Micro-environment of the Eu interstitial in the β-Si6-zAlzOzN8-z:Eu2+ green phosphor

The precise atomic-scale structure around Eu²⁺ activators in the β-Si_6-zAl_zO_zN_8-z:Eu²⁺ commercial green phosphor remains elusive. We use the first-principles ΔSCF excited-state method, embedding of the interatomic force constants for supercells up to 3501 atoms, and Huang-Rhys theory to clarify this issue. Monte Carlo exploration is used to identify representative low-energy structural models spanning different levels of Al/O concentration z.  For the lowest-energy structure at low z, our computed photoluminescence spectrum reproduces the experimental vibronic peaks at 6K with excellent agreement in peak positions and intensities, validating the Eu-N₉ coordination model with Al, O, and Eu confined to the same crystallographic plane. Analysis of the low-energy structures reveals that the electron-phonon coupling is weak (S ≈ 2.15) with a robust characteristic phonon signature across different Al/O arrangements, explaining the surprising persistence of resolved phonon replicas with increasing z. We explain the experimentally observed red-shift of emission with increasing z through systematic trends in zero-phonon line energies, modest increases in Huang-Rhys factors, and larger configurational diversity at higher compositions.