Inducing tunable host luminescence in Zn2GeO4 tetrahedral materials via doping Cr3

Abstract Zn 2 GeO 4 consisting of tetrahedron, and it is a self-luminescent material due to the presence of the native defects and shows a bluish white emission excited by ultraviolet. Although Cr 3+ doped in a tetrahedron generally cannot show luminescence, in this research, new defects are formed as Cr 3+ doped in Zn 2 GeO 4 , hence a green emission band can be obtained. Meanwhile, the intensity of host emission is also decreased. Therefore, Zn 2 GeO 4 :Cr 3+ are synthesized using a high-temperature solid-phase method. Thermoluminescence (TL) and luminescence decay curves are used to investigate the variation of native defects. The emission colour can be tuned from bluish white to green when Cr 3+ doped in Zn 2 GeO 4 . This result has guidance for controlling the native emission of self-luminescent material.