Broadband near-infrared emission of Cr3+ doped Zn7Sb2O12 phosphors for night vision imaging system sources

Near-infrared phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes (NIR pc-LEDs) are highly promising for various applications, including food analysis, night vision, and biological detection. In this work, we report a Cr 3+ -doped Zn 7 Sb 2 O 12 phosphor, which was prepared through a high-temperature solid-phase method. Under excitation at 400 nm, the phosphor reveals an emission spectrum that extends from 700 to 1400 nm, peaking at 950 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 179 nm. In addition, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the Zn 7 Sb 2 O 12 : 0.01Cr 3+ phosphor is recorded at 33.13%. When encapsulated in pc-LEDs, the phosphor achieves a near-infrared (NIR) output power of 18.90 mW at 160 mA, along with a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.45% at 20 mA. The developed pc-LED shows promise in non-destructive testing and night vision technologies.