Rare earth elements play a crucial role in various industries in China, especially in the development of advanced materials for lighting technologies. One of the most promising areas is the application of rare earth luminescent materials in LED technology. These materials are essential for converting light into white illumination and significantly impact key performance metrics such as color rendering, color temperature, and energy efficiency. Let’s explore the latest developments in rare earth-based phosphors for LEDs.
LEDs have revolutionized solid-state lighting with their high efficiency, energy savings, and environmental benefits. Over the past decade, they have largely replaced traditional incandescent and fluorescent lamps, becoming the next-generation lighting solution. A critical component in this advancement is the phosphor, which enables wavelength conversion and determines the quality of the white light produced. Researchers are continuously striving to develop phosphors with higher efficiency and better thermal stability.
A research team from the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made significant progress in this area. They developed a new Ba9Lu2Si6O24:Ce³⺠silicate cyan phosphor, which exhibits a fluorescence quantum efficiency of 94% at 160°C, showing excellent thermal stability. This breakthrough earned them a national invention patent and was published in *Advanced Optical Materials*.
The team further explored the optical properties of Ba9Lu2Si6O24 by using Tb³âº-Tb³⺠quantum tailoring and resonance energy transfer, achieving a green phosphor with an impressive luminous efficiency of 144%. They also observed abnormal emission from Eu²⺠and traced its origin using low-temperature spectroscopy. By co-doping Ce³âº/Eu²âº/Mn²âº, they successfully generated single white light, another milestone in their research, which was patented and published in journals like *The Journal of Physical Chemistry C* and *Materials Research Bulletin*.
Recently, the team conducted a comprehensive study on optimizing the luminescence properties of Ba9Lu2Si6O24-based cyan phosphors. Through process improvements, they increased the internal quantum efficiency to 90%, and the material showed less than 10% light decay after 1600 hours under 85°C/85% RH conditions. When combined with red phosphors, this cyan material can produce white light with a color rendering index above 90 on NUV chips.
By combining first-principles calculations with experimental spectroscopy, the researchers proposed a new method for calculating band gaps in wide-bandgap inorganic non-metallic materials. Their findings also revealed that both thermal phonon interactions and reduced absorption due to heat contribute to luminescence quenching. These results were published in *Journal of Materials Chemistry C*.
In addition, the team enhanced the steady-state fluorescence quantum efficiency of Gd₃Alâ‚‚Ga₃Oâ‚â‚‚:Ce³⺠yellow afterglow phosphor to 82%, offering a potential solution for AC LED stroboscopic issues. Their work led to two national invention patents and some findings were published in *Chemical Communications*.
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Zhejiang Public Welfare Technology Fund, and Ningbo Natural Science Foundation.
[Image: Logo of the research institution]
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