A single luminescence center ultra-broadband near-infrared LiScGeO4:Cr phosphor for biological tissue penetration

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry Vol. 50; no. 29; pp. 10092 - 10101
• Main Authors: Ye, Zejun, Wang, Zhijun, Wu, Qian, Huo, Xiaoxue, Yang, Huifang, Wang, Yu, Wang, Dawei, Zhao, Jinxin, Suo, Hao, Li, Panlai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 07.08.2021
• Subjects: Broadband; Crystal structure; Emission; Field strength; Light emitting diodes; Near infrared radiation; Nondestructive testing; Olivine; Penetration; Phosphors; Tissues; Trivalent chromium
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/d1dt01244d

In this work, in order to meet the application of near-infrared phosphor-converted light emitting diodes (pc-LEDs), an ultra-broadband emission phosphor, LiScGeO4:Cr, was synthesized. Its FWHM reaches 335 nm, and its emission spectrum ranges from 800 nm to 1650 nm, which almost covers the entire near-infrared second window (NIR-II). The broadband emission is thought to be caused by the 4T2 → 4A2 transition of the Cr3+ ion. This transition occurs due to the olivine structure of the crystal, which causes the Cr3+ ions to inhabit a low-symmetric crystal field, and the crystal field strength is very weak. NIR pc-LEDs were fabricated by combining a 460 nm blue LED with this phosphor, which penetrates 4 cm thick beef. The results indicate that there may be a potential application for this phosphor in the field of biological tissue penetration and non-destructive testing.