A novel red emitting phosphor Ca2SnO4: Eu3+

A novel red emitting phosphor, Eu3+-doped Ca2SnO4, was prepared by the solid-state reaction. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of Ca2SnO4: Eu3+. Field-emission scanning electron-microscopy (FE-SEM) observation indicated a narrow size-distribution of about 500 nm for the particles with spherical shape. Photoluminescence measurements indicated that the phosphor exhibits bright red emission at about 615 nm under UV excitation. The excellent luminescence properties make it possible as a good candidate for plasma display panels (PDP) application. Splitting of the 5D0–7FJ transitions of Ca2SnO4: Eu3+ suggests that the Eu3+ ions occupied two nonequivalent sites in the crystallite. The luminescence lifetime measurement showed a bi-exponential decay, providing other evidence for the existence of two different environments for Eu3+ ions.