Excitation-dependent energy transfer and color tunability in Dy3+/Eu3+ co-doped multi-component borophosphate glasses

Using the melt-quench technique, potassium zinc borophosphate (KZnBP) glasses incorporated with Dy³⁺, Eu³⁺, and Dy³⁺/Eu³⁺ ions individually and combinedly were prepared, and their photoluminescence (PL)-related features were investigated. The KZnBP glass containing an optimized content of Dy³⁺ (0.5 mol%) is co-doped with Eu³⁺ in various contents, and the energy transfer (ET) process between them was studied at λ_exci = 349, 364, 387 (Dy³⁺), and 394 nm (Eu³⁺). The Dy³⁺/Eu³⁺ co-doped system, when excited with Dy³⁺ excitations has resulted in a significant decrease in the intensity of Dy³⁺ peaks observed at 480 nm (⁴F_9/2→⁶H_15/2, blue) and 574 nm (⁴F_9/2→⁶H_13/2, yellow), with simultaneous enhancement of the intensity of Eu³⁺ peaks at 591 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₁, orange) and 617 nm (⁵D₀→⁷F₂, red). This trend is due to the efficient energy transfer from Dy³⁺ to Eu³⁺, indicating that Eu³⁺ ions were sensitized by Dy³⁺ ions. Dexter's theory and the Inokuti–Hirayama (I–H) model revealed that the dipole–dipole interaction is accountable for the energy transfer from Dy³⁺ to Eu³⁺ through energy-transfer channels [⁴F_9/2(Dy³⁺)+⁷F_1,2(Eu³⁺)→⁶H_15/2(Dy³⁺)+⁵D₂(Eu³⁺)] and [⁴F_9/2(Dy³⁺)+⁷F₀(Eu³⁺)→⁶H_13/2(Dy³⁺)+⁵D₀(Eu³⁺)]. The color coordinates of the Dy³⁺/Eu³⁺ co-doped glasses under various excitations fall within the white light emission spectrum, indicating their potential application in warm white LEDs.