Preparation and optical properties of Dy³⁺/Tb³⁺ co-doped phosphate glasses

In this work, the Dy³⁺ single-doped, Tb³⁺ single-doped and Dy³⁺/Tb³⁺ co-doped 58P₂O₅–10B₂O₃–12Li₂O–8Al₂O₃–10BaO–2La₂O₃ (PBD1Ty) were prepared by a conventional melt-quenching method. The physical properties of all the phosphate glass samples were measured. The XRD was used to characterize the phase of synthesized phosphate glass samples. The energy transfer between Dy³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions were studied by the transmission spectrum, excitation spectrum, emission spectrum and fluorescence decay curves. Under 450 nm wavelength excitation, the maximum energy transfer efficiency of 69.6% was obtained in the PBD1T5 sample. It was also proved that the energy transfer mechanism in the PBD1Ty samples caused by the electric dipole–dipole interaction. Upon 450 nm wavelength excitation, the co-doped glasses show the color-tunable emission varying from orange to green with gradually increasing Tb³⁺ doping concentration. The prepared PBD1Ty samples have a relatively long fluorescence lifetime. The result shows the PBD1Ty samples have a broad application prospect in green luminescent materials.