Efficient Near-infrared Down-conversion Phosphor of Ce^(3+)/Yb^(3+)Co-doped La3Ga5SiO14 and Its Spectral Structural Modulation

A series of near-infrared(NIR)down-conversion phosphors of La_(3)Ga_(5)SiO_(14)(LGS):Ce^(3+)/Yb^(3+)were synthesized via high-temperature solid-state reaction.Under excitation at 345 nm,the phosphors show strong NIR emission around 978 nm,which matches well with the optimal spectral response of crystalline silicon(c-Si)solar cells.The emission spectra and decay curves were used to demonstrate the energy transfer from Ce^(3+)to Yb^(3+).The energy transfer mechanism was discussed in detail,indicating that the energy transfer from Ce^(3+)to Yb^(3+)is dominated by a single photon process,and the energy transfer efficiency is up to 51%.In addition,La_(3)Ga_(5-z)Al_(2)SiO_(14)(z=0,1,2,3):Ce^(3+)/Yb^(3+)were also synthesized.The NIR emission intensity of La_(3)Ga_(2)Al_(3)SiO_(14):1%Ce^(3+)/5%Yb^(3+)is 4.6 times that of LGS:1%Ce^(3+)/5%Yb^(3+),and the thermal relaxation was used to explain this phenomenon.The results show that La_(3)Ga_(5-z)Al_(2)SiO_(14)(z=0,1,2,3):1%Ce^(3+)/5%Yb^(3+)phosphors have the potential to increase the conversion efficiency of c-Si solar cells.