Ca0.89Tm0.007Ho0.003Yb0.1MoO4 phosphor for nonthermally coupled level-based temperature sensing and latent fingerprint detection

• Successfully hydrothermal synthesized CaMoO 4 :Ln 3+ (Ho 3+ , Tm 3+ , Yb 3+ ) phosphors, with I4 1 /a space group. • First-time implementation of Boltzmann sigmoidal function for fitting Temperature Vs FIR . • Novel demonstration of NTCLs based temperature sensing using CaMoO 4 :Ln 3+ (Ho 3+ , Tm 3+ , Yb 3+ ) host material. • Achieved high absolute sensitivity of I 795 /I 473 (69.86×10 −2 K −1 at 500 K) compared other reported works. • Ho 3+ /Tm 3+ /Yb 3+ ; CaMoO 4 Phosphor Multifunctionality in latent fingerprint detection using powder dusting technique. This study explores the spectral feature of Ln 3+ (Ho 3+ , Tm 3+ , Yb 3+ ) doped CaMoO 4 phosphor for non-thermally coupled levels (NTCLs) based temperature sensing and latent fingerprints (LFPs) detection. Phase analysis of hydrothermally synthesized CaMoO 4 :Ln 3+ phosphors, reveals the formation of tetragonal lattice with I4 1 /a space group. An increment in particle size has been observed due to modification caused by doping of Ho 3+ /Tm 3+ /Yb 3+ ions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study corroborates the desired lattice formation, while UV–Vis analysis indicates a significant reduction in optical bandgap after incorporating Ln 3+ in the CaMoO 4 . Optical properties of Ho 3+ and Tm 3+ ions, individually or in combination with Yb 3+ ions, demonstrate strong Upconversion (UC) emission spanning the visible region. Temperature-dependent emission of Ho 3+ /Tm 3+ is employed for temperature sensing based on NTCLs fitted by Boltzmann sigmoidal function, which reveals the maximum temperature sensitivity for the I 795 /I 473 (69.86×10 −2 K −1 at 500 K). In addition, the luminescent phosphor materials have also been demonstrated for LFP detection through the powder dusting technique. Conclusively, these phosphor materials show multifunctionality and great potential for optical applications.