Development of sialon phosphors and their applications to solid-state lighting

Abstract

InGaN-LED-driven solid-state lighting [i.e., white light-emitting diodes (wLEDs)] is now penetrating to our daily life and replacing traditional lighting sources rapidly owing to its energy-saving, high efficiency and environment friendly. Phosphors play key roles in improving the color rendition/gamut, luminous efficiency and lifetime of wLEDs, but the traditional ones for lamps usually do not meet the requirements for wLEDs. This triggers the search for new phosphors that can be excited by blue- or near ultraviolet LEDs. Sialon-based nitride phosphors are emerged as a new family of luminescent materials, superior to oxide or sulfide counterparts in terms of high conversion efficiency, small Stokes shift, excellent chemical and thermal stability. In this mini review, nitride phosphors will be introduced, including their classification, photoluminescence properties, structure-property relations, and applications in general illumination and backlighting.