Application of Eu3+/Er3+ co-doped SrWO4 phosphors with high sensitivity and good temperature response in multimode anti-counterfeiting

In this research, SrWO 4 substrates co-doped with Eu 3+ and Er 3+ were employed to fabricate phosphors with a homogeneous distribution of Eu and Er. The optimal doping concentrations of Eu 3+ and Er 3+ (3% and 4%, respectively) were determined experimentally, and the luminescence mechanism of the phosphor was thoroughly investigated. The concentration quenching mechanism was also analyzed, and thermal stability tests were performed. The experimental results indicate that, due to the thermal quenching effect, the luminescence intensities of both Eu 3+ and Er 3+ ions gradually decrease with increasing temperature. Based on the experimental findings and numerical calculations, the quenching activation energy was determined. The absolute sensitivity ( S a , 0.417% K −1 and 1.132% K −1 ) and relative sensitivity ( S r , 4.236% K −1 and 1.401% K −1 ) of the phosphors were obtained through simulations, and these values are greater than those reported in previous studies. The phosphors were then mixed with ink, and the obtained mixture was printed to produce a pattern, the colors of which became visible under different excitation light sources. The configuration displays a variety of colors at different temperatures, demonstrates effective applicability for anti-counterfeiting purposes, and exhibits multi-mode anti-counterfeiting functionality. These features indicate that the proposed phosphors meet the requirements of advanced anti-counterfeiting technologies.