Vacuum Referred Binding Energy Scheme, Electron–Vibrational Interaction, and Energy Transfer Dynamics in BaMg2Si2O7:Ln (Ce3+, Eu2+) Phosphors

The host structure and the synchrotron radiation VUV–UV luminescence properties of samples BaMg 2 Si 2 O 7 (BMSO):Ln (Ce 3+, Eu 2+ ) at different doping levels and different temperatures were investigated in detail. Three important aspects are studied to elucidate the luminescence properties of samples: (1) the vacuum referred binding energy (VRBE) scheme is constructed with the electron binding in the BMSO host bands and in the Ce 3+ and Eu 2+ impurity levels with the aim to explain the different thermal stabilities of Ce 3+ and Eu 2+ emissions; (2) the electron–vibrational interaction analysis on the narrow Eu 2+ emission indicates a weak electron–phonon interaction in the current case; (3) by using three models (Inokuti–Hirayama, Yokota–Tanimoto, and Burshteĭn models) at different conditions, the energy transfer dynamics between Ce 3+ and Eu 2+ was analyzed. It reveals that the energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Eu 2+ via electric dipole–dipole (EDD) interaction is dominant while energy migration between Ce 3+ is negligible. Finally, the X-ray excited luminescence spectra of samples BMSO:Ce 3+ /Eu 2+ are collected to evaluate their possible scintillator applications.