Efficient Ba2NaNb5O15:Cr3+,Yb3+ nanocrystals embedded transparent glass-ceramics toward night-vision application

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has the advantages of instant responsiveness, non-destructiveness and high signal-to-noise ratio, and has broad application prospects in night vision security monitoring, indoor agriculture, biomedical imaging and photodynamic therapy, etc. NIR phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (NIR pc-LEDs) as a NIR light source, have the advantages of compact size, broadband emission, high efficiency, readily available LED chips as excitation light sources, tunable emission spectrum, and excellent prospects for industrial manufacture. However, the service life of traditional organic packaging materials is greatly reduced over time due to heat accumulation and accelerated aging, especially when operated under high-power irradiation. To overcome this drawback, we successfully prepared Ba 2 NaNb 5 O 15 :Cr 3+ ,Yb 3+ nanocrystals embedded in stable and transparent glass-ceramics by a two-stage process that involves an melt-quenching followed by a re-crystallization heat-treatment. Under 460 nm excitation, the glass-ceramics exhibited a 700–1200 nm broadband NIR emission that originated from the Cr 3+ -activating centers and a sharp line emission near ∼980 nm that originated from the Yb 3+ -activating centers, with a PLQY was ∼43.7 %. A NIR pc-LED light source device with a direct contact structure between transparent glass-ceramic and a blue chip was prepared, and the application potential of the NIR light source in night-vision imaging was verified.