(Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ Phosphor-Doped YAG:Ce3+ Transparent Ceramics as Novel Green-Light-Emitting Materials for White LEDs

Abstract

In this work, based on Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ (YAG:Ce3+) transparent ceramic and (Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors, novel green-light-emitting materials were systematically studied. YAG:Ce3+ transparent ceramics with different doping-concentrations, from 0% to 1% (Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors, were fabricated by dry pressing and vacuum sintering. The serial phosphor ceramics had 533 nm green-light emission when excited by 460 nm blue light. The PL, PLE, and chromaticity performances were measured, indicating that more of the green-light component was emitted with the increase in doping concentration. The addition of (Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphor increased the green-light wavelength area and improved the quantum yield (QY) of the YAG:Ce3+ ceramic matrix. The phase composition, microstructure, crystal-field structure and phosphor distribution of (Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphor-doped YAG:Ce3+ transparent ceramics were investigated, to explore the microscopic causes of the spectral changes. Impressively, (Sr, Ca)AlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphors were distributed homogeneously, and the pinning effect of phosphor caused the suppression of grain growth. The novel materials could provide an effective strategy for full-spectrum white lighting and displaying applications in the future.