Temperature dependency of trap-controlled persistent luminescence

Phosphors featuring persistent luminescence, as distinctive photonic materials, have been explored extensively owing to their unusual properties and commercial interest as self‐sustained emitters in night‐vision surveillance, emergency signage, optical data storage, and in vivo bio‐imaging. However, widespread utilization of persistent phosphors at various outdoor conditions remains a formidable challenge due to the dependence of persistent luminescence performance on the environmental temperature. Here, the relation between the optimum working temperature and thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve is revealed with different TL read‐out approaches. Notably, the optimum working temperature, T-optimum, is proved to be an intrinsic parameter of a persistent phosphor, irrelevant to the TL heating rate. Temperature dependency of trap filling and releasing processes, demonstrated on a benchmark persistent phosphor with multiple trap occupation levels, is investigated to shed more light on temperature‐dependent, trap‐controlled persistent luminescence. This work presents new perspectives on their wide applications in terms of designing and screening persistent phosphors for various ambient conditions, and beyond.Phosphors featuring persistent luminescence, as distinctive photonic materials, have been explored extensively owing to their unusual properties and commercial interest as self‐sustained emitters in night‐vision surveillance, emergency signage, optical data storage, and in vivo bio‐imaging. However, widespread utilization of persistent phosphors at various outdoor conditions remains a formidable challenge due to the dependence of persistent luminescence performance on the environmental temperature. Here, the relation between the optimum working temperature and thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve is revealed with different TL read‐out approaches. Notably, the optimum working temperature, T-optimum, is proved to be an intrinsic parameter of a persistent phosphor, irrelevant to the TL heating rate. Temperature dependency of trap filling and releasing processes, demonstrated on a benchmark persistent phosphor with multiple trap occupation levels, is investigated to shed more light on temperature‐dependent, trap‐controlled persistent luminescence. This work presents new perspectives on their wide applications in terms of designing and screening persistent phosphors for various ambient conditions, and beyond.A