The present investigation aims to demonstrate the potentiality of Tb3+ and Ce3+ co-doped Ca4Y6(SiO4)(6)O phosphors. By incorporation of Ce3+ into Ca4Y6(SiO4)(6)O: Tb3+, the excitation band was extended from short-ultraviolet to near-ultraviolet region. The energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tb3+ in Ca4Y6(SiO4)(6)O host was investigated and demonstrated to be a resonant type via a dipole-dipole mechanism with the critical distance of 10.2 angstrom. When excited by 352 nm, Ca4Y6(SiO4)(6)O: Ce3+, Tb3+ exhibited a brighter and broader violet-blue emission (421 nm) from the Ce3+ and an intense green emission (542 nm) from the Tb3+. Combining the two emissions whose intensities were adjusted by changing the doping levels of the co-activator, an optimized white light with chromaticity coordinates of (0.278, 0.353) is generated in Ca4Y6(SiO4)(6)O: 2% Ce3+, 8% Tb3+, and this phosphor could be potentially used in near-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.