The effect of SiC addition on photoluminescence of YAG:Ce phosphor for white LED

An effective way of improving photoluminescence (PL) of YAG:Ce by addition of small amount of SiC and sintering in air was described. The breakdown of SiC during sintering process in air was employed to provide the presence of SiO₂ and CO both of which are known to be beneficial in enhancing the PL of YAG:Ce phosphor. SiC in the form of a fine powder was added to YAG:Ce powder and sintered to densities of >99% of theoretical density. The highest luminescence was measured in sample containing 0.08?wt% SiC. The effect of the formed SiO₂ and CO was discussed and their contribution to the emission intensity was assessed. The enhancement of PL intensity is attributed to the formation of vacancies, both on Y sub-lattice and on oxygen sub-lattice and their ability to release the electrons for subsequent reduction of Ce⁴⁺ to Ce³⁺ which plays a role of luminescence activator.     

Fabrication and optical properties of divalent Cu2+ ions incorporated Ce:YAG transparent ceramics for white LEDs

Transparent Ce:YAG ceramics via Cu²⁺ incorporating annealed at 1450?°C were successfully fabricated by the solid-state method to probe their potential applications in white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The influence of Cu²⁺ concentration on the microstructure and optical properties of the Ce:YAG transparent ceramics were systematically investigated. The as-prepared ceramics possessed clean grain boundaries and homogeneous grain size distribution ranging from 3.7 to 6.5?µm. With the addition amount of Cu²⁺ increased, the red component of ceramics gradually increased and then decreased, it reached a maximum of 13.0% at 1.5?at% Cu²⁺ incorporation. By combining with commercially blue LED chips (465?nm) directly, the obtained optimal chromaticity coordinates (CIE) and correlated color temperature (CCT) of ceramics were (x?=?0.3335, y?=?0.3412) and 5450?K, respectively, while its color render index (CRI) was nearly 70 at the thickness of 1.0?mm. Therefore, this study provided an efficient approach to tailor the luminescence property of Ce:YAG ceramic for white LEDs.     

Fabrication and properties of transparent Tb:YAG fluorescent ceramics with different doping concentrations

Terbium doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Tb:YAG) transparent ceramics with different doping concentrations were fabricated by the solid-state reaction method using commercial Y₂O₃, α-Al₂O₃ and Tb₄O₇ powders as raw materials. Samples sintered at 1750 °C for 20 h were utilized to observe the optical transmittance, microstructure and fluorescence characteristics. It is found that all the Tb: YAG ceramics with different doping concentrations exhibit homogeneous structures with grain size distributions around 22–29 µm. For the 5 at% Tb:YAG transparent ceramics, the grain boundaries are clean with no secondary phases. The photoluminescence spectra show that Tb:YAG ceramics emit predominantly at 544 nm originated from the energy levels transition of ⁵D₄→⁷F₅ of Tb³⁺ ions, and the intensity of the emission peak reaches a maximum value when the Tb³⁺ concentration is 5 at%. The in-line transmittance of the 5 at% Tb:YAG ceramics is 73.4% at the wavelength of 544 nm, which needs to be further enhanced by optimizing the fabrication process. We think that Tb:YAG transparent ceramics may have potential applications in the high-power white LEDs.     

Dual effect synergistically triggered Ce:(Y,Tb)3(Al,Mn)5O12 transparent ceramics enabling a high color-rendering index and excellent thermal stability for white LEDs

Ce:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ transparent ceramics (TCs) with appropriate emission light proportion and high thermal stability are significant to construct white light emitting diode devices with excellent chromaticity parameters. In this work, strategies of controlling crystal-field splitting around Ce³⁺ ion and doping orange-red emitting ion, were adopted to fabricate Ce:(Y,Tb)₃(Al,Mn)₅O₁₂ TCs via vacuum sintering technique. Notably, 85.4 % of the room-temperature luminescence intensity of the TC was retained at 150 °C, and the color rendering index was as high as 79.8. Furthermore, a 12 nm red shift and a 16.2 % increase of full width at half maximum were achieved owing to the synergistic effects of Tb³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions. By combining TCs with a 460 nm blue chip, a warm white light with a low correlated color temperature of 4155 K was acquired. Meanwhile, the action mechanism of Tb³⁺ ion and the energy transfer between Ce³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions were verified in prepared TCs.     

