Enhancing the optical and thermal performance of Ce:YAG phosphors through multi-component co-doping

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Solid-State Lighting

Background:

• High-power laser lighting and displays utilize phosphor-converted technologies for efficiency and longevity.
• Thermal quenching at elevated temperatures under high-power excitation degrades phosphor performance and stability.
• Developing thermally stable phosphors is critical for next-generation optoelectronic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of multi-component co-doping on the thermal stability and emission performance of Ce: YAG phosphor ceramics.
• To address the challenge of thermal quenching in high-power phosphor-converted laser applications.
• To enhance the high-temperature performance of phosphor materials for advanced lighting and display technologies.

Main Methods:

• A multi-component co-doping strategy was employed, incorporating Ba²⁺/Si⁴⁺ and Sr²⁺/Si⁴⁺ into Ce: YAG phosphor ceramics.
• The thermal stability and emission intensity of the co-doped samples were evaluated under high-power excitation.
• Key performance metrics including thermal saturation threshold and luminous efficiency of radiation (LER) were measured.

Main Results:

• The optimized Sr05Ba050 co-doped sample retained 96.56% of its emission intensity at 423 K, demonstrating exceptional thermal stability.
• The thermal saturation threshold was significantly increased to 73 W/mm² compared to undoped Ce: YAG.
• The optimized sample achieved a high luminous efficiency of radiation (LER) of 248.82 lm/W and showed reduced surface temperature.

Conclusions:

• Ba²⁺/Si⁴⁺ and Sr²⁺/Si⁴⁺ co-doping effectively mitigates thermal quenching in Ce: YAG phosphors.
• The co-doping approach enhances thermal stability and high-temperature performance, attributed to lattice stabilization and reduced electron-phonon coupling.
• These findings provide valuable insights for the development of high-performance phosphor materials for next-generation high-power lighting and display applications.