Luminescent properties of Cr3+-doped β-Ga2O3 materials synthesised by thermal diffusion method

Abstract

This study reports a simple fabrication process for producing Cr³⁺ doped β-Ga₂O₃ (β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺) phosphor powder with different concentrations (0.2-1.5%) by thermal diffusion method. The X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) analysis revealed that the β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺ phosphor has a monoclinic structure. Additionally, the Cr³⁺ ions were found to replace the Cr³⁺ ions in the β-Ga₂O₃ lattice. Photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed that the obtained β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺ phosphor, which could be well excited by a wavelength of 442 nm, strongly emits in a wide wavelength range from 620 to 850 nm. Under the experimental conditions, the β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺ phosphor exhibited the highest photoluminescence (PL) intensity when doped at 1.0% mol. With characteristic emission in the far-red light region and absorption in the blue light region, the synthesised β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺ phosphor has great potential for plant growth LED applications. In addition, the process of synthesising β-Ga₂O₃:Cr³⁺ phosphor has been found to be simple, low-cost, and highly repeatable so that it can be used for large-scale production.