Synthesis and Upconversion Luminescence Properties of BaBiO2Cl:Yb3+,Er3+ Phosphor

The interaction of near-infrared (NIR) light with matter that produces high-energy visible light emissions is known as photon upconversion, which has shown promising applications in different fields, including optoelectronics, biomedicine and photovoltaics. In this paper, a novel BaBiO2Cl:Yb3+,Er3+ upconversion phosphor was successfully synthesized through a simple high-temperature solid-state reaction route. The crystal structure, phase purity, microstructure and upconversion luminescence properties of the as-prepared phosphor were characterized comprehensively. The XRD and SEM results clearly demonstrate the successful synthesis of the target phosphors with high purity. When excited by a 980 nm NIR laser, the as-prepared BaBiO2Cl:Yb3+,Er3+ phosphor exhibited intense red upconversion luminescence due to the Er3+ 4F9/2→4I15/2 transition, which enabled this phosphor to have high promise for important applications, such as anti-counterfeiting and advanced photonics.