Effect of air annealing on the optical properties and luminescence performance of Ce:YAG ceramics for light-emitting diodes at different Ce concentrations

(Y_1-x%Ce_x%)₃Al₅O₁₂ (x = 0.2,0.4,0.6,0.8,1.0) transparent ceramics were fabricated by vacuum sintering technology, followed by air annealing at different temperatures. Transmittance of ceramics, valence of cerium, and luminescent properties with varying annealing temperatures are studied in detail. The negative effect of Ce³⁺ oxidation induced by annealing gets increasingly evident when Ce concentration increases. Collaborating Ce:YAG ceramics with InGaN blue chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with superior performance were constructed. The relationships between Ce concentration, annealing temperature, and luminous flux of LEDs are elucidated, showing that the optimized annealing temperature of Ce:YAG ceramics decreases from 1200 °C to 900 °C as Ce concentration increases from 0.2 at% to 1.0 at%. The luminous fluxes of optimized LEDs increase by ～10 % compared with that of unannealed LEDs.     

A single-structured LuAG:Ce,Mn phosphor ceramics with high CRI for high-power white LEDs

The realization of high color rendering index (CRI) is still a great challenge for high-power LEDs (hp-LEDs), which is hindered by the phosphor converter. In this work, based on the strategy of Ce³⁺ and Mn²⁺ multi-ion substitution, the single-structured LuAG:Ce,Mn ceramics with high CRI were prepared via regulating the ratio of tri-color (red, green, and blue) components. The effects of Mn²⁺-Si⁴⁺ pairs doping content on the crystal structure, morphologies, and luminescence properties were investigated in detail. The red emission centered at 590  and 750 nm were effectively compensated by regulating Mn²⁺ occupancy sites, resulting in a significant improvement of CRI. Pure white light with general CRI R_a up to 91.0, special CRI R₉ reaching 37.9 and LE as high as 85.07 lm/W was achieved, when the hp-LEDs were constructed from related phosphor ceramic Ce02Mn7. These results suggest that the LuAG:Ce,Mn phosphor ceramics are highly promising color converters for hp-LEDs application.     

The Cr‐doping effect on white light emitting properties of Ce:YAG phosphor ceramics

The Cr/Ce‐doped YAG transparent ceramic was fabricated by the solid‐state reaction in vacuum. The Cr/Ce‐doped YAG ceramic phosphor effectively complement the red spectral component and improve the color rendering performance when excited by blue light that is due to the effective energy transfer between Cr³⁺ ion and Ce³⁺ ion. However, the energy transfer from Ce³⁺ to Cr³⁺ ion leads to energy loss and therefore the luminous efficacy of the WLED which is composed of blue LED chip and the Cr/Ce‐doped YAG ceramic phosphor decreases. The composite phase structure of ceramic phosphor is designed for improving the extraction efficacy and increasing the luminous efficacy by breaking the total internal reflection (TIR) at the interface between air and ceramic.     

Microstructure of composite YAG crystal/ceramics

Transparent composite YAG crystal/ceramics were synthesized by solid-state reaction method using high-purity Y₂O₃, Al₂O₃ powders as raw materials. The mixed slurry was dried, sieved, and cold-isostatically pressed with Nd:YAG crystal under a pressure of 250 MPa. The mixed powder compacts were sintered at 1780 °C for 10 h under vacuum and annealed at 1450 °C for 20 h in air. The microstructure of YAG crystal/ceramics ceramics was studied with SEM and EPMA, which showed there was an intermediate layer between Nd:YAG crystal and YAG ceramics. HRTEM image and corresponding SAED patterns studied showed that the intermediate layer was the YAG ceramics grain that grew along Nd:YAG crystal orientation and has become one part of crystal.     

蓝光转换白光荧光粉YAG:Ce3+的研究进展

本文综述了YAG：Ce^3 发光粉合成的各种方法。对高温固相反应,溶胶—凝胶法,喷雾热解法和共沉淀法进行了比较,对该荧光粉的合成方法及今后的研究趋势进行了展望。     

Preparation and characterization of YAG:Ce thin phosphor films by pulsed laser deposition

