Nanocrystalline LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ as promising phosphors for full-color field-emission displays

Nanocrystalline LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ phosphors were synthesized by a Pechini-type sol-gel process. Under UV and electron-beam excitation, LaOCl:Tb3+/Sm3+ show the characteristic emission of Tb3+ (D-5(3,4) -> F-7(6), ... (2)) and Sm3+ ((4)G(5/2) -> H-6(5/2),(7/2),(9/2)), respectively. In particular, the cathodoluminescence (CL) color of LaOCl:Tb3+ can be tuned from blue to green by changing Tb3+-doped concentration, and their CL intensities (brightness) are higher than those of commercial products Y2SiO5:Ce3+ and ZnO:Zn, respectively. White CL can be realized by codoping with Tb3+ and Sm3+ in a single-phase LaOCl host. The obtained white light is very close to the standard white light. These phosphors are promising for application in field-emission displays.