Solid-state lighting using laser diodes is an exciting new development that requires new phosphor geometries to handle the greater light fluxes involved. The greater flux from the source results in more conversion and therefore more conversion loss in the phosphor, which generates self-heating, surpassing the stability of current encapsulation strategies used for light-emitting diodes, usually based on silicones. Here, we present a rapid method using spark plasma sintering (SPS) for preparing ceramic phosphor composites of the canonical yellow-emitting phosphor Ce-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG) combined with a chemically compatible and thermally stable oxide, α-Al2O3. SPS allows for compositional modulation, and phase fraction, microstructure, and luminescent properties of ceramic composites with varying compositions are studied here in detail. The relationship between density, thermal conductivity, and temperature rise during laser-driven phosphor conversion is elucidated, showing that only modest densities are required to mitigate thermal quenching in phosphor composites. Additionally, the scattering nature of the ceramic composites makes them ideal candidates for laser-driven white lighting in reflection mode, where Lambertian scattering of blue light offers great color uniformity, and a luminous flux >1000 lm is generated using a single commercial laser diode coupled to a single phosphor element.
Keywords: laser lighting; phosphor; solid-state lighting; spark plasma sintering; white light.