A new type of color tunable composite phosphor Y2SiO5:Ce/Y3Al5O12:Ce for field emission displays

A simple but effective strategy was introduced to realize color tunability of a composite phosphor Y2SiO5:Ce/Y3Al5O12:Ce (YSO:Ce/YAG:Ce). The main idea was to use the cathodoluminescence of the YSO:Ce phosphor to additionally pump the photoluminescence of the YAG:Ce phosphor based on radiative energy transfer. Morphology as well as the cathodoluminescence properties of the YSO:Ce/YAG:Ce phosphors were investigated in detail. According to radiative energy transfer, an intense yellow emission with excellent cathodoluminescence properties can be obtained from YSO:Ce/YAG:Ce phosphors under low voltage electron beam excitation. Moreover, the emission color of the composite phosphors can be tuned from yellow to blue through adjusting the YSO:Ce content. The mechanism for the enhanced yellow emission and the color tunability were also discussed. It was experimentally proved that the color gamut and display hue could be greatly enriched and enhanced when employing the YSO:Ce/YAG:Ce composite phosphor as an additional phosphor for the typical tricolor FED phosphors.