Luminescence properties of reddish orange emitting BaLa₂ZnO₅:Sm³⁺ phosphor prepared by citric based sol-gel synthesis

A series of BaLa₂ZnO₅:Sm³⁺ phosphors were synthesized with the sol-gel technique. The crystalline structure of each sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Phase formation was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Photoluminescence studies revealed an efficient excitation of phosphors at near blue light (~410 nm), providing emission in the bright reddish-orange region (603 nm). Concentration quenching through multipolar interaction was observed in BaLa₂ZnO₅ phosphor system doped with 0.015 mol of Sm³⁺ concentration. The optimum phosphor showed prominent characteristics for application in white LEDs.