We report the use of YAG:Ce phosphor as the raw material to make thin and transparent phosphor films with pulsed laser deposition including the effects of heating temperature, target–substrate distances, annealing times, and annealing atmosphere on the YAG:Ce³⁺ phosphor film crystal types and spectral properties. The results indicated that at a coating temperature of 350°C, the YAG:Ce³⁺ phosphor film had the best crystallinity with an intact film and maximum fluorescence emission. The crystallinity and fluorescence emission intensity of the film gradually decreased as a function of increasing target–substrate distances. As the annealing time increased, the crystallinity and the fluorescence emission intensity of the film first increased and then decreased. The film made with 5 h of annealing had the best crystallinity and the highest fluorescence emission intensity. The crystallinity of the film annealed under air was higher than that made under nitrogen; the fluorescence intensity of the film under air was slightly lower than the film under nitrogen. The emission peak of the prepared film was at 523 nm when excited at 450 nm. This is slightly blue‐shifted versus the emission of commercial phosphor powders. This study offers a theoretical basis for the development of transparent phosphor films.     

The effect of Lu3+ doping upon YAG:Ce phosphor ceramics for high-power white LEDs

Intense green emission is extremely significant to the color rendering index (CRI) of white LEDs. Various green-emitting YLuAG:Ce phosphor ceramics were successfully prepared by vacuum sintering. The effects of Lu³⁺ doping on structure and luminescence property were investigated in detail. In comparison with YAG:Ce, YLuAG:Ce ceramics own smaller grain size, better luminescence performance and higher thermal stability. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of YLuAG:Ce ceramics increases by 23.6 % due to the “light scattering enhanced effect”. Furthermore, the Ce³⁺ emission is obviously blue-shifting from 533 nm to 519 nm, and the intensity of YLuAG:Ce ceramics reduces only about 8.9 % at 250 °C, showing better thermal stability (vs 11.1 % of YAG:Ce). The LE of LED packaged by YLuAG:Ce ceramic is up to 148.88 lm/W when the doping Lu³⁺ y is 2.1. The above results show that tailored YLuAG:Ce phosphor ceramic is a potential green-emitting color converter for high-power LEDs (hp-LEDs).     

Fabrication, microstructure and optical properties of polycrystalline Er:Y3Al5O12 ceramics

Highly transparent polycrystalline Er³⁺:Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (Er:YAG) ceramics with different Er³⁺ ions content from 1% to 90% were prepared by the solid-state reaction and the vacuum-sintering technique. The grain boundary is clean and narrow with a width of about 1 nm. The best sintering temperature of the ceramics is about 1800 °C. The relationships between fabrication, microstructure and transparency of the ceramics were discussed. Grain size distributions in axial direction of cylinder samples were characterized by electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The luminescence spectra were measured and discussed.     

溶剂热法合成YAG：Ce粉体及其表征

本文以Al（NO3）3·9H2O、Ce（NO3）3·6H2O和Y2O3为原料,碳酸氢铵为沉淀剂制备反应前驱体,乙二胺作为反应介质,采用溶剂热法在230℃下保温10h合成了YAG：Ce粉体。利用X射线衍射（XRD）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）和红外光谱分析（FT～IR）等测试手段,对所制备样品的结构和形貌进行了表征。     

丙二酸溶胶-凝胶法合成亚微米级YAG:Ce,Gd黄色荧光粉

以丙二酸为络合剂,通过溶胶-凝胶法合成了亚微米级YAG:Ce,Gd黄色荧光粉.采用TG/DSC、XRD研究干凝胶热分解和YAG晶相形成的过程;通过荧光光谱分析了Gd~(3+)的掺杂对荧光粉的发光强度的影响规律;通过SEM观察粉体的微观形貌.结果表明:经1200 ℃煅烧3 h得到的荧光粉,粉体粒径为0.3～1 μm,颗粒规则接近球形;随着Gd~(3+)掺杂量的增加,荧光粉的发射光谱由525 nm红移到550 nm.     

Facile fabrication and luminescence characteristics of Ce:YAG phosphor glass thick films coated on a glass substrate for white LEDs

A pivotal step in providing a better fluorescent material that has high luminous efficacy and excellent thermal stability is to utilize inexpensive phosphors for white light-emitting diodes (W-LEDs). Herein, we demonstrate a feasible tape-casting technique for creating phosphor thick films that consist of Ce: YAG phosphor embedded in relatively low melting point glass frits on an ultrathin glass substrate with controllable film thickness. The glass matrix has ideal densification and interfaces with the glass substrate at a relatively low temperature of 580 °C. Subsequently, the structure and optical properties of the phosphor layer are investigated. In addition, the effect of the phosphor concentration, thick film thickness and location (top or bottom) of the phosphor layer on the photoluminescence properties and chromaticity are also discussed with respect to use in W-LEDs. Significantly, this promising structure has excellent thermal stability and the potential to overcome current limitations of phosphors in high-power W-LEDs. Finally, a high-performance W-LED based on the planar phosphor glass exhibits a luminous efficiency of 108.45 lm W⁻¹, a correlated color temperature of 5408 K and a color rendering index of 76.     

