3þ does not appear strongly in the excitation spectrum, which can be enhanced by co-doping Al3þ ion into the BaZr(BO3)2 lattices. The luminescence intensity of BaZr(BO3)2:Eu 3þ is also increased by Al3þ incorporation into the lattices. The PL spectra show the strongest emission at 615 nm corresponding to the electric dipole 5D0! 7F2 transition of Eu3þ in both BaZr(BO3)2 and SrAl2B2O7, similar to that in YAl3(BO3)4, which results in a good color purity for display applications