Sol-gel synthesized far-red chromium-doped garnet phosphors for phosphor-conversion light-emitting diodes that meet the photomorphogenetic needs of plants.

We report the sol-gel synthesis and characterization of far-red garnet phosphors Gd(3)Ga(5)O(12) (GGG:Cr), Y(3)Ga(5)O(12) (YGG:Cr), Lu(3)Ga(5)O(12) (LGG:Cr), and Gd(3)Sc(2)Ga(3)O(12) (GSGG:Cr) doped with different chromium (III) concentration (3, 5, and 8 mol. %). The morphological and luminescence properties of the phosphors annealed at different temperatures (1000°C, 1300°C, 1400°C, and 1500°C) were examined using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence (PL), and PL excitation (PLE) spectroscopy, and by the measurements of diffuse reflection, PL internal quantum efficiency (QE), and PL decay time. The PLE spectra of the samples were found to peak at around 450 nm depending on the host, and luminescence was observed in the region of 700-760 nm. The QE was found to strongly depend on doping concentration and calcination temperature, and the PL decay exhibited biexponential behavior. The investigated far-red garnet phosphors, in particular GGG:Cr and YGG:Cr, show a potential for use in phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes that meet the photomorphogenetic needs of plants.

Phosphor-converted LEDs with low circadian action for outdoor lighting.

Dichromatic phosphor-converted (pc) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with low circadian action are proposed for low-luminance photobiologically safe outdoor illumination. The LEDs feature the partial conversion of blue radiation in an orange phosphor with the resulting correlated color temperature in the "firelight" range of 1700-2500 K. The circadian action factor, which is the ratio of the biological efficacy of radiation due to the excitation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells to the mesopic luminous efficacy of radiation, is considerably lower than that of commercial white pc LEDs. The equivalent general color-rendering index estimated with regard to the reduced color-discrimination ability of human vision at low luminances has appropriate values in between those of common white pc LEDs and high-pressure sodium lamp.

Color rendition engineering of phosphor-converted light-emitting diodes.

We present an approach to the optimization of the trichromatic spectral power distributions (SPDs) of phosphor-converted (p-c) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in respect of each of four different color rendition properties (high color fidelity, color saturating, color dulling, and color preference). The approach is based on selecting a model family of Eu2+ phosphors and finding the optimal peak wavelengths of the phosphor bands as functions of the luminous efficacy of radiation. A blue component due to either phosphor photoluminescence or InGaN electroluminescence with the peak wavelength at about 460 nm was found to be an optimal one for the high-fidelity, color-dulling, and color-preference LEDs. The high-fidelity and color-preference LEDs need red phosphors with the peak wavelength of 610-615 nm. The high-fidelity LEDs were shown to require a true green (~530 nm) phosphor component, whereas a cyan (~510 nm) component is the prerequisite of the color-saturating and color-preference LEDs. Deep-blue (~445 nm) and deep-red (~625 nm) components are required for the color-saturating LEDs. A broad yellow band similar to that of Ce(3+) emission is to be used in the color-dulling LEDs. The SPDs of practical phosphor blends for the high-fidelity, color-saturating, and color-preference p-c LEDs are demonstrated.