Isobam assisted slurry optimization and gelcasting of transparent YAG ceramics

Gelcasting is a simple near-net shaping method to fabricate large-sized and/or complicated-structural ceramics. In this paper, a transparent yttrium alumina garnet (YAG) ceramic was successfully fabricated by gelcasting with a nontoxic, water soluble copolymer (isobutylene and maleic anhydride, Isobam) as both dispersant and gelling agent. The rheological behaviors of the slurries with different solids loading and Isobam contents were systematically investigated. The optimized slurry of 0.5 wt% Isobam and the solid loading of 68 wt% had the low viscosity and high stability, resulting in better homogeneity of the green body and better optical quality of transparent ceramics. A nearly pore-free structure of the sintered YAG ceramics with average grain size about 10.0 µm was obtained possessing an in-line transmittance of 75.7% at the wavelength of 1064 nm for a sample 2.5 mm thick.     

共沉淀法制备Ce:YAG荧光粉及其光学性质研究

采用液相共沉淀法,在1050℃煅烧合成了纯相Cex:Y3-xAl5O12(Cex:YAG)纳米荧光粉。荧光粉的发射峰位于526.6 nm附近,吸收峰位于454 nm附近。当x=0.04时,发现荧光粉的发射强度最大。荧光粉的粒径大约为100 nm,呈现棒状或椭球状。结果表明此荧光粉适用于Ga N基底白光LED。     

高显色白光LED用YAG：Ce^3＋，Ln^3＋荧光粉的研究进展

综述了YAG：Ce荧光粉的制备方法,着重介绍了高显色白光LED用YAG：Ce^3＋,Ln^3＋（Ln=Sm,Pr,Gd,Tb）荧光粉的最新研究进展和发光性能。YAG：Ce^3＋,Ln^3＋荧光粉的发射谱带发生红移,或在红光区增加尖锐的红光发射峰,从而提高了白光LED的显色性能。     

Influence of cerium doping concentration on the optical properties of Ce,Mg:LuAG scintillation ceramics

Ce,Mg:LuAG scintillation ceramics with Ce dopant content ranging from 0.025?at.% to 0.3?at.% and constant 0.2?at.% Mg codoping were fabricated by solid-state reaction. The effects of Ce concentration and annealing conditions on the microstructure, optical quality and scintillation properties are studied in great details. Lattice parameters as well as the absorption, photoluminescence, radioluminescence and thermoluminescence characteristics are investigated as a function of Ce content. Both the photoluminescence and scintillation decays are measured as well in order to study re-absorption and concentration quenching processes. In addition, an enhanced positive effect of air annealing on radioluminescence intensity and light yield is put in evidence. Moreover, the role of the charge transfer absorption of Ce⁴⁺ is investigated. Thermoluminescence measurements are performed to investigate the influence of both air annealing and Ce concentration on defects acting as traps. Finally, the correlations among steady state scintillation efficiency, light yield, thermoluminescence and Ce³⁺ concentration are found and discussed.     

Influence of the ceramic powder morphology and forming conditions on the optical transmittance of YAG:Yb ceramics

The influence of the dispersity and morphology of ceramic powders on the characteristics of green bodies and the optical transmittance of YAG:Yb (20?at%) ceramics was considered. The effect of the specific surface area on the relative density of compacts was studied. An increase in the specific surface area from 1.45 to 12.38?m²/g led to a decrease in the relative density of green body compacts from 52% to 38% under the fixed uniaxial pressure of 50?MPa. An increase in the uniaxial pressing value up to 150?MPa provided a maximum increase of the optical transmission of ceramics. However, an increase in the specific surface area and uniaxial pressure led to the appearance of macrodefects in ceramic samples. Cold isostatic pressing at 200?MPa after uniaxial pressing at 50?MPa resulted in an increase of optical transparency and the elimination of the macrodefect formation in ceramics. Dispersity and morphology of ceramic powders have a significant effect on the optical transparency of ceramics. Forming conditions had insignificant influence on optical characteristics. Highly transparent YAG:Yb ceramics with 80% transmittance were developed.