Trivalent rare earth cations (RE3+) activated nanometre-sized Y2O2S and Gd2O2S phosphors were prepared by converting hydroxycarbonate precursor powders during a firing process. The precursors were prepared using the urea homoprecipitation method. The choice of host crystal and dopant were optimised to meet the specific requirements for practical applications in the field of lighting, X-ray detection, and displays. Parameters that affect the luminescent properties of the resulting phosphors, such as doping concentration, excitation mechanism, firing temperature, and host lattice were investigated. Tb3+ and Er3+ co-doped Y2O2S and Gd2O2S were studied for their upconversion properties under 632.8 nm red laser excitation. The intensities of UC emission were affected by both doping concentration and host lattices. Tb3+ and Er3+ co-doped Y2O2S was found to show strong downconversion from Tb3+ and upconversion from Er3+. The presence of the Er3+ cations directly affects the Tb3+ down-converting properties by acting as centres for energy transfer. The possible energy transfer between Gd3+ and Er3+ should be responsible for the different trend of Er3+ upconversion intensity in Y2O2S and Gd2O2S. It has been established that the Tb3+ and Er3+ co-doped system is superior than the Yb3+ and Er3+ co-doped one. In the latter system the presence of Yb3+ reduces the efficiency of both upconversion and downconversion emission under red laser excitation. These phosphors show potential applications in the security and anti-fraud field. The novel ZnS:Mn QDs were prepared and successfully incorporated into GaN based photonic crystal (PC) holes to efficiently produce white light. The crystal structure and luminescent properties of the ZnS:Mn QDs were investigated as well as the factors affecting the filling rate. Zn1-xCdxS:Mn QDs were also investigated. The addition of Cd cations leads to a red shift in the PL excitation spectra of the Zn1-xCdxS:Mn QDs. The crystal structures and surface properties were also affected by the presence of Cd. Monodisperse PbS QDs with particle size of ~5 nm has been obtained using a similar aqueous reaction method.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:557872 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Yan, Xiao |
| Contributors | Silver, J. |
| Publisher | Brunel University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6954 |
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