A single-phased (Ba,Sr)(3)MgSi2O8:Eu2+, Mn2+ phosphor with 660 nm-featured dual band-emission is investigated upon optimizing composition to simulate the artificial photosynthetic action spectrum (PAS) for near-ultraviolet (NUV) biological light-emitting diodes (bio-LEDs). A specific composition range in Ba-Sr binary solid solution of (Ba,Sr)(3)MgSi2O8 is found to be capable of obtaining single-phased host in the absence of an easily formed orthosilicate impurity, leading to a 660 nm-featured red band emission of Mn2+ induced by an efficient energy transfer from a co-doped blue-emitting Eu2+ sensitizer. This dual broad band emission phosphor has a 72 nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) for red band that covers fairly well to the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll and PAS for most plants, enabling a flexible option in the application of bio-illumination for artificial photosynthesis. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.