Energy extraction from dark Fe3+ in A2Sc2B4O11:Fe3+, Yb3+ (A = Sr, Ba) toward promoted NIR luminescence and pc-LED light source for multifunctional applications
5 affiliations
- 1Engineering Research Center of Optical Instrument and System, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Key Lab of Modern Optical System, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. [email protected]
- 2Engineering Research Center of Optical Instrument and System, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Key Lab of Modern Optical System, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
- 3Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Intelligent Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Technology, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
- 4MOE Key Laboratory of New Processing Technology for Non-ferrous Metals and Materials, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Processing for Non-ferrous Metals and Featured Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- 5Engineering Research Center of Optical Instrument and System, Ministry of Education and Shanghai Key Lab of Modern Optical System, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. [email protected]
Abstract
New generation of Cr 3+ -free eco-friendly phosphors (no risk of Cr 3+ → Cr 6+ oxidization toxicity) are highly sought to develop broadband NIR light sources. As an essential element for body health, Fe 3+ ion would be an exceptional alternative in strong octahedral crystal field. Here, the Fe 3+ activators were utilized in orthoborate-pyroborate A 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 for creating novel NIR-emitting phosphors. A broad absorption over 240–450 nm due to O 2- → Fe 3+ charge transfer transition was recorded for Sr 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ (SSBO:Fe 3+ ) at 370 nm and Ba 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ (BSBO:Fe 3+ ) at 355 nm. Resultant NIR emissions with large full width at half maximum about 170 nm were obtained for SSBO:Fe 3+ peaked at 975 nm and BSBO:Fe 3+ at 930 nm. The unique excitation of Fe 3+ doping towards near-ultraviolet (near-UV) region was initially achieved for potential advantage of coupling a mainstream UV chip. Codoping of Yb 3+ into A 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ made emission peak red-shift towards 1000 nm and ~ 160-fold enhancement in the integral intensity owing to a robust energy extraction from the major dark (nonluminous) Fe 3+ . The optimized SSBO:0.02Fe 3+ ,0.15Yb 3+ exhibited considerable internal and external quantum efficiency ~ 78% and 48%, respectively. Compared to the luminescence thermal stability of ASBO:Fe 3+ (32%@373 K, i.e., sustaining 32% of its room-temperature emission intensity at 373 K), the Yb 3+ codoping endowed much superior stability > 63%@373 K, and additional temperature sensing with relative sensitivity ~ 1.5% K −1 at 423 K. Ultimately, by coating the novel phosphors onto UV ~ 365 nm chips, the home-made pc-LEDs were applied in night vision, food inspection, biomedical imaging, and spectroscopy analysis.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026energy,
title = {{Energy extraction from dark Fe3+ in A2Sc2B4O11:Fe3+, Yb3+ (A = Sr, Ba) toward promoted NIR luminescence and pc-LED light source for multifunctional applications}},
author = {Dechao Yu and Haisheng Liu and Mengting Lv and Benchun Li and Yayun Zhou and Xinxin Han and Dawei Zhang},
journal = {Light Science \& Applications},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1038/s41377-026-02284-8},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02284-8},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Energy extraction from dark Fe3+ in A2Sc2B4O11:Fe3+, Yb3+ (A = Sr, Ba) toward promoted NIR luminescence and pc-LED light source for multifunctional applications
AU - Dechao Yu
AU - Haisheng Liu
AU - Mengting Lv
AU - Benchun Li
AU - Yayun Zhou
AU - Xinxin Han
AU - Dawei Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/09
JO - Light Science & Applications
DO - 10.1038/s41377-026-02284-8
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02284-8
AB - New generation of Cr 3+ -free eco-friendly phosphors (no risk of Cr 3+ → Cr 6+ oxidization toxicity) are highly sought to develop broadband NIR light sources. As an essential element for body health, Fe 3+ ion would be an exceptional alternative in strong octahedral crystal field. Here, the Fe 3+ activators were utilized in orthoborate-pyroborate A 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 for creating novel NIR-emitting phosphors. A broad absorption over 240–450 nm due to O 2- → Fe 3+ charge transfer transition was recorded for Sr 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ (SSBO:Fe 3+ ) at 370 nm and Ba 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ (BSBO:Fe 3+ ) at 355 nm. Resultant NIR emissions with large full width at half maximum about 170 nm were obtained for SSBO:Fe 3+ peaked at 975 nm and BSBO:Fe 3+ at 930 nm. The unique excitation of Fe 3+ doping towards near-ultraviolet (near-UV) region was initially achieved for potential advantage of coupling a mainstream UV chip. Codoping of Yb 3+ into A 2 Sc 2 B 4 O 11 :Fe 3+ made emission peak red-shift towards 1000 nm and ~ 160-fold enhancement in the integral intensity owing to a robust energy extraction from the major dark (nonluminous) Fe 3+ . The optimized SSBO:0.02Fe 3+ ,0.15Yb 3+ exhibited considerable internal and external quantum efficiency ~ 78% and 48%, respectively. Compared to the luminescence thermal stability of ASBO:Fe 3+ (32%@373 K, i.e., sustaining 32% of its room-temperature emission intensity at 373 K), the Yb 3+ codoping endowed much superior stability > 63%@373 K, and additional temperature sensing with relative sensitivity ~ 1.5% K −1 at 423 K. Ultimately, by coating the novel phosphors onto UV ~ 365 nm chips, the home-made pc-LEDs were applied in night vision, food inspection, biomedical imaging, and spectroscopy analysis.
SN - 2047-7538
SN - 2095-5545
ER -