Ce/Mn/Cr: (Re,Y)3Al5O12 Phosphor Ceramics (Re = Gd, Tb and Lu) for White LED Lighting with Significant Spectral Redshift and Improved Color-Rendering Index

Yukun Li; Svenja Hanson; Cheng Heng Pang; Peng Lyu; Jun Jiang

doi:10.3390/ma16206667

Ce/Mn/Cr: (Re,Y)₃Al₅O₁₂ Phosphor Ceramics (Re = Gd, Tb and Lu) for White LED Lighting with Significant Spectral Redshift and Improved Color-Rendering Index

Materials (Basel). 2023 Oct 12;16(20):6667. doi: 10.3390/ma16206667.

Authors

Yukun Li^{1

2}, Svenja Hanson², Cheng Heng Pang², Peng Lyu³, Jun Jiang¹

Affiliations

¹ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1219 West Zhongguan Road, Ningbo 315201, China.
² Department of Chemical and Environment Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 199 Taikang East Road, Ningbo 315201, China.
³ Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Center for Photonics Technology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.

Abstract

In order to attain phosphor ceramics with a high Color-Rendering Index (CRI), samples with the composition of Y_0.997-xRe_xCe_0.003)₃(Al_0.9748 Mn²⁺_0.024Cr³⁺_0.0012)₅O₁₂(Re_x = 0, Gd_0.333, Gd_0.666, Gd_0.997, Tb_0.333, Tb_0.666, Tb_0.997 and Lu_0.997 were prepared by solid-state reaction and vacuum sintering, and exhibited potential for high-quality, solid-state lighting. Doping with Cr³⁺ and Mn²⁺ effectively enhanced the red component of Ce³⁺ spectra through the intense energy transfer from Ce³⁺ ions to Mn²⁺/Cr³⁺ ions. The crystal field splitting of [GdO₈] and [TbO₈] was more extensive than that of [YO₈], causing a massive redshift in the Ce³⁺ emission peaks from 542 to 561 and 595 nm, while [LuO₈] had an opposite effect and caused a blueshift with a peak position at 512 nm. White LED devices incorporating Ce/Mn/Cr: (Gd_0.333Y_0.664)₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphor ceramic exhibited a high CRI of 83.97, highlighting the potential for enhancing the red-light component of white LED lighting.

Keywords: Ce/Mn/Cr: (Re,Y)3Al5O12; full spectrum; garnet phosphor; laser lighting; spectral modulation.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62105342) and the Ningbo Science & Technology Innovation 2025 Major Project (2020Z099).