Wideband near-infrared emission from GaScO₃:Cr³⁺ phosphors with a perovskite structure

Cr³⁺-activated phosphors have attracted significant attention for their tunable emission, spanning narrow-band red to broadband near-infrared (NIR) luminescence, depending on the crystal field environment. Here, we report the realization of wideband NIR emission in Cr³⁺-doped GaScO₃ (GaScO₃:Cr³⁺) phosphors with perovskite structure. The phosphors were synthesized by traditional solid-state reaction method. The first-principles calculations were conducted and the results demonstrate that the octahedral GaO₆ sites exhibit relatively weak crystal field strength (Dq/B ≈ 2.2), facilitating efficient spin-allowed transitions of Cr³⁺ from the ⁴T₂ state to the ⁴A₂ state. The photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed an exceptionally broad NIR emission band from a range of 700 nm–1200 nm with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 145 nm under 465-nm excitation. Overall, these results highlight the viability of GaScO₃:Cr³⁺ as a highly promising material for wideband NIR applications.