Creating a Blue-Light-excitable, Ultra-Broadband and Relatively Long-Wavelength Near-Infrared Emission in Cr3+-activated Garnet by Controlling Cationic Disorder.

A series of garnet-type solid-solution materials, namely NaxCa3−2 xGdxIn2Ge3O12:Cr3+ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5), were created by introducing cationic disorder into the dodecahedral site, and were found to exhibit a nearly unchanged excitation peak in the blue light region, a wide-range spectral tunability (800–905 nm) and an ultra-broadband spectral coverage (fwhmmax = 205 nm).