ZnGa₂O₄:Mn²⁺ Phosphors Grown by Laser Floating Zone

Abstract

Cubic zinc gallate (c-ZnGa₂O₄) has attracted the attention of the scientific community due to its potential phosphor applications, namely in field emission displays (FEDs) and other electroluminescent devices. Among other advantages, this oxide matrix shows superior thermal and chemical stability when compared to ZnS based phosphors. Most of the above mentioned works comprise nanostructures, thin films or pressed pellets while scarce information is found on bulk c-ZnGa₂O₄ material. In particular, no records were found regarding c-ZnGa₂O₄ crystal growth by the laser floating zone (LFZ) technique. In this work, crystalline fibres of manganese doped (0.01 mol %) zinc gallate were produced via LFZ in order to investigate its applicability in efficient phosphors. The transition metal ions are suitable activators and show some advantages over the widely used rare earths, namely at environmental and economic levels.