Correlation between photoluminescence and oxygen vacancies in ZnO phosphors

By combining electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), optical absorption, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, a strong correlation is observed between the green 510 nm emission, the free-carrier concentration, and the density of singly ionized oxygen vacancies in commercial ZnO phosphor powders. From these results, we demonstrate that free-carrier depletion at the particle surface, and its effect on the ionization state of the oxygen vacancy, can strongly impact the green emission intensity. The relevance of these observations with respect to low-voltage field emission displays is discussed.