Enhanced Optical Properties of Bredigite‐Structure Ca 13.7 Eu 0.3 Mg 2 [SiO 4 ] 8 Phosphor: Effective Eu Reduction by La Co‐Doping

A green phosphor, La 0.4 Ca 13.3 Eu 0.3 Mg 2 Si 8 O 31.6+δ N 0.4−δ (La CMSN :Eu 2+ ), was prepared by a solid‐state reaction and an efficient green emission was observed at 506 nm under near‐ultraviolet ( NUV ) excitation. The structural and optical properties of La CMSN :Eu 2+ phosphors as well as their thermal quenching were investigated. The partial substitution of La 3+ and N 3− in Ca 13.7 Eu 0.3 Mg 2 Si 8 O 32 led to a considerable enhancement in the peak emission intensity by as much as 194%. This demonstrates not only that the total number of Eu 2+ activators increased, but also that the probability of a nonradiative transition between Eu 2+ and Eu 3+ could be reduced as the increase in concentration of the former is at the expense of the later. The white light‐emitting diode ( LED ) was fabricated using phosphor with a NUV LED chip. The LED showed warm white light with an excellent color rendering index of 91. The La CMSN :Eu 2+ is thus a potential green‐emitting phosphor for white LED s.