High purity orange red emissive Sm³⁺ doped BiOCl phosphors for WLED applications

In this work, we reports the synthesis, structural and luminescence behaviour of Sm³⁺:BiOCl phosphors. The conventional solid state route at relatively low temperature and shorter duration was employed to synthesize the Bi_1-xSm_xOCl phosphors. The structural and optical studies were investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Diffuse Reflectance Analysis, excitation (PLE) and emission (PL) spectra. The X-Ray diffraction analysis confirmed that all the compounds crystallized in the tetragonal structure with space group P4/nmm. For an excitation of 408nm, an intense emission peak was observed at 597nm corresponds to the transition ⁶H_5/2 → ⁴F_7/2 of incorporated samarium ions. At 408nm, the sample at optimum concentration shows high purity. The obtained photometric parameters like chromaticity coordinates, Color Rendering Index (CRI), Luminaire efficacy of radiation (LER), Correlated color temperature (CCT) and color purity suggest these phosphors as a substitute for red component in WLEDs applications and optoelectronic applications. (author)